Archive for the 'Top Ten 20th Century Problems' forum

20^th century enterprise management problems are caused by rigid structures laid over the business

The generally accepted “business enterprise” definition is the activity of providing goods and services. The failure of 20^th century management to organize and manage the business enterprise in the activity of providing goods and services creates unsolvable management, business, and performance problems.

The fatal error of 20^th century management, employed by all companies, corporations, and other enterprises today, is laying a rigid enterprise organization structure over the business, rather than organizing the business. Since the business is not organized, the business cannot be managed. Therefore, rigid enterprise management structures for planning, processes, systems, financial and cost accounts, quality, administration, performance, reporting, etc must be contrived and laid over the business. Structures laid over the business conflict with the actual business, restrict business flexibility, move out of “alignment” as the business changes, prevent direct business data capture and management, and do not provide the direct management information needed to manage the business.

20^th century enterprise management improvements can never solve unsolvable problems

We continue to teach 20^th century enterprise management, contrive new 20^th century structures and “business solutions” to lay over the business, and write more 20^th century management books, but we have never solved the top ten problems of 20^th century enterprise management.

1. Reorganization: The business changes while the organization structure remains rigid, causing upheavals to lay a new rigid organization structure over the business and repeat the cycle
2. Accounting and Financial Management: Historic legacies focus on cash control and prevent professional records management and modern capital management of the actual business increasing financial risk and preventing accurate business management information
3. Investment Analysis and Development Project Management: Investments and projects are managed separate from the business, rather than itemizing, planning, and managing the costs, benefits, and return of capital development investments, as part of the business
4. Administration: Performing functions, while leaving tangible and intangible capital utilization and improvement unmanaged
5. Performance Management: “Performance” definitions mix actions executed with the result accomplished, so business processes, performance management, and KPIs mix results and performance and manage “performance quality”
6. Business Complexity: Each organization, plan, processes, system, administration, or other structure is defined separately with different definitions creating business and information complexity and preventing business collaboration and common solutions applicable to any business
7. Information Technology: Business systems, data, information solutions, networks, and architectures are designed to process overlaid structures and managed as technology, not capital, creating costly IT infrastructures and continuing capital management problems
8. Change Management: Change management addresses the conflicts between structures laid over the business and the actual business to change structures, while the business remains undefined and unmanaged
9. Corporate Governance: Problems are addressed from the governance side to restrict and control management, rather than organizing the business to be governed by management on the corporate side
10. Alignment: Rigid overlaid structures go out of alignment as the business changes requiring continual changes to the structures to align closer to the business

These and other unsolvable 20^th century enterprise management problems are discussed, in detail, here at the Business Change Forum.

Solutions to he top 10 management, business, and performance problems of 20^th century enterprise management are described in a referenced article.

The top 10 problems are eliminated by 21^st century business management

20^th century enterprise management problems are unsolvable, because they can never be solved by laying new or improved structures over the business. [more...].

Reorganization is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century enterprise management

The enterprise organization structure is the fatal error of 20^th century enterprise management

Why do we have to reorganize every few years? Why not organize just once and reorganize gradually as the business changes?

There are many 20^th century business organization theories and methods. Hundreds of books have been written on how to organize the enterprise, organization development, and organization change. There are many so-called business organization methods and structures, but these structures organize the enterprise and are laid over the business. The structures do not organize the actual business, causing the unsolvable reorganization problem. If the business is not organized the business cannot be managed. Additional management structures must be laid over the business to manage the enterprise. This is why the enterprise organization structure is the fatal error of 20^th century enterprise management.

Organizes the business for one business organization structure used for all business management

The business enterprise is defined commonly as “the activity of providing goods and services“. [more...]

Accounting is part of one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century enterprise management

A chart of accounts is laid over the business, rather than recording the actual business

20^th century management historically has separated cash from other capital to be managed in financial management and to be accrued and recorded through accounting. The need for the separation has decreased due to technology and advanced solutions. Technology has also led to high-worth information and intellectual capital that needs to be accounted for and managed. But the separate focus on cash tends to prevent other capital of worth from being managed professionally. Capital and cash transactions that are recorded are recorded against a contrived chart of accounts, rather than accurately recording the complete financial status of the actual business.

Establish facility records capital to professionally record the actual business

The business organizes all capital, including currently undefined capital and “intangible assets”. The business manages accounts and other records of the business as facility records capital and provides capital solutions from records as information capital. Facility records are the tangible information capital of the enterprise. Facility records go beyond the limitations of accounting to record:

• Financial records for the full business cycle, including fundamental business data on performance costs, result value, and capital worth
• Non-financial records for statistical, documentation, images, and other records

Business management broadens 20^th century accounting to professional records management to keep records on the actual business and to make records solutions available to produce high-value results.

The Accounting Problem

Accounting does not record the actual business

Due to 20^th century management problem number one, the business is not organized. [more...]

