Knowledge Bank A to E
A
ABC/Pareto analysis – Pareto analysis (sometimes referred to as the 80/20 rule and as ABC analysis) is a method of classifying items, events, or activities according to their relative importance. It is frequently used in inventory management.
Analytics – Analytics is the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data and applying those patterns towards effective decision making in order to improve performance and productivity.
Analytical Estimating – Analytical estimating is a work measurement technique. A task is broken down into basic component operations or elements. If standard times are available from another source, these are applied to elements.
Annualised Hours – Working/shift patterns take a number of forms. These depend on the nature of the industry, the organisation, the local job market – and, of course, the demand for the product/service.
Applicant Tracking – An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) aims to make the recruitment and selection process more productive. The process starts with preparing a job description and/or employee specification. This is handled within an ATS by the use of standard templates to impose an organisational discipline on the creation of such documents.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can boost productivity. For centuries, the most successful organizations increased productivity with technological innovation driven in large part by automating processes. The next great advancement in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), is here and it has the potential of radically boosting productivity by introducing the next level of automation.
B
B2B exchanges – Developments in e-commerce are following the traditional development pattern for new technologies. The initial phase sees the ‘missionaries’ raising the concept of a new product or service to meet a clear business need. Assuming these missionaries do their job well, someone will back their vision and deliver an early version of the product or the service.
Balanced Scorecard – The Balanced Scorecard is a conceptual framework for translating an organisation’s vision and mission into a set of performance indicators set around four perspectives.
Benchmarking – Benchmarking is the process of determining, for a given area of activity, which organisations are ‘the best’ – those who set the standards for performance and quality, and what those standards are.
BizTalk – eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is the grown-up brother of HTML, the language used to create most of today’s web pages. XML is the new, open standard and will find its way into most new web developments, offering higher levels of functionality, better control over layout and more flexibility.
Build-to-Order – Build-to-Order (BTO) is the process of delivering goods or services to the customer according to an individual’s desired (and precise) specification and within a short delivery lead time.
Business Process Outsourcing – As the economic downturn continues, outsourcing remains one of the growth areas in the IT services and solutions sector.
Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) – The concept of BPR has been around since about 1990 (its ‘bible’ is the 1993 book Re-engineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, by Michael Hammer and James Champy). However, it is often misrepresented; as a short cut to downsizing, as a new quality methodology or as a lever to new computing systems.
Business/Corporate Performance Measurement – Understanding the financial position without paying any attention to other performance areas results in a blinkered view. The more modern approaches, as well as aiming for a set of balanced measures, may also try to offer a measure of potential, of future as well as current performance.
C
Communication – Effective communication is pivotal in increasing productivity because it directly influences the behaviour of the staff and the way they perform. Efficient communication should always include clear instructions, speedy message delivery, and full explanation, if it is to play a key role in managers communicating with employees. The use of effective communication can play a key role in getting things done which ultimately increases the organisations productivity
Continuous Improvement – Continuous improvement is not a tool or technique as such; more a way of life or at least a cultural approach to quality improvement and the concept of continuous improvement has to be set in the context of the quality “movement”.
Corporate Social Responsibility – Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept which embraces the challenge as organisations seek to combine good business practice with a concern for the environment, social, and ethical issues.
E
eBilling – eBilling or electronic bill presentment and payment is part of the growing world of ecommerce Many organisations, especially the utilities, spend vast sums of money issuing bills and statements, and then in the collection of the due monies.
EFQM/Business Excellence Model – The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) created an overarching framework that can be used to assess an organisation’s achievement of business excellence. In the UK the British Quality Foundation promotes the model, now often referred to as the Business Excellence Model.
E-learning – E-Learning is conducted via electronic media, typically on the internet. ‘Successful’ e-learning depends on the self-motivation of individuals to study effectively
Enterprise Application Integration – It seems that a new generation of enterprise application integration (EAI) tools is moving us nearer to a true ‘plug-and-play’ systems approach offering the speed and flexibility especially necessary for success in the e-world.
Employee Value Proposition – What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)? In short, an EVP encompasses everything an employer is doing to attract and retain employees. It includes all of the pay, benefits, rewards, and perks that come with being an employee of that organization. Basically, it’s the reason why an employee would want to work there as opposed to finding employment somewhere else
e-Procurement – e-Procurement uses the Internet and the Web in particular to replace traditional purchasing processes with online ones. As now often implemented, it’s a little bit more than that…