Business information is inconsistent, incomplete, and inaccurate in today's enterprise

Enterprises have much to gain by properly organizing and leveraging information to provide value. Information is not managed properly for support and utilization in today’s enterprise. The business is not organized and managed to capture information produced directly by the business and to apply information directly to the business. The categories of information are not supported as information capital to produce business results. There are no precisely-defined data entities to integrate information from the various systems into a business information base for consistent management information. Most direct business data is never captured, management information is reported in conflicting and inaccurate sets, and actual business management information remains unknown.

The information complexity and accuracy problems are addressed by additional information technology investments

Each management structure and information system defines the enterprise differently producing the information complexity and accuracy problem. Large information technology investments for data reconciliation, enterprise information management, IT architectures, specialized knowledge and records management, etc produce excessive enterprise overheads and never solve the problems.

The managed business integrates actual data, knowledge, records, and intelligence in one Business Information Base

The only solution is to manage the business directly to capture actual business data and produce information capital solutions needed to manage the business directly. Business management provides the proper support for information capital to provide information solutions, to utilize solutions to capture data and apply information directly for the business, and to integrate information on the business in one consistent and accurate Business Information Base for transparent management and good corporate governance. [more...]

Business processes and information systems laid over the business today prevent management of costs, value, and quality

20^th century management lays monolithic business processes and information systems over the business to manage business performance. Results produced by the business are defined as performance and are not specifically identified and managed as a set or chain leading to final results that go to the customer. This prevents to business from managing the cost of producing a result, the result value, the result quality, and the result value added. Much time and money is wasted trying to reconcile ill-defined processes and systems for business collaboration, since result chains cannot be organized or managed.

Rule No. 2 of the 10 rules of 21^st century business management: Generate profits from a chain of managed value and quality

21^st century business management organizes the capital investments available to be utilized in business performance, performance producing each result, and business output results as value-quality chains. This allows capital solutions to be utilized in cost-effective performance to produce value-quality results leading to high-value and high-quality customer results.

Customer results are outputs from managed result value-quality chains

Business management redefines business processes and information systems as process solutions by the results produced and manages each result in the result value-quality chain starting from input results from the supplier, result value added along the enterprise result chain, and the final result to the customer. Result value-added is managed across the chain to contribute directly to the profit result. The business can integrate and manage the chain to help suppliers meet enterprise input needs and to add more value by meeting customer needs. [more...]

Today, data is collected and information is reported against structures laid over the business

Today, companies and other enterprises collected data against organization, account, activity, process, information system, and other structures laid over every business. Enormous amounts of data is collected against the overlaid structures, but actual business data is never captured and actual business management information is never reported. Enterprise and corporation management is hampered by the overload of conflicting information on enterprise structures and the lack of management information on the actual business.

Business management captures actual business data and reports actual business management information

Business management captures one set of complete, consistent, and accurate data against the actual business structure and reports one set of relevant, complete, and accurate management information. Actual business information is reported at the enterprise business level and consolidated in the corporation business structure at the corporate level. Government business reporting requirements can consolidate consistently defined enterprise business data in government business structures by industry, economic sector, market, or economy.

Management has the complete and accurate information to manage and optimize the business and new investments in the business

Management has information that is not available today to manage the actual business. Capital investments are managed to provide the planned and measured return and to manage the ongoing worth of capital solutions utilization and eventual sale or disposal. This includes the "asset value" of capital investments in securities and other instruments to produce income, dividend, and growth results. Business operations are managed as result value-quality chains to manage result value-added across the business to produce profit and shareholder value results. Management has one set of management information needed for business organization, planning, direction, control, reporting, and governance. [more...]

Information Technology is a high-cost corporate overhead today

The typical corporation spends enormous sums on Information Technology and has many complex enterprise information systems, but still does not have an information system to manage the actual business, The corporation has much capital administered as IT instead of being managed for corporate benefit, and has much information administered as technology instead of being managed to provide information solutions for business and management results.

