G.J. van der Pijl

ISO 9000 versus CMM: standardization and certification of IS development

An absorbent disposable cover for hospital X-ray tables and the like. The cover has a bottom layer in the form of a sheet of plastic material that is impermeable to moisture, an intermediate fluid absorbent layer that functions as a blotter that will absorb and disperse any fluid it comes in contact with, and a top layer in the form of a sheet of material of semi-permeable material that will permit the flow of fluids into the intermediate fluid absorbent layer. A pre-formed corner pocket is formed at the respective corners of the cover and adhesive pads are attached to their bottom surface for detachably securing them to the corners of a table upon which the absorbent disposable cover has been placed. The covers are folded into a compact rectangular shape and stacked in a carton having a cutout slot in its top wall. The cover has been folded in such a manner that the pre-formed cover pockets are on top and located in the area of the cutout slots so they can be grasp for pulling the cover out of the dispensing slot.

Measuring the strategic dimensions of the quality of information

Abstract Although much has been written on quality of information there is no uniform framework in which different approaches to quality can be brought together. In this article such a framework is presented. From the framework an approach for assessing the strategy and goal related elements of quality of information in an organization is derived. Some examples of the first applications of this approach in practical situations are included.

Building the record keeping system (RKS). Process improvement triggered by management of archival documents

The paper results from a research project at Tilburg University in which organization, information and archival studies have been integrated. We argue that the archivistic concept of the record keeping system (RKS) can be used as an instrument for improving the performance of the document flow in a business process, and as a result of the process. Archival documents contain information related to the result of an activity, to the circumstances of their creation and to organization and business processes. The elements of a RKS are context, quality, appraisal, warehousing and logistics. The translation of our conceptual model is the process-specific archival document-file, a meta-file that operates as an engine managing document management. The approach was tested in a case study. It became clear that our approach leads to considerable improvements in the flow of documents and thus in the primary processes supported by these documents.

Knowledge management as a full-grown discipline: A framework for a universal approach to knowledge management

In the contemporary literature on organization and business economics there is an increasing focus on the role of knowledge in organizations. Following on from the industrial revolution and the production revolution a third transformation in the economy is at this moment taking place, i. e. the management revolution (Drucker P.F., 1993). In the management revolution knowledge has become the primary production factor instead of just one of a number of factors. In the knowledge economy, the value of an organization is no longer derived from things, but from knowledge, know-how, intellectual assets and competencies to be found in individual staff members (Hamel G. and Prahalad C.K., 1996). Apart from efficiency, quality and flexibility organizations also need to concentrate on innovation. Innovation requires learning and this is why organizations must be able to retain the experiences gained as ‘knowledge’. A need arises for the ‘learning organization’ (Senge P.M., 1990). Individual staff members can learn by improving and renewing (Argyris C., 1992). This does not yet result in organizational learning, however. For the purpose of learning at the organizational level, (Nonaka & Takeuchi H., 1995). In the Knowledge creation model implicit knowledge is made explicit whereby the knowledge is more easily shared.

Client satisfaction measurement in outsourcing situations

Profit margins in some parts of the tourism industry are under preasure. Especially tour operators and travel agent experience profit margins between 0.5 and 3%. They try to improve their situation on the one hand by conducting high volume, standardized and more and more automated sales. On the other hand some of them try to offer more and more customer specific packages that for the major part can only be constructed by making use of computers and computernetworks that provide the necessary information and communication.

Technology Management in a Knowledge Based Economy

In the first paper Anne Quaadgras builds and analyzes the emerging radio frequency ID (RFID) ecosystem based on announcements of alliances among firms, and analyzes propositions with respect to the behavior of large, multiline technology firms around this innovative, technology based platform. The RFID network is used to empirically show that absorptive capacity, and exploration vs. exploitation theories may start to explain the behavior of large firms. Quaadgras shows that a propensity to form alliances in general makes it more likely that large established firms will join the RFID ecosystem, and that more exploratory firms join earlier. Greater availability of slack resources also leads to the formation of more alliances (greater degree centrality) in the network. The ecosystem perspective and these results may affect alliance decisions have implications for alliance decisions of firms entering into high cost technological innovations.

Technology management in the knowledge based economy

This mini-track focuses on the management of technology in a changing business environment: the transition from value chains to value-creating networks and new organisational forms. To enable innovation in the variety of business environments different approaches of technology management may be applied. Also, different business environments may need different approaches. For instance, SMEs have different needs and develop different systems for managing technology than do large organizations. The scope of the minitrack includes both issues of managing technology and the social and psychological factors, models, and processes of organizational change and technology implementation and management. In order to cover the full cycle for technology management papers cover (some of) the following phases of the cycle: • Planning for the use of technology, • Implementing technology and the organizational changes that are enabled or necessitated by it, • Evaluating the use of technology, using control frameworks like CMM, ITIL, COSO or COBIT, • Evaluating the outcomes of technology management as a start for a new management cycle.

Printing-on-demand as a channel for tourist information

This paper describes Instant Response as a new way of distributing pre-sales documentation. It provides dealers of internationally operating organisations with the possibility to log in on a WWW-site to order sales documentation for their prospects. This documentation is then printed (on demand) in a print centre near the prospect and sent to the client within one day. Out-of-stock and out-of-date will never occur again with Instant Response and prospects receive personalised (one-to-one) and up-to-date information. The Instant Response concept is presently tested by several major international companies (Philips, Husqvarna). We argue that the concept is also applicable in the tourist industry.

The value of Information Technology : A case study and a framework

Over the past years, many attempts have been made to measure the value of IT according to a variety of criteria. In 1993 Brynjolfsson summarized the principal studies of IT and productivity1. He concluded that: “The relationship between information technology and productivity - the fundamental economic measure of a technology’s contribution - is widely discussed but little understood. The general unease and the blurred discussion about the determination of benefits of IT confirm the need for better measurement, frameworks, and tools, to assess and monitor its value. In this paper we describe how the value of information technology was measured at ANWB, The Royal Dutch Touring Club. The case described demonstrates that the value of IT for an enterprise can not be expressed in a single measure. Measurements at different levels have to take place in order to get a clear picture. In the second part of the paper we demonstrate how measurement on different levels can be applied systematically by using the BtripleE framework. The paper is based on the doctoral dissertation of van der Zee2 that was written under the guidance of Ribbers and van der Pijl.