By Hollander, Denna, Cherrington

PowerPoint slides by: Bruce W. MacLean, Bruce W. MacLean,

Faculty of Management, Faculty of Management,

Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie University

Accounting, Information Technology, and Business Solutions, 2nd Edition

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Chapter 9

Business Solutions, Change, and the Solution Professional: Challenges and Opportunities

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Chapter Objectives

Explain the nature of integrated business solutions. Explain the principles of managing change. Describe the opportunities confronting today’s

accounting and IT professionals.

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The Nature of Business Solutions

Successful business solutions adhere to the following principles and characteristics: First, solutions must integrate 5 key components:

– Business processes and events

– Business strategy

– Organization structure and individual stewardship responsibilities

– IT architecture

– Measurements

Second, the solution must be aligned with the organization’s culture.

Third, solutions must constantly adapt to a complex, changing world in real-time.

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Culture S1

BusinessProcesses/

Events

Business Solution Framework

Strategy

Information Technology

People and Structures

Measurements

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Business Information Warehouse

Audit and

Record

Business Events

Business Events

Business Events

Finance View

Production View

Marketing View

Executive View

IT Application Architecture: Record, Maintain and Report

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Business Event Owners

SalespersonShipping

ClerkCustomer

Payment Clerk

SolutionSupport

Professional

Process Owner

Multiple Process Owner

Process Owner Process Owner

Organization Structure Based on Business Processes

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BusinessEvent

FunctionalViews

System D

EditAudit

CalculateSummarize

StoredData

System C

EditAudit

CalculateSummarize

StoredData

System B

EditAudit

CalculateSummarize

StoredData

System A

EditAudit

CalculateSummarize

StoredData

FunctionalViews

FunctionalViews

FunctionalViews

Traditional View-Driven IT Application Architecture

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Operating Event (and other decision support) Data Enterprise-wide

Information Customers

Operating Events

UsefulInformation

Business Data Repository

Business Event

Processor

Reporting Facility

(instructions for generating outputs)

IT Application Architecture: Record, Maintain, and Report

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Businessrequirements

statement

SystemsPlanning

SystemsSupport

SystemsImplementation

SystemsDesign

SystemsAnalysis

Existing systemdetails and limitations

Planned applicationdevelopment projects

Technicaldesign

statement

Productioninformation

system

Existing system detailsand limitations

Systems Development Process

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Types of Organizational Change

Organizational change can be classified according to its scope and depth.

Developmental change is the improvement of an existing system

Transitional change is the implementation of a known new state

Transformational change is the emergence of a new state.

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Types of Organizational Change

Some important questions to ask when determining the type of change best suited for an organization include: How far do we want to go? Is it too far or not far enough? What type of result do we want: short term or long term? How much change can the organization absorb in on

change and cumulatively? Can the changes contemplated be

presented positively? If not, why? What happens if we don’t change?

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Deciding When to Change

The decision about when to change is as important as what to change and how much to change.

Change when things are going well.

Change when results are mixed.

Change demanded by a full-fledged crisis.

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Managing Change and Creating a Common Vision

Organization Culture Participation Performance Evaluation Dysfunctional Human Behaviour

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Organization Culture

Each organization has a unique culture that distinguishes it from all others.

Changes should support rather than challenge the organization’s culture.

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Participation

Allowing people to participate in identifying the problem, the solution approach, and the final product is the most powerful technique for creating a common vision and the support to achieve it.

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Performance Evaluation

Because changes often alter people’s responsibilities, organization and system changes often impact the way individual performance should be measured and evaluated.

Unless the performance evaluation process is updated, changes may obscure personal performance, thus creating disincentives for supporting the proposed changes.

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Dysfunctional Human Behaviour

Most dysfunctional human behaviour is manifest in one, or more, of three ways: Aggression involves any attempt by an individual or group

to damage the organization or its information system. Projection involves any effort to blame the system for

problems that people face. Avoidance involves any attempt to avoid using the system.

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Culture

Strategy

Business processes

IT architecture(technical/

application)

Measurements

Stewardshipsand

structures

Culture S3

Culture S2

Culture S1

Business processes/

events

Informationtechnology

Measurements

Strategy

People andstructures

IS Professionals Provide Integration and Structure

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Responsibilities for Managing Change

Management should: Openly support efforts to continually improve all aspects

of the organization. Determine timing for enterprise-wide changes. Approve suggestions for improvement. Monitor progress of approved changes and insure that

measurement systems are adjusted quickly. Assist in resolving problems resulting from change.

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Responsibilities for Managing Change

Employees should: Commit to continual individual and organization

improvement. Actively participate in suggesting and implementing

changes. Demand creative solutions to business and information

problems.

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Responsibilities for Managing Change

Change agents (those who guide or develop the business solutions) should: Understand the impact of IT as a change agent. Deal with problems in a timely and effective manner.