Reduce enterprise information systems to essential business processing and management

The key to proper information system utilization and information technology management is 21^st century business management. Result-performance Management (R-pM) provides the knowledge and procedures to use IT to manage the actual business as one simplified Business Management System. System processing routines or simplified application programs are designed and managed as capital solutions integrated with the business process, where needed, to produce a specific result. Other overlaid 20^th century information systems, duplicated and irrelevant information, and the need for a large IT overheads are eliminated. All capital, including IT and information capital, is developed and supported through capital management to produce specific results.

Manage data, knowledge, records, and intelligence as information capital

The managed business manages all information as capital to produce data, knowledge, record, and intelligence solutions needed to produce specific business results. All information in the enterprise references a business data entity as part of one integrated Business Information Base. Information technology capital, support, and capabilities are integrated as part of normal 21^st century business capital management, replacing the IT organization and eliminating excessive IT costs. [more...]

Today's information systems do not capture and report actual business data

Today's enterprise uses a myriad of management structures and information systems creating enormous information complexity. Each structure and system defines its own set of data entities and reports separate information. Enterprise management information systems attempt to reconcile data and integrate information into meaningful reports for management. But, no system today captures actual business data and no management information system reports actual business management information.

The business must be managed to capture business data and report business management information

21^st century business management organizes the business in order to manage economic output results produced, capital investments implemented, and the utilization of capital to produce results, as complete data sets. The business is organized as one integrated business structure to capture data on the utilization of capital in specific solutions to produce economic outputs in business results. Business data is captured in an integrated Business Information Base to provide access to one complete set of comprehensive business management information.

Data is reported on all results produced, capital invested in solutions, and capital utilized to produce results

Data is captured on capital solution capacity, qualifications, worth, and return; performance capacity utilization, cost, and effectiveness; and the volume, value, and quality of results produced. Strategic results and the solutions needed are maintained in the strategic business structure with plans for time periods and updated strategic estimates. Complete and comprehensive management information is reported on the actual business for effective 21^st century business management and good corporate governance. [more...]

Many managers are interested in business management, but are concerned about the authenticity

Now with the economic crisis, 21^st century business management is gaining more recognition as the only solution to eliminate the 20^th century management problems that enabled the crisis. But, people ask how business management originated. Some people are concerned about the authenticity and viability of business management.

20^th century management problems were encountered and the need for business management was conceived piece by piece in work as a management consultant for over 30 years. I specialized in business organization, management improvement, and information system development projects with such firms as Booz Allen and Hamilton, Multinational Management, Price Waterhouse, A.T. Kearney, and Arthur D. Little.

Business management was originally developed as aids to capital solution development and management improvement projects

Business management concepts first evolved as an aid to business and information systems design and later to manage business change projects, both the project and the changes to the business as the results of the project. It became clear that the only solution to business organization and management problems was to organize and manage the business. Contrived organization and management structures laid over the business had to be eliminated.

Formal development of business management began in 2002

After retiring from active consulting, work began in 2002, to develop and document business management knowledge as Result-performance Management (R-pM) to provide the one structure to organize and manage the business. The Business Management Toolkit is now available, and continues to be developed as business management evolves. Business management is now launched for use by forward-looking enterprises that want to learn their actual business, and then organize and manage the business for breakthrough cost reductions and competitive advantages. Business management is available for use by governments as the basis for a Business Management Program, to solve the problems that caused the economic crisis and build a new architecture for corporate, industry, and economic management. [more...]

Information systems today report massive amounts of information, but no information on the actual business

Information complexity is a common outgrowth of contrived organization and management structures laid over the business. The organization structure creates entities for unit, position, job, function, manager, etc. Management structures create entities for objective, process, center, account, group, activity, responsibility, object, station, and on and on. Each generally-accepted structure uses different entities and different names and definitions for the same entity, preventing information integration and reconciliation. Although much work and many information systems are involved, no actual business data is captured and no actual business management information is reported for management use.

R-pM manages one set of consistent, complete, and accurate business management information

Result-performance Management (R-pM) utilizes modern information technology to organize the business for 21^st century management. R-pM stresses information quality to report one consistent set of information to manage the actual business. R-pM eliminates information complexity by organizing and managing the business through six information sets to define precise capital solutions utilized by the business, business performance, business results, business interactions, and business change over time. [more...]

