Organization Modeling: Innovative Architectures for the 21st Century

Rating:
Summary: Creative and innovative advanced book
Review: An excellent framework for learning about how to balance (organizational) mission, vision, business, strategy, organizational learning, processes, and culture. Truly visionary book that elucidates concepts concerning processes, learning, knowledge, human, and strategies. I found the book to be an excellent framework for understanding the world of organizations.
I think that almost all MBA and graduate business students will deepen their knowledge and skills by thouroughly exploring this book. Even, Mintzburg has applied some of these authors concepts!

Rating:
Summary: Organizational Modeling--A must read for org. change agents!
Review: Apparently, as a result of their extensive consulting experience and research, Morabito, Sack, and Bhate have given the organizational and strategic designers of the world a thoughtful and powerful approach to design based on ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES. They provide a meaningful and powerful FRAMEWORK to reduce complexity, solve design issues, and develop effective and innovative strategies, processes, tools as components of the design process. Their approach incorporates a surprising blend of soft people issues, an insightful prescriptive and descriptive modeling mechanism which embraces organizational structuring, organizational knowledge and learning, technologies, and tools, and even philosophy and culture.

Unlike other books, they have devised a conceptual model of core organizational domains and derivative management philosophies that is (in my opinion) a MUST READ for every serious organizational designer, business strategist, and knowledge based systems designer. Included in the basis of their theory is a design element, known as an ORGANIZATIONAL MOLECULE, which is a powerful building block to FRAME an organizational architect's understanding, specification, and implementation of organizational domains and derivative management philosophies (e.g. CULTURE, LEARNING). They promote management decision-making concerning WHAT we are doing, HOW to proceed, and WHY Organization Modeling (OM) works. This book reveals gems of imagination that are truly useful to advance the organizational design discipline and promote an imaginative and responsive approach to some of todays most prominent and puzzling organizational problems.

The book includes a discussion of data, knowledge, and information- the distinction among these are revealed via a brilliant, simple visual metaphor known as the INFORMATION CONTINUUM. They also have presented a truly unifying concept known as KNOWLEDGE BINDING which is basically defined by asking for any business development process the following questiions: Who applies knowledge? Where is it applied? When is it applied? The three types of binding identified are EARLY, LATE and REALTIME binding. They explain that the philosophy behind knowledge binding is the separation between specification(what does a process have to do) with implementation (how does a process do it). In the 21st century learning organization there is increasingly a requirement to utilize a framework that necessitates a significant shift towards late knowledge binding while retaining some ealry knowledge binding. Some of the causes of this shift are the nature of knowledge work, the increased complexities and uncertainties of the environment (e.g., new technological developments, globlaization, the nature of 21st century work itself, the new role of the manager (as well as the new role of knowledge workers) as knowledge-architect. They present a five star model of the 21st century learning organization which emphasizes organizational context and knowledge-context-value interaction. The authors have pulled together some of the best scholarly work by strategist Mintzburg, management guru Peter Drucker, and noted economist John Kay and framed all these different approaches with an integration mechanism that in my opinion strengthens the notable contributions of these prominent scholars by adding an appropriate amount of precision that strengthens their formulations without dismissing the creative or soft side of architecture. I think the book establishes a new standard of excellence in organizational architecture through its great vision of the future.

If you are interested in seeing SIGNIFICANT relationships between the "left brain" and the "right brain" of the organization, then this book is for you. It will give you an ELEGANT and POWERFUL approach that will frame your strategic decisonmaking and process innovation, and most of all advance your capabiiity to DESIGN BY ARCHITECTURE. As Frederick Winslow Taylor gave the vision and approach to the industrial era (scientific management), thanks to these three authors I now have (and so will you) the vision and approach to the design whether you apply it to macro-organizational or micro-organizational design which they have named OM: Organization Modeling.

This book is a great springboard and a well of wisdom that will help you launch your own research and design efforts whether you are designing organizational strategies, processes, technology, tools or other key organizaitonal domains. Therefore, my recommendation is for you to buy it, read it, and KEEP it as an advanced reference that will inspire and help you create a dynamic and responsive organizational design.

