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Broaden financial accounting to provide professional records management

December 3rd, 2009

20th century accounting does not keep complete or accurate financial records on the business

Today's enterprise faces many obstacles to professional record capital management because of several 20th century management problems. Financial accounting is often seen as enterprise records management, but maintains a professional view of what it will record, and acts as an administrative function. Financial accounting records some financial data against a chart of accounts laid over the business. Financial accounting does not keep complete and accurate financial and non-financial records of the actual business. Most actual business data is not captured in financial, statistical, or cost accounts or other enterprise records today. Most other enterprise records are not maintained as information capital to be available to provide needed management information solutions. Problems with intangible assets, unknown value creation, unknown costs, unknown capital worth, inaccurate business net worth, etc have never been solved. Records management is a growing problem in today's enterprise requiring a comprehensive professional records management solution.

21st century business management maintains complete and accurate financial and non-financial records of the actual business

Business data and record transactions are captured against one business structure to integrate organization, planning, directing, control, and reporting. Structures laid over the business and irrelevant bases of data collected against the structures are removed. Management information includes result value, performance costs, result value-added in excess of costs, capital worth, and capital investment returns that are "unknown" today. Tangible information capital is maintained as facility records to record all financial and non-financial business transactions and activity in computer records, documents, images, archives, etc. Accounting continues independently but can be incorporated as one sub-set of professional records management.

Business management provides an opportunity for accounting to broaden to professional records management

Managing the actual business provides a unique opportunity for the accounting profession to expand to professional records management and eliminate unsolvable accounting and financial management problems. Professional facility records management maintains financial and non-financial facility records of the actual business, and provides information capital solutions from records, where needed to produce results at all levels of business management. [more...]

Utilize one consistent, complete, and accurate Business Information Base

November 26th, 2009

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...]

Rule No. 1: Organize and Manage the Business

November 19th, 2009

Rule No. 1 of the 10 rules of 21st century business management: Organize and manage the business

The conventional definition of the enterprise business is the activity of providing goods and services. The 20th century enterprise has never organized or managed the activity of providing goods and services, but, instead, lays rigid enterprise organization and management structures over the business. Business change conflicts with the rigid structures, creating unsolvable problems that can only be eliminated by organizing the business for 21st century business management.

Eliminate unsolvable problems by organizing and managing one integrated business structure

The business must be organized as one structure to integrate enterprise business organization and management. Business activity is organized as capital solutions utilized in performance. Goods and services are organized as the results produced by business activity. Business results and capital solutions are organized together into a business structure. The business is organized by deploying specific capital solutions to performance domains to utilize in performance to produce specific results. The one integrated business structure is utilized for all 21st century management planning, directing, control, and reporting to leave 20th century organization and management problems behind. [more...]

The new Corporation, Industry, Financial, Market, and Economy Structure the World needs; the Business

November 9th, 2009

Governments and corporations are looking for a unifying structure for best business market, financial, and economic management

Over the past year, governments have been meeting to construct an international response to the economic crisis. They discussed new best business management practices to solve problems that caused the crisis, and new structures for the financial system and economic management to prevent future crises. Again, as always in the past, they failed to comprehend and address the unsolvable 20th century enterprise management problems that cause the crisis. Governments add new practices and regulations on top of existing dead-end 20th century enterprise structures, and claim to have solved the problem.

In order to make real progress, those involved must set current structures aside and take a completely new look at what comprises a business and how businesses relate to industries, markets, financial systems, and economies.

Business management is the only solution available to eliminate unsolvable problems that caused the crisis

The actual business is “investments in capital as solutions of worth utilized for cost and effectiveness of performance to produce value and quality in results”. 20th century enterprise management structures are replaced by one business structure to eliminate unsolvable problems in unknown capital solution investments in the business, unknown economic output results produced in chains across the business, unknown value of results from the business, unknown costs of performance to produce results, unknown value-added to manage the complete business, unknown performance effectiveness to manage result quality, unknown returns on capital investments from the added value to results, unknown capital worth in future output and disposal result value, and on and on. Business management captures actual business data to manage all corporations, financial institutions, and other enterprises properly and to report on the actual business to regulators.

The business is the only unifying structure to integrate corporation, market, industry, financial, and economic management to prevent future crises

Business management builds up from the business structure to consolidate actual business in structures by corporation, industry, or economic area or sector to consolidate actual business data. Data can be consolidated by market for business input and output results and capital solution utilization. Industries, such as the financial industry, can be managed for the value and quality of results and the utilization of financial and other capital solutions. Economies and markets can be clearly viewed and managed to identify and plan for cycles, to anticipate and plan for surpluses and shortages, to manage interest rates and monetary supply, to plan and manage trade, and take other actions that are prevented by obsolete 20th century enterprise management today. [more...]

Manage Capital Qualifications and Performance Effectiveness for Quality Results

October 26th, 2009

Performance quality is managed today through structures laid over the business

Business process management teaches us to manage "performance quality". Other methods like six sigma lay structures over the business to capture and manage statistics related to quality. Quality is related to the process followed and the actions executed.

Quality is an attribute of the result for each result in a chain

Quality is not an attribute of performance. There is no such thing as performance quality. Quality is an attribute of the output result produced by business performance. Business management replaces business processes with result value-quality chains. Quality is managed for each result in the chain to produce quality in the final result. The business process contains only the business and information system processing solutions utilized to produce each result, result by result, along the chain.