Capital solutions are not implemented today to produce specific benefits

Your enterprise likely has implemented information systems or major capital solutions. Were the benefits or return based on a quantified list of specific benefits and not just estimates of increased sales or revenues? Did users have goals to achieve the return on the investment? Were change management problems or resistance prevented by professionally-managed implementation of human and other solutions? Was professional support for all new or changed solutions established as the routine? Was the investment planning and capital development professionally managed? Were consultants utilized to achieve the return on the investment? Was the return on investment managed and measured?

20^th century management does not enable capital management and measured return on capital investments

If you can answer yes, your enterprise is a rare exception. 20^th century management has many inherent obstacles to overcome to implement new solutions to produce managed value-added to provide an measured return. The enterprise must organize and manage the business first, in order to manage change and improvement to the business effectively. Otherwise the enterprise will continue to implement new solutions to produce old problems.

R-pM organizes the business to implement specific capital solutions to add value to business result produced

The prior article showed how to design packaged solutions that any enterprise can use. In order to produce planned business benefits and gain the return, the business must be organized and managed using Result-performance Management (R-pM). Results must be defined to plan and manage value-added by implemented solutions. Capital solutions must be organized for professional support. Specific solutions required must be integrated and utilized in performance to produce specific results. The return on investment comes from added result value-added over the payback period compared to result value-added with no improvement. [more...]

Information systems gather corporate data that is irrelevant to the business

20^th century information systems do not capture business data or provide the information needed to manage the actual business. 20^th century information systems manage organization and management structures laid over the business. Management structures are arbitrary and define inconsistent data entities. Data on hundreds entities must be recorded throughout the corporation, and then processed and managed creating information complexity and providing mountains of confusing information.

R-pM organizes the business to capture actual business data

The objective of 21^st century management is to organize and manage the business of the corporation. Result-performance Management (R-pM) directly organizes and manages the business to record actual business data and report business management information that is not available today. Timely integrated information solutions are delivered to produce specific business and management results. The business is defined by three information entities and managed through six information sets.

Business management information is used to manage the business directly

R-pM provides actual business management information on the worth and return of capital investments, utilization of capital in performance to incur costs and produce results, and results of value produced by the business. Once actual business information is provided, corporate information provided by overlaid 20^th century structures becomes irrelevant and can be abolished. 21^st century management can then concentrate on managing the business [more...]

Information is not managed as capital for support and utilization

Today’s enterprise captures information on a multitude of entities that describe structures laid over the business, but captures little information on the few entities that describe the actual business. The many enterprise information systems produce enormous amounts of information. However, little is managed as information capital to be used to operate, improve, and manage the business. Much information is managed by the wrong capabilities, such as management accounting and data management by IT. Most information just adds to the information complexity and overload problems.

The explosion in enterprise information demands new information simplification and management solutions

With emails, internet searches, file transfers, etc information is entering and leaving the enterprise at a high rate and enterprises have no way consolidate information or consistently reference information to the business. Additional structures are laid over the business to reconcile and classify information. Special information systems are needed to locate, extract, reconcile, and report information of use to management. Additional investments are being made in various document, record, report, content, etc management systems to manage information scattered around the enterprise.

This cannot solve the problem. The only way to solve the problem is the simplify and organize the business as a few specific data entities, and professionally manage all data, knowledge, records, and intelligence through reference to these few data entities.

R-pM organizes information capital for delivery and utilization by the business

Result-performance Management organizes the business to capture data and produce other information related directly to the business and to eliminate data collection and information reporting not related to the business. All information in, entering, or leaving the business is referenced to a result, performance solution, or other business entity. Management information is captured and reported on the business for decisions to add, change, or close output results or capital utilized as performance solutions

R-pM organizes information capital for professional support and development

Information capital requires specific capabilities to develop and maintain professionally. All information capital is categorized as business data, human knowledge, facility records, and management intelligence for professional maintenance of information and development of information solutions to produce business and management results [more...]