Financial Management is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century management

Financial Management manages money separate from other tangible assets

The early 20^th century enterprise was concerned about managing and protecting cash. Financial management fundamentals were established to manage actual and accrued cash from the point received until the point that it is invested or spent. Financial management problems such as unknown capital worth, unknown costs, unknown value creation, and unknown return on capital investments have never been solved by traditional financial management. Financial management tends to be equated with capital management. This allows non-financial capital to be administered, rather than managed, or to be labeled as “intangible assets” and not accounted for or managed. Today, financial capital is managed largely by computers. Non-financial capital and intangible assets are an increasing percentage of enterprise worth and must be managed properly.

Financial capital must be managed with other tangible facility capital to create value in results

Financial capital must be managed as part of the business and not administered separate form the business. 21st business management utilizes financial management capabilities to manage all tangible facility assets. Financial assets and facilities are a sub-set of reusable facility equipment capital, cash is a sub-set of consumable facility supply capital, and accounts are sub-set of facility records capital.

All facility capital requires similar application of expertise to operate and maintain, to supply, and to record. In a managed business, all facility capital is supported for operation and development and for utilization to produce value in results.

The business also integrates financial parts of other results that have been separated out. Management strategy capital includes financial strategies as an integral part of management strategy solutions. Investment management results manage shareholder funds for investment, capital development, and shareholder value results.

The Financial Management Problem

20^th century financial management gives us intangible assets, unknown costs, unknown value, and unknown worth

Now, as we go into the 21^st century, there is a growing need to go beyond financial management fundamentals and change the way enterprise capital is managed: [more...]

Investment Analysis is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century enterprise management

20^th century investment analysis cannot plan the actual return on investments

How does your company analyze strategic investments in capital development? Does your company perform a cost-benefit analysis? Are all the specific investments needed for business success planned? Are the costs of the investment analyzed, itemized, and scheduled? Are the benefits of the investment analyzed, itemized, and scheduled? Is the value to be added to the business planned and set up as goals to menage the return on investment?

For the most part, 20^th century investment management cannot itemize the costs or benefits of investment, particularly investments in management improvement and business change. Costs are project expenditures rather than investments in specifically-identified capital items. Benefits are usually estimates of increases in revenues or reductions in costs.

Identify and value results needed to justify investments and set result goals to manage the return on all investments

21^st century business management manages the economic outputs of the business as specific results and manages the invested capital utilized to produce results as specific capital solutions. [more...]

Capital Development Project Management is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century enterprise management

20^th century enterprise management cannot plan, manage, or repay capital development projects

Capital development projects for internal management or business improvement today tend to be ad-hoc and conducted separate from the business. We have unsolvable problems in 20^th century capital development project planning, management, and return on the project investment, so we cannot:

• Plan and manage operations and development as an integrated continuum that is part of the business
• Itemize, plan, and achieve specific benefits from development projects
• Clearly and systemically understand what we must be implementing from projects as part of the business for ongoing management and return on investment
• Scope the project as part of the enterprise business to define specific results to add or improve and specific capital solutions to acquire, develop, or improve
• Plan the output results to be produced from the project in specific capital items to be implemented and utilized by the business
• Utilize users and administrative staff in proper roles in the project
• Utilize contractors and consultants as solutions in an enterprise-managed project
• Document and record the project so that all capital developed is fully documented and that knowledge required for use is created
• Manage the capital to be consumed and utilized in the project
• Manage the capital development project as a subsidiary business
• Record accurate development costs by capital item developed
• Implement project results as capital items for direct utilization by the business
• Measure the actual return of capital development investments overall and by capital solution utilized

The unsolvable 20^th century enterprise management problems hamper project management, particularly for enterprise internal capital development and management improvement.

Manage results to drive capital development and gain the return in result value created

Business management provides new breakthroughs for planning and managing enterprise capital development and planning and managing the capital development project.

Capital development develops two things:

• The capital to be utilized as solutions that incur costs
• The results to be produced by the developed capital to provide benefit and return

When we plan and manage a capital development project, we must plan and manage two things:

• The results to be produced by project performance
• The capital to be consumed and performance solutions to be utilized to perform the project

Business management utilizes Result-performance-Management knowledge and procedures to do both. [more...]

Administration is one of the top ten problems of 20^th century management

20^th century enterprise management includes wasteful and counterproductive administrative functions

20^th century administration performs a function involving fixed routine tasks. Responsibility is for the function or the process of administering, rather than producing results. Administration is responsible for managing enterprise capital, but few administrators recognize this responsibility, in effect preventing proper capital management. Much capital is assigned to centers or labeled as “intangible assets”, removing it from professional management. Other capital is loosely administered through functions, instead of being specifically managed to produce benefit and achieve a return on the enterprise investment. The emphasis is on administrative performance rather than capital result management.

The solution is to replace administration with professional capital management

All enterprises invest large sums in the business to acquire or develop capital solutions. All enterprise capital investments must be organized for professional 21^st century business management for operation, support, development, and utilization to produce results. Administration is replaced with capital management. Capital managers must produce capital management results to develop, maintain, and improve the worth of capital to provide specific solutions. [more...]