Business management manages capital qualifications and performance effectiveness to produce quality in each result

Each solution implemented to produce a result, must first be qualified to produce a quality result. Solutions are then utilized in performance to produce the result quality. Performance effectiveness is the proper utilization and application of the solution qualifications to produce the planned quality of result. A defective result can be produced by a defective input result, a poorly qualified solution, or lack of performance effectiveness to properly apply solution qualifications to produce a result. All of this is planned, measured, and managed to ensure result quality along a result chain leading to a customer result that has the quality expected by the customer for the money paid that sets the perceived value of the result. [more...]

Rule No. 7: Manage all capital investments to gain a planned return

October 8th, 2009

20th century management cannot manage investments, development, or returns

20th century enterprise management develops capital as a tangible asset or project outcome. The specific capital items to be developed and the specific business improvements to be made are not defined or managed. So, it is impossible to plan and manage capital development to provide a measured return on investment.

Rule No. 7 of 21st century business management: Manage all capital investments to gain a planned return

The investment management problem is solved by rule no 7 of 21st century business management. All capital investments must manage the results to be produced by the investment as well as the capital needed as specific capital solutions. The increase in value in new and improved results and the development cost of specific capital solutions must be planned to justify the investment. Development project results are managed to implement solutions to create value and added result value is measured in operations know the return on investment.

Plan and develop both the results and capital solutions needed in results-driven capital development.

21st century business management replaces capital development with results-driven capital development to actually plan and manage capital investments and development for a measured return on investment. The return on investment is provided by the value created in results produced to date attributed to each capital solution utilized. [more...]

Rule No 10: Employ 21st Century Business Management Conventions and Standards

September 17th, 2009

Conventions, definitions, and standards used in 20th century enterprise management are inconsistent and confusing

20th century enterprise management does not organize the natural business or apply common-sense management, as we do in our personal business. Arbitrary contrived structures are laid over the business. Each structure has its own set of conventions, definitions, and standards. Added together this produces an inconsistent hodge-podge of conventions, definitions, and standards that are applied separately for organization, planning, processes and systems, accounting, administration, IT architectures, performance management, reporting, and other parts of enterprise management.

Rule No 10 of 21st century business management: Employ 21st century business management conventions and standards

The 21st century business must avoid the problems inherent in 20th century enterprise management. This is done by organizing the business for 21st century management. 21st century business management uses one set of conventions, definitions, and standards that are applied to the actual business and used for all management organization, planning, directing, control, and reporting. Common conventions, definitions, and standards enable business collaboration and education, solutions, and services that can be applied to any business.

One consistent set of conventions, definitions, and standards define 21st century business management

21st century business management is guided by Result-performance Management (R-pM) knowledge and procedures. 21st century business management conventions, definitions, and standards are defined, updated, and maintained in the R-pM Business Management Toolkit to support the organization and management of any business. The conventions, definitions, and standards can be followed by any education institution, solution developer, or service provider to meet the needs of any 21st century business. [more...]

Structure Capital Investments for Capital Management

August 27th, 2009

Capital investments must be organized as solutions to be implemented and utilized as part of the business

Many articles discuss how business results and capital solutions must be organized together in a business structure, to organize the business as “investments in capital as solutions of worth utilized for costs and effectiveness of performance to produce value and quality in results”. Capital solutions are organized into a capital structure by category in the human capability needed to develop and support specific solutions and by class in the business utilization of solutions to be ready to produce output results, to produce specific output results, and to have the information to produce and document results.

Capital management manages capital solution acquisition, development, implementation, and support

Capital management is fundamental to acquire, develop, and support capital utilized to produce results, and performance management is fundamental to implementing and maintaining cost-effective solutions to produce value-quality results. Organized and managed capital is required to eliminate intangible assets, unknown costs, underutilized capital, business complexity, unknown capital worth or asset value, and other unsolvable problems. Organized and managed capital is required to establish value chains, develop capital for precise business needs, respond quickly to add or delete business results, optimize operations, have skills and responsibilities for capital development, measure the precise return on capital investments, and gain other benefits prevented by the unorganized and unmanaged capital used today. [more...]

Abolish excessive Information Technology overheads

August 3rd, 2009

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 21st 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 20th 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 21st century business capital management, replacing the IT organization and eliminating excessive IT costs. [more...]

There are only two alternatives to manage the business enterprise

July 23rd, 2009

The business enterprise can be managed or the enterprise business can be managed

20th century management utilized by enterprises today organizes and manages the enterprise by laying organization and management structures over the business. The enterprise business is not defined or organized and actual business information is not provided for management.

The alternative is to organize the actual enterprise business for 21st century business management. One simplified business structure is used for all current and strategic business organization, planning, direction, control, and reporting. Actual business data is captured and actual business information is used for management.

20th century management is a dead-end that can never solve existing or future management problems

The structures laid over the business conflict with the business creating unsolvable problems with reorganizations, change management, business alignment, unknown costs and value, unknown worth and investment returns, and on and on. The problems are compounded by the expanding use of information technology to manage overlaid structures rather than the business. New IT architectures and resources are added, but can never solve the problems and just add more unsolvable problems.

The only future alternative is to organize the business for 21st century business management

The only solution is to organize and manage the actual current and strategic business. One set of business data entities are managed and reported. All information in the business is referenced to the business in one Business Information Base. Current systems are organized as business solutions, as appropriate, and unneeded systems and structures are abolished. The business is organized to leverage IT for direct business management, flexible change, and rapid growth. The business is no longer burdened by unsolvable problems and customer value and quality is managed directly. [more...]