Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology [Hardcover]

Thomas H. Davenport (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992

The business environment of the 1990s demands significant changes in the way we do business. Simply formulating strategy is no longer sufficient; we must also design the processes to implement it effectively. The key to change is process innovation, a revolutionary new approach that fuses information technology and human resource management to improve business performance. The cornerstone to process innovation's dramatic results is information technology--a largely untapped resource, but a crucial "enabler" of process innovation. In turn, only a challenge like process innovation affords maximum use of information technology's potential. Davenport provides numerous examples of firms that have succeeded or failed in combining business change and technology initiatives. He also highlights the roles of new organizational structures and human resource programs in developing process innovation. Process innovation is quickly becoming the byword for industries ready to pull their companies out of modest growth patterns and compete effectively in the world marketplace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rich study of the strategic and operational dimensions of this important business phenomenon."--Sloan Management Review -- r

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875843662
• ISBN-13: 978-0875843667
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Davenport is the President's Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College. He has led research centers at Accenture, McKinsey and Company, Ernst & Young, and CSC Index, and has taught at Harvard Business School, Dartmouth's Tuck School, the University of Texas, and the University of Chicago. He is a widely published author and speaker on the topics of analytics, information and knowledge management, reengineering, enterprise systems, and electronic business. Tom's latest book--coauthored with Jeanne Harris--is Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning, a best-seller that has been translated into 13 languages. Prior to this, Tom wrote, co-authored or edited twelve other books, including the first books on business process reengineering, knowledge management, attention management, and enterprise systems. He has written over 100 articles for such publications as Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, California Management Review, the Financial Times, and many other publications, and has been a columnist for Information Week, CIO, and Darwin magazines. In 2003 he was named one of the world's top 25 consultants by Consulting magazine, and in 2007 and 8 was named one of the 100 most influential people in the IT industry by Ziff-Davis magazines. His blog for Harvard Business Online is http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/davenport/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A roadmap for process innovation and improvement, June 13, 2000

By 

Ken Leung - See all my reviews

This review is from: Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (Hardcover)

Davenport presents a practical roadmap for process improvement and process innovation which I have found very useful as a practitioner. Although not prescriptive, the text provides practitioners with useful very insights which can form the basis of an organisation's business process innovation/improvement methodology.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book on Process Improvement, October 7, 2005

By 

Derrik Mantel (Maplewood, MN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (Hardcover)

Thank You to Tom Davenport.

This is a wise author who wrote a great book in the early 90's. It was eclipsed a bit by Hammer and Champy's "reengineering the corporation." It has never been given the press it rightfully deserves. I read this book in 1997 and have found it to be useful over and over again. This is a book of important business insights regarding process improvement through technology. Keep in mind that the book was written prior to the internet becoming mainstream. This author saw the future and wrote about it before it happened on a wide scale.

Any business person can draw from the wealth of knowledge in this book.

The book is a must read for business analysts, managers, and project leaders in the Information Technology field.

This book, Hammer and Champy's book, Books by H James Harrington, and some of the newer Six Sigma books can form a great curriculum for those professionals undertaking process improvement initiatives in their companies.

Change is constant. When will process improvements cease to be needed? This book looks at the dynamics of process innovation/change and how it pervades organizations.

In economic downtimes, innovation can spur growth. Leaders in companies can improve their competitive advantage through process innovations and benefit from the efficiencies and savings gained through process improvements.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, March 29, 2000

By 

"swamysk" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (Paperback)

This is a well-written book on the subject of process or business reengineering. It is written in a non-technical language, wastes few words, and covers the entire spectrum of topics that are essential to a successful reengineering effort. The discussions place a significant emphasis on the role that information or computer technology play today in the reengineering effort, particularly how this technology can facilitate the overall effort. I found the book largely sticking to the overall thread however at times it did become a wee bit academic to flip through the sections. All in all, a very good read.