The significance of facilitation skills for business process engineering : financial institutions
- Authors: Choshi, Madimetja Frans
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Reengineering (Management) , Organizational effectiveness , Management information systems , Strategic planning , Financial institutions
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/213386 , uj:21146
- Description: Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the lack of communication and facilitation skills negatively affecting the success of business process improvement projects conducted by engineers within the financial institutions. Recent studies have shown that successful and sustainable process improvement initiatives partially dependent on stakeholder (all levels) support and buy-in within any service industry. Resistance by the stakeholders has become a major concern in implementing improvement initiatives because the project outcomes are not clearly understood. An organisations ability to constantly improve processes enables it to constantly meet customer expectations and protect or improve its competitive edge. The first chapter provides insights on the certain causes and failures of business process improvement initiatives based on the research title. The chapter highlights certain information from past research conducted within the background and introduction. It further provides the significance of the study, brief introduction to each chapter and objectives the researcher wanted to achieve. In chapter two, literature information is provided to further support the study conducted. The literature focuses on business processes, business process improvement, common best practise methodologies and how they relate to facilitation. A survey was conducted by 21 experienced process engineers to analyse the process improvement projects failures researched. The outcomes indicated that most projects fail as a result of lack of leadership support, poor change management and project buy-in. The researcher further provides recommendations on how to better manage, get support and implement successful business process initiatives using facilitation skills. The researcher perceives facilitation skills as the added catalyst to ensuring positive outcome for business process improvement initiatives. The researcher anticipates that information will provide readers with a different perspective of the challenges experienced by engineers in service industries and ideas for future development of business process improvement methodology. , M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
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- Authors: Choshi, Madimetja Frans
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Reengineering (Management) , Organizational effectiveness , Management information systems , Strategic planning , Financial institutions
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/213386 , uj:21146
- Description: Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the lack of communication and facilitation skills negatively affecting the success of business process improvement projects conducted by engineers within the financial institutions. Recent studies have shown that successful and sustainable process improvement initiatives partially dependent on stakeholder (all levels) support and buy-in within any service industry. Resistance by the stakeholders has become a major concern in implementing improvement initiatives because the project outcomes are not clearly understood. An organisations ability to constantly improve processes enables it to constantly meet customer expectations and protect or improve its competitive edge. The first chapter provides insights on the certain causes and failures of business process improvement initiatives based on the research title. The chapter highlights certain information from past research conducted within the background and introduction. It further provides the significance of the study, brief introduction to each chapter and objectives the researcher wanted to achieve. In chapter two, literature information is provided to further support the study conducted. The literature focuses on business processes, business process improvement, common best practise methodologies and how they relate to facilitation. A survey was conducted by 21 experienced process engineers to analyse the process improvement projects failures researched. The outcomes indicated that most projects fail as a result of lack of leadership support, poor change management and project buy-in. The researcher further provides recommendations on how to better manage, get support and implement successful business process initiatives using facilitation skills. The researcher perceives facilitation skills as the added catalyst to ensuring positive outcome for business process improvement initiatives. The researcher anticipates that information will provide readers with a different perspective of the challenges experienced by engineers in service industries and ideas for future development of business process improvement methodology. , M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
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Unstructured technology decision making : a case study
- Authors: Shiburi, Nyiko
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Information technology - Decision making , Decision making - Case studies , Strategic planning , Management information systems
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/225310 , uj:22753
- Description: Abstract: Technology plays an important role in company competitiveness and, like any other sources of competition, needs to be managed based on a strategic point of view. Therefore, how technology is selected and prioritised is integral to support the company strategic objective. The information characteristics of strategic decisions are that they are ad hoc, forward looking, external and wide scoped. In addition, new technology is filled with uncertainties. Operational managers at lower levels make day-to-day decisions that are structured and information is easily available, inward looking and certain. However, from time to time they have to make technology decisions, which are unstructured in nature, or make recommendations to senior management about the technology. This creates a problem as the operational managers usually make structured decisions. If a decision-making process guideline is available to be utilised during technology rollout decisions, which are unstructured in nature, it will provide decision makers at operational management level with a structure and help decision makers to make decisions that are effective. To derive a decision-making process guideline, this study made use of two case studies within one organisation to determine how previous technology decisions were taken and what factors were taken into account. In both cases, the recommendations by the operational managers were overruled by the senior executives. The case study method was used as it provided the researcher with in-depth knowledge of how decisions were taken. It was found that the company had a high-level process of making decisions which consisted of a white paper generated by operational managers making recommendations on whether the technology should be implemented or not. A PowerPoint presentation was prepared summarising the white paper and presented to the senior executives to ratify the recommendations. It was also found that there was no standard process of generating the white paper and Power- Point presentation and as a result there were inconsistencies in how the information was gathered and presented. Based on the literature review and case study findings, a recommended decision-making process guideline was derived. , M.Phil. (Engineering Management)
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- Authors: Shiburi, Nyiko
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Information technology - Decision making , Decision making - Case studies , Strategic planning , Management information systems
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/225310 , uj:22753
