ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Rapid changes in the business environment, occasioned by strong and va ried forces acting on a global scale, make it imperative for an enterp rise to aggressively embrace change. The traditional view of a busines s as a collection of related functions, such as research and developme nt, sales and manufacturing, is being replaced by a new paradigm, wher ein the business is composed of a linked network of customer-focused p rocesses. This shift in thinking has changed the role of executives-fr om one of managing hierarchically structured, functional organizations to one of leading core-business processes that meet the evolving need s of the business' stakeholders. This paper provides a framework for l everaging an array of enabling management technologies to help busines s leaders transform their businesses, and identifies key lessons learn ed in applying these technologies.