Search

Byline: Susan Duncan, Jerry Papers, Woody Franzen, and Pat Otto Vertical connections, constructed using inquiry, give students the skills to reach new heights in both their academic and local communities. [...]

Anson H. Laytner and Jordan Paper, editors. The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng: A Millennium of Adaptation and Endurance. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017. vii, 270 pp. Hardcover $105.00, ISBN 978-1-4985-5026-0. The [...]

Byline: -SLOANE CROSLEY Hot Type Take a nice long walk off a literary pier with fall's big books. First, Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan makes her maiden deep dive into [...]

Byline: -SLOANE CROSLEY Campus Dramas It's all cafeteria trays and dormitory IDs until it isn't. VANITY FAIR's Schools for Scandal (Simon & Schuster), edited by Graydon Carter, offers not just [...]

Byline: -SLOANE CROSLEY Hot Type With her fifth novel, The Burning Girl (Norton), Claire Messud forgoes clever satire for elegant sympathy. Slim but impactful, her narrative follows the diverging paths [...]

Byline: -SLOANE CROSLEY Hot Type Big things come in pairs, good things in small packages. Arundhati Roy has opened up shop for the first time in 20 years with The [...]

Byline: SLOANE CROSLEY PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK SCH�FER STAGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT 'I wanted to write a new play,' explains the playwright at the center of Paula Vogel's Indecent, 'that posed contemporary [...]

Byline: PHOTOGRAPH BY JAAP BUITENDIJK SLOANE CROSLEY Fanfair February 7, 2017 DOWNTOWN L.A. ON THE UP p. 98 HOT TYPE p. 100 HOT TRACKS: CHANCE THE RAPPER p. 102 BACK [...]

Byline: -SLOANE CROSLEY Hot Type Dead saints, gnarled roots, abandoned buildings, rusted balconies, single matches, warm skulls. Such images provide the mulch for Mariana Enréquez's slim but phenomenal Things We [...]

Byline: -A. M. HOMES Of Microbes and Men Michael Tolkin is a soothsayer, an early reader of our psychological topography, and his new book, NK3 (Atlantic Monthly Press), is either [...]

The organizational process change dynamic through a theoretical lens of business process reengineering (BPR) models to identify success factors is explored. The change vision can be effectively communicated to the people by the top management, who are responsible for making the resources available to process workers to effectively do their job.

ABSTRACT Change management is a critical issue in the current fast-paced business environment. Organizations are being bombarded with global business change, innovations in communications, and rapidly evolving information systems capabilities. [...]

Successful business process improvement (BPI) depends on top management support, customer satisfaction, cross-functional team work and a systematic means of solving problems. The way work is done has to be radically changed, but within a guiding framework that takes full account of the existing situation. There needs to be a holistic approach, comprising a systematic guide to solving problems, an environment conducive to real change and worker empowerment. Several Caterpillar businesses initiated business process simplification and improvement (BPS/I) activities in shifting focus to improving inefficient office processes. The team included a management review team (MRT), project review team (PRT), macro process teams (MPT), and micro process teams. The MRT is the governing body. PRT comprises managers familiar with the specific processes being improved: MPTs are cross-functional. Support is secured by requiring each team member to sign a BPS/I mission statement for each project and each level of the group has one member from the level below. There are five main steps. The first is for the MRT to select critical business processes. Second, processes are mapped to understand the current set of processes and problems. After the team has mapped the process, improvement can take place, usually in the Caterpillar case, with simplification by breaking down the process into smaller parts. Brainstorming is used to encourage creative input. Each option is tested. The final step is the plan to implement the new process. The biggest impetus driving BPS/I success is the people doing the work and this calls for training which encourages creativity, improved decision-making skills and sound team work. Top management needs to ensure open continuous communication with and at all levels, visibly demonstrating commitment to BPS/I as well as managing fears of job loss. Technology is now being used to look at information re-engineering. An example of a successful project (the COEG customer-orientated engine graphics project) is described. The results from the COEG re-engineering process were impressive, as were those of other BPS/I projects. Process cycle times decreased by 50%, team work building has improved, better decisions are made and process improvement is now a way of life for employees. Lessons learnt include the need for employee involvement in decision-making, a team structure to guide employees in their new roles, release time for BPS/I team members and understanding the value of people. Yet, even with a strong commitment to change, benefits may not be realized because of poorly managed implementation. The Caterpillar model can be used as a high-level blueprint to guide BPI initiatives. The difference between success and failure hinges on the organization's view of re-engineering. Re-engineering must be carefully planned, properly financed and strongly reinforced. It must be included in the strategic plan, since top management has to be seen to be fully committed to the process of re-engineering organizational change.

Ruth and George Friend created a summer retreat from a 'cookie-cutter' two-bedroom condominium on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and decorated it with their eclectic collection of antiques, primitive pieces and other treasures.

The Broadway Historic Area in Rock Island, IL, features fine older homes, built from 1885-1910. The homes are cared for and lovingly decorated by their owners. The homes of the Yapps, the Carusos, and the Braets are highlighted.

Large red barns, once a common sight in the rural Midwest, are gradually vanishing, but George and Nancy Hof have paid homage to the classic structure by converting a 1920s barn into a home in southeastern Minnesota. Details of the 16-year project are discussed.

Process reengineering involves the reconceptualization and transformation of work flows with the aid of information technology. Reengineering may fail if the management is unable to rethink work processes, insists upon a hierarchical organization structure, uses technology that is not integrated and fails to develop an information structure. A successful approach to reengineering involves gaining sponsorship within the organization, promoting cross-functionality among information systems and redesigning work processes.

As always, Trump bends the rules in his favor. In his version, rock smashes scissors and flattens paper.Three-toed SlothThe result of hard-fought negotiations: 'She'll let him hold one finger.' 'He [...]

In March 2002, the European Council in Barcelona reaffirmed its willingness to converge financial services by 2003 and implement an effective globalization of the capital markets by 2005. Subsequent calls [...]

John Dillon, chairman and CEO of International Paper (IP) (Stamford, CT), has announced his retirement as of Oct. 31. John Faraci, currently IP president, will succeed him as chairman and [...]

Steps for diagnosing and treating patients with von Willebrand's disease are described. Von Willebrand's disease is an bleeding disorder that is caused by an inherited lack of the clotting mechanism known as von Willebrand factor.

A recent study by The Strategis Group projects world wide wireless growth to increase by nearly 500 million subscribers by 2004. Increased data traffic, falling prices and new usage habits […]

Although long-term power outages happen only a few times a year, in most parts of the country, power fluctuations occur at least once a day. One daily fluctuation is enough […]

Editor's Note: The information in this article first appeared in 'Ahead of the Curve,' a free weekly electronic newsletter. See 'Additional Resources' at left for more information on subscribing to [...]