session 4
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Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rich Picture Example
• In groups develop a rich picture to express how Singaporean/Honk Kong Companies can take (further) advantage of e-commerce opportunities. Cover the issues, problems and opportunities related to taking advantage of the opportunities.
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Systems Thinking(Jackson)
• There is some debate in relation to business analysis methodologies
• Jackson for example labels:– Total Quality Management– Business Process Re-engineering– Learning organisation – Guru theory
• Fads!
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Systems Approach
• Systems approach is holistic
• Holistic solution looks at the entire problem
• Avoids breaking it up into components
• Systems interact and create emergent properties
• Can be a way of thinking- ontological
• Can be used to understand situations - epistemological
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Progress in Management Science & Systems Thinking
Increasing divergence of values/interests
Unitary Pluralist Conflictual
Simple
Complex
Increasing Complexity
ORSoft OR/Systems
Design of Adaptive Systems ?
Problems more difficult to manage
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
History of Management Problem Solving
• Frederick Taylor’s “Scientific Management” pre 1st WW as a problem solving methodology
• Operational research came into being in 1940’s
• Then systems analysis and systems engineering
• Systems thinking
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
• Researchers on the horizontal axis emphasise the importance of values, beliefs and philosophies
• Their main concern is changing organisational culture and gaining commitment from participants to a course of action
• Moved from positivist to a interpretive approach• Soft ORers and systems thinkers do not try to
design models for repetitive use
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
• Reason? Due to individual nature of problems
• The methodology is replicated!– Checkland, Flood and Jackson
• Jackson argues that steady progress has taken place in the development of management problem solving
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Management Fads
• Guru Theory– Peter’s & Waterman “In Search of
Excellence” - included Management by Walking About
• Heathrow (Changi) School of Management
• Follow based on faith rather argument
• Write in such a way that skips details
• They sell lots of books! Why?
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
• They tell stories• Three kinds of Guru
– Academic Gurus– Consultant Gurus - eg. de Bono, Peters– Hero Managers - Iacocca
• Many contradictions from one book to another– Customer is king– Flexibility replaces customer is king– Later it was something else– Rationale?
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
• TQM - includes continuous quality improvement programmes– drive defects out and designing quality in– at all stages of the production process
• Required fundamental orientation to the customer• Coordination of all stages of production to get
conformance to requirements• Included suppliers to get quality raw materials or
products or services
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
TQM
• TQM programmes frequently fail according to surveys - no real impact
• Reasons - TQM focuses on customers at the expense of other stakeholders
• Some argue customers don’t know what they want!
• Some believe employees are the most important stakeholders
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
BPR & Learning Organisations• BPR - another fad? We will look at this
later?
• Learning organisation– Peter Senge - The Fifth Discipline (1990)– limited selection of systems ideas– continually expanding its capacity to create
its future– means people have to keep learning
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Learning Organisation
• Managers must master 5 disciplines– Systems– personal mastery– mental models– building shared vision– team learning
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Conclusions
• The point of systems thinking is to
“help us to work out the right course of action to take
• No real hope of a unified theory of systems
• Careful research (critical reflection) is required as opposed to fadism
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Questions• Do you agree with Jackson’s view (fads) of
– Guru Theory– TQM– Learning organisations
• Why does he uphold the credibility of systems thinking?
• Where does systems theory beat the “fads”?
• What faults can you find with his argument?
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Questions
• Does systems thinking as an approach have much to offer business analysis?– What?
• Is the success of systems thinking dependent on the cultural context?