- Description: Abstract: Technology plays an important role in company competitiveness and, like any other sources of competition, needs to be managed based on a strategic point of view. Therefore, how technology is selected and prioritised is integral to support the company strategic objective. The information characteristics of strategic decisions are that they are ad hoc, forward looking, external and wide scoped. In addition, new technology is filled with uncertainties. Operational managers at lower levels make day-to-day decisions that are structured and information is easily available, inward looking and certain. However, from time to time they have to make technology decisions, which are unstructured in nature, or make recommendations to senior management about the technology. This creates a problem as the operational managers usually make structured decisions. If a decision-making process guideline is available to be utilised during technology rollout decisions, which are unstructured in nature, it will provide decision makers at operational management level with a structure and help decision makers to make decisions that are effective. To derive a decision-making process guideline, this study made use of two case studies within one organisation to determine how previous technology decisions were taken and what factors were taken into account. In both cases, the recommendations by the operational managers were overruled by the senior executives. The case study method was used as it provided the researcher with in-depth knowledge of how decisions were taken. It was found that the company had a high-level process of making decisions which consisted of a white paper generated by operational managers making recommendations on whether the technology should be implemented or not. A PowerPoint presentation was prepared summarising the white paper and presented to the senior executives to ratify the recommendations. It was also found that there was no standard process of generating the white paper and Power- Point presentation and as a result there were inconsistencies in how the information was gathered and presented. Based on the literature review and case study findings, a recommended decision-making process guideline was derived. , M.Phil. (Engineering Management)
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Towards a management information system for use in the strategic management of South African consulting engineering firms
- Authors: Marshall, Thomas
- Date: 2009-01-22T05:37:11Z
- Subjects: Engineering firms , Management information systems , Strategic planning
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14815 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1940
- Description: D.Ing. , This study documents the process whereby a practical and relevant industry-wide strategic management information system (SMIS) was developed for the South African consulting engineering industry. The SMIS was designed to provide South African consulting engineers with an improved understanding of the business environment in which they operate and to provide some advance warning of new trends in order to extend the strategic planning horizons of management and owners of consulting engineering firms. This was done against a background of very limited availability of current industry statistics. A literature survey of available historical or secondary data relating to the South African consulting engineering, building and construction industries was conducted in order to determine the relevance and usefulness of such data for the purposes of developing the SMIS. This survey provided background information on the consulting engineering industry, relevant aspects of the South African business environment and the impact of changes in this environment on the local consulting engineering industry. The importance and principles of strategic planning and strategic management are discussed, with specific reference to the nature of environmental scanning. The use of management information systems in the business environment is reviewed with specific emphasis on the application of management information systems in consulting engineering enterprises. The quantitative secondary data collected in the literature survey was used as a benchmark or reference databank to calibrate and/ or evaluate the accuracy of the information collected through ten regular industry surveys that were conducted to collect statistically representative primary data. The secondary and primary data were used to construct a number of time series for each of three key indicators of the health of the South African consulting engineering industry, namely employment, salaries and fee income. The SMIS developed, consists of: • A system to identify new key issues in the business environment and to decide on issues that no longer require further monitoring, • a system of industry surveys at fixed intervals, using both quantitative and qualitative survey techniques, • a system to capture and interpret survey data, • updating time series for key business indicators with latest survey data, and • producing reports on the state of the industry, including limited short term forecasts for business conditions. The SMIS has proved itself useful and provides information to assist strategic management in the South African consulting engineering industry, especially in decision situations regarding large strategic management issues. The system also manages to address the needs of other current and potential users of the system, such as operational managers, industry lobbyists, media liaison and public relations managers, human resources managers, construction contractors etc. The SMIS furthermore complies with all the specific criteria that were set at the commencement of this study, such as confidential handling of source data, affordability and sustainability and, by improving general understanding of the business of consulting engineering in South Africa, contributes to the previously existing knowledge base.
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- Authors: Marshall, Thomas
- Date: 2009-01-22T05:37:11Z
- Subjects: Engineering firms , Management information systems , Strategic planning
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14815 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1940
- Description: D.Ing. , This study documents the process whereby a practical and relevant industry-wide strategic management information system (SMIS) was developed for the South African consulting engineering industry. The SMIS was designed to provide South African consulting engineers with an improved understanding of the business environment in which they operate and to provide some advance warning of new trends in order to extend the strategic planning horizons of management and owners of consulting engineering firms. This was done against a background of very limited availability of current industry statistics. A literature survey of available historical or secondary data relating to the South African consulting engineering, building and construction industries was conducted in order to determine the relevance and usefulness of such data for the purposes of developing the SMIS. This survey provided background information on the consulting engineering industry, relevant aspects of the South African business environment and the impact of changes in this environment on the local consulting engineering industry. The importance and principles of strategic planning and strategic management are discussed, with specific reference to the nature of environmental scanning. The use of management information systems in the business environment is reviewed with specific emphasis on the application of management information systems in consulting engineering enterprises. The quantitative secondary data collected in the literature survey was used as a benchmark or reference databank to calibrate and/ or evaluate the accuracy of the information collected through ten regular industry surveys that were conducted to collect statistically representative primary data. The secondary and primary data were used to construct a number of time series for each of three key indicators of the health of the South African consulting engineering industry, namely employment, salaries and fee income. The SMIS developed, consists of: • A system to identify new key issues in the business environment and to decide on issues that no longer require further monitoring, • a system of industry surveys at fixed intervals, using both quantitative and qualitative survey techniques, • a system to capture and interpret survey data, • updating time series for key business indicators with latest survey data, and • producing reports on the state of the industry, including limited short term forecasts for business conditions. The SMIS has proved itself useful and provides information to assist strategic management in the South African consulting engineering industry, especially in decision situations regarding large strategic management issues. The system also manages to address the needs of other current and potential users of the system, such as operational managers, industry lobbyists, media liaison and public relations managers, human resources managers, construction contractors etc. The SMIS furthermore complies with all the specific criteria that were set at the commencement of this study, such as confidential handling of source data, affordability and sustainability and, by improving general understanding of the business of consulting engineering in South Africa, contributes to the previously existing knowledge base.
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