Performance Management is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century management!

The definition of performance and performance management is a fundamental 20^th century enterprise management problem

Since the 15^th century, performance has been defined as both the capital utilized in action executed and the results accomplished. The definition prevents management of results separate from performance and restricts enterprise management to one confused performance dimension. Performance management is a big part of 20^th century management, with a variety of structures like processes, dashboards, and scorecards laid over the business. Key performance indicators (KPI) mix result volumes, capital utilized, and performance levels. Business process re-engineering focuses on business process management and performance quality to produce a process output. Many performance and productivity methods and consultants redefine costs out of the process and into other capital utilized in the business.

Separate results and capital from performance to enable 21^st century business management

The performance management problem is eliminated by separating results and capital solutions from performance to organize the enterprise business in results produced, capital solutioins utilized, and the performance of a solution to produce a result. The enterprise business changes each time management decides to produce a new result, close a finished result, or utilize a different capital solution. Capital management acquires, develops, improves, and supports capital solution investments that have the potential and are qualified to produce results. [more...]

Business Complexity is one of the top ten problems of 20^th century enterprise management!

Business complexity is the opposite of business simplicity. The business is simplified by organizing and managing the business.

Business complexity is caused by structures laid over the business and different information in each structure

Instead of organizing and managing the actual business, today’s enterprises lay organization, planning, directing, control, and reporting structures over the business. These rigid structures conflict with each other and the actual changing business creating the business complexity problem. Each structure defines the enterprise differently using inconsistently-defined entities and various information systems, producing the information complexity problem. Different structures used by different enterprises prevent business collaboration and integration.

Result-performance Management (R-pM) provides the knowledge to organize and manage one business structure

Result-performance Management (R-pM) provides the concepts and procedures for 21^st century business management to organize one business structure for all planning, directing, control, and reporting. Existing capital is organized as part of the business and overlaid structures are left behind. The business structure produces one set of complete, accurate, and consistently-defined business management information, including actual business information on result value, capital worth, performance costs, and result investment returns that are unknown today.< [more...]

Information Technology is one of the top 10 problems of 20^th century management!

Information Technology incorporates a wide variety of unsolvable problems

Information Technology (IT) employed today has many inherent problems that many expensive solutions have never been able to solve:

• Information technology is managed as technology, rather than as capital preventing integration with the business
• Information technology employs large monolithic information systems that are laid over the business, instead of information processing solutions that are utilized by the business
• Information Technology defines different architectures to define and align the business, systems, hardware and networks, and data and information, rather than integrating each with the business
• Different categories of information capital are mixed in many systems using different entity names and definitions producing information complexity and preventing proper information capital management
• Since the business is not organized, information systems manage information related to structures laid over the business and do not capture, process, or report actual business data or report actual business management information
• Information Technology is difficult to manage because it mixes business, facility, and management capital that require diverse management and operating capabilities
• It is difficult to manage return on IT investments since the investments are lumped together and do not produce direct measured business improvements
• Information Technology has grown into a large expensive empire that involves much unnecessary processing, extensive overheads, and unsolvable problems

These problems can never be solved with 20^th century management that tries to improve the enterprise by laying new or improved structures over the business.

Information Technology problems disappear when organizing the business for 21^st century business management

The only way to eliminate the Information Technology problems is by organizing the business with to enable 21^st century business management. Information technology must be integrated in the business as capital defined as specific solutions utilized to produce specific business results. Business management enables the following measures to eliminate the unsolvable Information Technology problem:

• The actual business is organized as specific capital solutions, including IT solutions, utilized in performance to produce specific business results
• Information system solutions are defined and integrated with the business process as modules to produce a specific result or a chain of results
• Information systems focus on managing actual business data in result value and quality, performance cost and effectiveness, capital worth, and return on capital investments that is not processed today
• Information Technology is defined and organized as capital, with other capital of the same category, for proper capital management by those with the professional capability
• Information capital is defined and managed as business data, human knowledge, facility records, and management intelligence to produce information solutions needed by the business
• Enterprise information is integrated by capital solution utilized, result produced, supplier, customer, time period, business transaction, etc in an enterprise Business Information Base for one set of complete and accurate business information
• Information systems and processing devoted to managing arbitrary structures laid over the business and special systems to address problems in data reconciliation, information integration and extraction, and management reporting are discontinued, if not directly needed by the business
• New information system implementation integrates business and information processing with other capital solutions to produce specific output results needed by the business
• The business is organized for a new generation of 21^st century business management systems and business-information process modules, to process the actual business result by result, and provide one set of consistently-defined management information

Managing information technology as capital utilized by the actual business eliminates the unsolvable IT problems in business alignment, information complexity, data reconciliation, unknown costs and value, unknown capital worth and returns, CIO and IT management capabilities, data integration and control, and on and on.

The Information Technology Problem

Enterprise information systems include a wide variety of systems that are laid over the business

Since the business is not organized, different management structures must by laid over the business to manage the enterprise. [more...]