Business Process Improvement Through E-Collaboration : Knowledge Sharing Through the Use of Virtual Groups

by Kock, Ned F.

• ISBN13: 9781591403586
• ISBN10: 1591403588
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-05
• Publisher: Igi Global

Summary

"This book focuses on business process improvement, a key element of the most influential management movement since the 1980s, and how process improvement affects organizational knowledge sharing"--Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Management Thinking and E-Collaboration	p. 1
Business Process Improvement	p. 3
Knowledge Explosion and Specialization	p. 4
Business Process Improvement as a Catalyst for Knowledge Sharing	p. 5
E-Collaboration Tools and Business Process Improvement Group Performance	p. 6
The E-Collaboration Paradox	p. 7
Increasing the Chances of Success of E-Collaboration Technology-Supported Groups	p. 9
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 10
Some History	p. 11
An Historic View of Organizational Development	p. 11
An Historic View of E-Collaboration	p. 21
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 29
What is a Business Process?	p. 32
The Pervasiveness of Business Process Improvement	p. 32
What is a Business Process?: Different Views	p. 36
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 49
Data, Information and Knowledge	p. 51
Data, Information and Knowledge are the Same Thing, Aren't They	p. 51
Data are Carriers	p. 55
Information is Descriptive	p. 56
The Value of Information	p. 58
Knowledge is Associative	p. 60
The Value of Knowledge	p. 63
Linking Data, Information and Knowledge	p. 67
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 70
Business Process Improvement and Knowledge Sharing	p. 73
Organizational Knowledge and Competitiveness	p. 73
The Need for Knowledge Sharing	p. 74
Organizational Learning and Knowledge Transfer	p. 77
Types of Exchanges in Organizational Processes	p. 77
Business Process Improvement and Knowledge Communication	p. 80
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 86
The Effects of E-Collaboration Technologies on Groups	p. 89
Why Distributed Improvement and Learning?	p. 89
Efficiency Effects from a Group Perspective	p. 93
Effects on Group Outcome Quality	p. 104
Effects on Knowledge Sharing Effectiveness	p. 107
Further Evidence from Follow-Up Studies	p. 111
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 117
The E-Collaboration Paradox	p. 120
Paradoxical Results	p. 120
Research on E-Collaboration	p. 121
The E-Collaboration Paradox	p. 123
Media Naturalness: Human Beings Have Not Been Designed for E-Collaboration	p. 124
Compensatory Adaptation: Human Beings Often Try to Compensate for Obstacles Posed to Them	p. 126
Evidence from an Empirical Study of Business Process Redesign Pairs	p. 127
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 130
Successful Business Process Improvement through E-Collaboration	p. 132
The Ubiquity of Business Process Improvement	p. 132
The Trend Toward Organizational Learning	p. 136
The Emergence of Virtual Organizations	p. 138
Success Factors: An Analysis of Twelve Groups	p. 140
Membership Factors	p. 145
Incremental or Radical Improvement?	p. 154
Can E-Collaboration Technology Support be a Trap?	p. 155
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 158
Some Realistic Recommendations for Organizations	p. 161
Information and Knowledge Explosion	p. 161
Distributed Improvement and Learning	p. 164
Some Recommendations for Organizations	p. 167
Popular Beliefs and Not So Popular Realities	p. 169
Organizational Culture Transformation through Education	p. 171
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 172
Using MetaProi to Improve Business Processes	p. 175
MetaProi at a Glance	p. 175
Group Roles in MetaProi	p. 178
General Guidelines for MetaProi	p. 180
Activities in MetaProi	p. 181
MetaProi in Practice: A College Example	p. 198
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 211
A Close Look at Twelve Business Process Improvement Groups	p. 213
A Structured Description of Several Groups	p. 213
Software Support	p. 215
The Internal Newsletter	p. 217
Pest and Disease Outbreaks	p. 219
Quality Management Consulting	p. 221
Information Technology Support	p. 223
Employee Training and Development	p. 225
A Practical Computing Course	p. 228
Academic Advice for Students	p. 230
Student Computer Support	p. 232
Student Assignments	p. 235
International Graduate Students	p. 237
New International Students	p. 241
Statistics for Those Who Hate Statistics	p. 244
The Importance of Statistical Tests	p. 244
Comparing Means from Different Conditions	p. 245
Checking for Correlations Between Variables	p. 248
Assessing the Significance of Distribution Trends	p. 251
Summary and Concluding Remarks	p. 254
References	p. 256
Glossary	p. 275
About the Author	p. 280
Index	p. 281
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