The E-Collaboration Paradox

This chapter advances a new explanation for some of the apparently contradictory findings discussed earlier in the book, which, in turn, reflect fairly well the body of mixed findings associated with academic and industry research on e-collaboration during the last 30 years (that research was usually conducted under other banners, such as computer-supported collaborative work and group support systems).

Business Process Improvement and Knowledge Sharing

As we have seen earlier in this book, knowledge, whether stored in the brain, computer databases, or other storage media, is more often than not used for the processing of information. Information processing, in turn, has been identified as the main reason organizations exist1 (Galbraith, 1973). That is, purposeful organization of people, capital, and other resources is necessary so information processing can be done efficiently and effectively. Information processing, in turn, is seen as a fundamental step in the generation and delivery of products and services by organizations to their customers.

A Close Look at Twelve Business Process Improvement Groups

In this chapter, I provide a structured description of 12 business process improvement groups conducted at MAF Quality Management and Waikato University, both in New Zealand. I facilitated these groups based on the MetaProi methodology described earlier in this book, and the majority of the communication in these groups took place through an e-collaboration system. The group descriptions provided in this chapter and other group-related information have been used in several analyses discussed in previous chapters. Each group description comprises the following elements:

Data, Information and Knowledge

Quite often we hear the words data, information, and knowledge being used as if they were synonymous. But aren’t data, information, and knowledge actually the same thing? And if not, what is the difference? I strongly believe that there are subtle but very important differences among these concepts, and that the nature of these differences is a relatively complex one. Moreover, from a business process improvement perspective, data, information, and knowledge serve fundamentally different purposes.

Statistics for Those Who Hate Statistics

When we analyze quantitative evidence (e.g., numbers) that describe a particular situation or phenomenon, we often need to generate coefficients based on specific statistical tests to reach reasonable conclusions. Visually inspecting a table full of numbers, for example, can be quite confusing, and the related conclusions may be deceiving. This is one of the reasons why statistical tests are important. The more quantitative evidence we have to analyze, the more difficult it is to inspect it visually, and so the more important those statistical tests become.

Some Realistic Recommendations for Organizations

The first electronic digital computer, the ENIAC, was developed in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, with funding from the United States Army. By then, computers were seen as giant calculators, capable of performing thousands of complex mathematical operations per second. As World War II had just ended, and the prospect of a global nuclear race was looming large, one of the main applications of computers at that time was ballistics calculation. Among other ballistics-related applications, computers were extensively used for the calculation of warhead missile trajectories with both high speed and unprecedented precision.

Using MetaProi to Improve Business Processes

In my earlier discussion in this book about business process improvement and organizational learning, I have shown that business process improvement has the potential to foster interfunctional knowledge communication and, consequently, organizational learning. In previous chapters of this book, I have analyzed business process improvement efforts that led to levels of knowledge communication not normally seen in routine organizational processes. Those business process improvement efforts have all been carried out through business process improvement groups.

What is a Business Process?

Business process improvement can be defined as the analysis, redesign, and subsequent change of organizational processes to achieve performance and competitiveness gains. The idea that business process-focused improvement can be used as a tool to boost organizational performance and competitiveness is not new. In fact, business process improvement has been the basis of several widely adopted management approaches, such as total quality management, business process reengineering, and organizational learning. As the following sections briefly show, business process-focused improvement can be a unifying concept of these management approaches.

Successful Business Process Improvement through E-Collaboration

The idea of business process-focused improvement has been with us for many years. Many speculate that it is as old as the total quality management movement, which began in Japan in the 1950s. Some think the idea is much older, dating back to the time of the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Some History

Organizational development is the generic field of research and practice concerned with structural organizational changes that can have a positive impact on competitiveness. It is about changing organizations in order to make them more competitive, chiefly through modifications in their organizational structure. Historically, most organizational development efforts have aimed at improving productivity (i.e., cycle time and cost reduction) and quality (i.e., boosting customer satisfaction). Organizational development encompasses procedural and policy changes within firms in order to adapt to external factors. External factors include competitive pressures, as well as economic and government regulation changes.