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Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rich Picture Example
• In groups develop a rich picture to express how Singaporean/Hong 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?
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rationality Concepts and Methodologies
• Klien and Hirschheim’s paper examines rationality in ISD methodologies
• It is important because it influences – the way that the business analyst goes
about his/her job– what the expectations are– and which tasks are given priority
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rationality• There are two types of rational action
• The first is formal rationality
• The second is substantive rationality
• Formal rationality pays explicit attention to both means and ends when calculating the best choice
• Substantive rationality is where the actions are consistent with an ultimate value ideal
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Formal Rationality
• FR is oriented towards the choice of:– means - effective planning when ends are
given– ends - rationality focuses on the correctness
of calculation of ends when values are precisely specified, and means and constraints are given
• Substantive rationality is oriented towards an absolute value
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rationality in Methodologies
Formal Substantive
Means Ends
StructuredMethodologies
Yes Some None
Prototyping Some Little Possible
ETHICS Some Yes Yes
ISAC Yes Yes Yes (< Ethics)
SSM Yes Possible None
MULTIVIEW Yes Yes None
FAOR Yes Yes None
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rationality in Methodologies
Formal Substantive Communicative
Emancipatory
Means Ends
StructuredMethodologies
Yes Some None Little None
Prototyping Some Little Possible Yes Possible
ETHICS Some Yes Yes Some Little
ISAC Yes Yes Yes (<Ethics)
Yes Little
SSM Yes Possible None Yes Some
MULTIVIEW Yes Yes None Yes None
FAOR Yes Yes None Yes None
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Rationality in Business Analysis
• It is important to know the basis of rationality in the organisation when performing business analysis
• It may be important to get users involved - the means may be more important than the ends
• In some cases the end may be everything
• In some cultures the substantive rationality may be important
Craig Standing Business Analysis Methodologies
Questions• How does the rationality basis influence
how you approach business analysis?• How do you determine what the rationality
basis of the situation requires?• What problems may arise as a result of
choosing the “wrong” methodology?• What are the likely consequences of a
“rationality clash”?