For graduate college students it is a good source for term papers and theses (M.S. and Ph.D.). There are amply illustrated and richly detailed tables, design diagrams, and listings distributed throughout the book as well as an abundance of reference and use of scholarly work from organizational strategy, economics, history, philosophy, and culture.

If you are a designer of information systems and you would like to learn more about design of all organizational domains (including cultural, learning, philosophical, historical, human, technological, and sociological considerations)--this is the book for you. Likewise if you are a strategist who would like to understand the business value of information or knowledge-based systems--this is the right book for you too!

In summary, Organization Modeling is a SIX STAR book that is a reference, text, and practical guide. It has genuinely been both a catalyst and inspiration in my career as a businesss strategist and manager-architect.

Rating:
Summary: Looking foward to using this book
Review: I am a graduate MIS student who hadc to buy this book for my course in Organizational Design. I started reading this book and found it to be very rich and innovative in terms of what an organization is and how to design the organization using an organization modeling (OM) framework. I could not believe what
vision and insight the authors had into the world of organizations. Some of the fascinating and useful ideas that they have invented are about the organizational knowledgeworld, how to balance vision, mission, business, strategy, tools, organiational molecules which can be used ot represent the formal and creative aspects of organizational domains, (early and late) knowledge binding (when, where and by whom is knowledge applied to a process, etc. This book is concept rich, deep, purposeful, and relative to my future as an oganizatinal strategist. Numerous good tables, diagrams, and illustrations of their ideas and practical applications.
Truly a pioneering book. Good job Stevens profs.

Rating:
Summary: not really helpful
Review: I thought I had hit a goldmine but not so.
It's too abstract, too boring, I miss examples.

Models should be helpful, not a goal into itself. Maybe this has some illusionary appeal to managerial types.

I gladly refer to Dilbert's comics, if you want something helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaking
Review: In a world where technology has come to permeate our lives, where businesses and the organizations which comprise them have become more virtual and knowledge-based in nature, business and IT professionals have struggled to find common ground in their understanding of how businesses operate and how technology can enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of that operation. Organization Modeling, Innovative Architectures for the 21st Century, has successful brought together, for the business/technology manager, some of the key issues and thinking surrounding how organizations and the technology they have come to rely on should be woven together.

Rather than simply providing a new "spin" on the way today's business and organizations need to operate, the book provides new insights into how to foster communication, use information more effectively, develop collaborative behaviors, as well as tools and techniques to help align business/information strategies.

Both business and IT professionals will find this book extremely valuable in helping them understand how to analyze and design new business processes and organizational structures which effectively leverage technology as well as the skills, talents, and capabilities of the organization's members. The book goes a long way in providing business and IT professionals with a strong framework with which to understand business problems and it introduces them to new tools and techniques which I think are extremely valuable in helping architect business solutions.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Educational, and Thought Provoking
Review: Information modeling, organization theory and design, knowledge management, strategic planning, and process design are all subjects of dozens of published books. Organization Modeling (OM) introduces an innovative framework to utilize these and other relative techniques. The authors have created a novel approach, architecture, and framework that any organization wishing to compete in the 21st century should not be without. Based in existing organization theory, the authors have extended well beyond the traditional theorists. Instead, OM provides a roadmap for business professionals. They have also clearly drawn the line dividing information technology and business modeling. If you are an information technology person expecting another technique for object oriented programming, this book is not for you. If, though, you are an information technology person who desires to move beyond the IT world, this book will provide the tools and framework to move in that direction. If you are an organizational theorist looking for another school of pure organizational theory, you will find much more than that here. Instead, you will find a synthesis of organization theory and other disciplines in a pragmatic yet holistic framework. A word of caution, this book is not some form of "pop-theory" that can be read in a day or two. I was familiar with many of the subjects in the book and still found the best method for reading was absorption and reflection. I found myself examining how each section of the book could be applied at my current business situation. The book uses an extended information modeling technique introduced by Kilov. Once again, I found myself creating Kilovish models of my current situation to provide greater insight into the material. The book starts by setting the foundation of OM. This foundation introduces key concepts such as the organization molecule, and emergent organizational patterns. Once the foundation is set, the authors introduce applications to key concepts such as information, data, knowledge, culture, and learning. One soon comes to realize the true power of an architecture/framework at this level of abstraction. This book is a must have for any person interested understanding and moving their organization into the 21st century, or students of management related studies.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Educational, and Thought Provoking
Review: Information modeling, organization theory and design, knowledge management, strategic planning, and process design are all subjects of dozens of published books. Organization Modeling (OM) introduces an innovative framework to utilize these and other relative techniques. The authors have created a novel approach, architecture, and framework that any organization wishing to compete in the 21st century should not be without. Based in existing organization theory, the authors have extended well beyond the traditional theorists. Instead, OM provides a roadmap for business professionals. They have also clearly drawn the line dividing information technology and business modeling. If you are an information technology person expecting another technique for object oriented programming, this book is not for you. If, though, you are an information technology person who desires to move beyond the IT world, this book will provide the tools and framework to move in that direction. If you are an organizational theorist looking for another school of pure organizational theory, you will find much more than that here. Instead, you will find a synthesis of organization theory and other disciplines in a pragmatic yet holistic framework. A word of caution, this book is not some form of "pop-theory" that can be read in a day or two. I was familiar with many of the subjects in the book and still found the best method for reading was absorption and reflection. I found myself examining how each section of the book could be applied at my current business situation. The book uses an extended information modeling technique introduced by Kilov. Once again, I found myself creating Kilovish models of my current situation to provide greater insight into the material. The book starts by setting the foundation of OM. This foundation introduces key concepts such as the organization molecule, and emergent organizational patterns. Once the foundation is set, the authors introduce applications to key concepts such as information, data, knowledge, culture, and learning. One soon comes to realize the true power of an architecture/framework at this level of abstraction. This book is a must have for any person interested understanding and moving their organization into the 21st century, or students of management related studies.

Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary guide to architecting your entire organization
Review: Our book is about organizational architecture and design. The intended audience includes managers and IT professionals, and graduate students of management and MIS. In addition, this book may serve as a reference for research topics - it has become popular as a resource for Master's and Ph.D. students. One hundred years ago Frederick Winslow Taylor engineered work with engineering disciplines and thus created the 20th century design discipline of Scientific Management. In this book we architect work with modeling concepts and thus create the 21st century design practice of Organization Modeling. The analytical disciplines we choose to employ are those associated with the software engineering field: contracts and object-orientation. Our central innovation is the concept of an organization molecule. An organization molecule is the building block of design. It is a managed collection of well known management concepts or domains, such as business process, information, culture, knowledge, structure, strategy, etc. - one molecule for each type of organizational domain or management concept. We may use a molecule to design a domain and create an architecture-in-the-small. Similarly, we may align several molecules into organizational patterns, creating an architecture-in-the-large. Such patterns are at the heart of an organization's competitive distinctiveness. Organization Modeling may be seen as an MIS as well as an organizational design discipline. The industrial era is giving way to the knowledge era. The industrial era organization is characterized by information processing and therefore emphasizes data creators, routine work and a machine culture. In contrast, the knowledge organization is characterized by learning, and therefore emphasizes knowledge creators, nonroutine work, and innovative cultures. The knowledge organization requires an architecture where the three domains of data, information and knowledge are clearly distinguished - designing knowledge work requires a careful intermingling of all three. Hence, we devote a great deal of attention to the architectural models underlying all three domains and how they are interrelated. This brings forth fresh design constructs such as a knowledge contract, and a whole new approach to the meaning of a business system. Finally, we advance a core organizational architecture for a successful 21st century organization, one that emphasizes culture, business processes, data, information, knowledge, people, and learning. The authors are members of the faculty at Stevens Institute of Technology. They teach in the executive information management programs at such firms as AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Solomon Smith Barney, PaineWebber, Prudential, and Pearson Education, among others.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional book for advanced management students!
Review: The research that I undertook using this book led me to discover the other chapters of this book. I also discovered that all the chapters are very interlinked (i.e., the book is systematic). At the same time I discovered a certain surprise that the complex work of modeling can become an easier task by utilizing the concepts and tools found in this book. Organisation Modeling : Innovative Architecture for the 21th Century is a book I warmly recommend to those whose ane interested in the modeling of organizations and information technology. I hope that the research that was undertaken by my class will be useful for other students who are interested in this domain especially in the approach taken in this book.