Table Of ContentAugust-Wilhelm Scheer
Principles of
Efficient Information
Management
Second, Completely Revised Edition
With 166 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Hong Kong Barcelona
Budapest
Professor Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer
Director of the Institut fUr Wirtschaftsinformatik
and the CIM Technology Transfer Center
University of Saarland
1m Stadtwald, Gebiiude 14
D-6600 Saarbriicken 11, FRG
The first edition appeared under the title "Computer: A Challenge fer
Business Administration"
ISBN-13: 978-3-642-46744-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-46742-4
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-46742-4
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© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1991
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 2nd edition 1991
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214217130-543210
Preface
The first edition of this book appeared in the Federal Republic of Gennany in 1984. and
in English translation as "Computer: A Challenge for Business Administration" in 1985.
This book. which is a translation of the fourth Gennan edition. has been comprehensively
revised. As a result both the character and the expected audience of the book have
changed. which is reflected in the alteration to the title.
This book adresses itself to issues arising from the research areas of both infonnation
systems and computer science. Computer science departments are primarily concerned
with the development of EDP techniques. and the business economics aspects remain
largely Ignored. The emphasis in infonnation systems departments is placed on the
investigation of the business economic impact of the use of already existing systems. This
strongly empirical approach is accompanied by a disinclination to consider actual system
deSign: this is considered the responsibility of the software houses.
This partitioning. however. leaves untapped the considerable potential which could be
realized by an interdisciplinary approach from computer science and business
economics. An isolated approach neglects both the effects that business economics can
have on the implementation of EDP techniques. and the structural impact of EDP on
business economics.
Consequently. this book investigates the interdependences between business economics
and EDP in both directions:
What implications can business economics draw from EDP techniques for its
problem solving approaches?
How can bUSiness economics ensure that EDP techniques and their
implementations are more effiCiently structured?
The material is extended by many practical examples and is also aimed at practitioners
from both business economics and EDP departments.
I would like to thank Irene Cameron for her careful translation ot the Gennan original.
and my employees Ruth Bartels and Cannen Ka.chler for their dedicated support in the
technical preparation of the manuscript.
Saarbrucken. West Gennany
March 1991 August-Wilhelm Scheer
Contents
Preface v
Contents VII
Chapter 1: EDP-Orlentation of Business Economics 1
A. Business Economics and EDP 1
B. Concept of EDP-Oriented Business Economics 4
1. Definition and Objectives 4
II. EDP-Oriented Business Economics and Business Informatics 5
III. Information System Components Relevant to Business Economics 6
C. Structure of the Book 10
Chapter 2: Business Economics Implementation and Structuring of EDP 12
Techniques
A. Database: Database Systems 13
1. Description of Database Systems 13
II. Business Economics Implementation of Database Systems 23
1. Supporting Process Chains (Op~rational Integration) 24
1.1. Operational Effects of Horizontal and Vertical Data 25
Integration
1.2. Typical Process Chains 31
2. Effects on the Organizational Structure of the Integration of 33
Functional Business Areas
III. Business Economics Structuring of Data Integration 35
1. Structuring of Process Chains 35
2. Data Modelling: The Enterprise-Wide Data Model 43
B. Process Control 51
1. Temporal Control: Interactive Processing 51
1. Description of Interactive Processing 51
2. Business Economics Implementation of Interactive Processing 54
VIII
2.1. Event-Orientation 54
2.2. Functional Integration 60
2.3. Interactive Decision Process 67
3. Business Economics Structuring of Interactive Applications 76
II. Spatial Control: Networking of EDP Systems 82
1. DeSCription of Networks 82
1.1. Types of Network 83
1.2. Distributed Data Processing 86
1.3. Bildschirmtext as Open Network 88
2. Business Economics Implementation of Networks 91
2.1. Redistribution of Decision-Making Power 93
2.2. Unification of Business Procedures in Associated 97
Enterprises
2.3. Inter-Company Redistribution of Functions Using Inter- 99
Company Process Chains
3. Business Structuring of EDP System Networks 105
3.1. Standardization of Business Applications 105
Supporting Exchange
3.2. Optimization Methods for Structuring 112
EDP System Networks
C. Applications Software 117
I. Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) 118
1. Description of Software Engineering 118
1.1. Principles, Methods, Tools 118
1.2. Phase Concepts 119
1.3. Analysis and Design Methods 121
2. Business Economics Implementation of Software 131
Engineering
3. Business Economics Structuring of Software Engineering 132
II. Standard Applications Software 133
1. Description of Standard Software 133
2. Business EconOmics Implementation of Standard 137
Software
3. Business Economics Structuring of Standard Software 145
III. Method Banks 146
1. DeSCription of Method Banks 146
2. Business Economics Implementation of Method Banks 151
3. Business Economics Structuring of Method Banks 156
IX
IV. Expert Systems 161
1. Description of Expert Systems 161
1. 1. Definition of Expert Systems 161
l.2. Structure of Expert Systems 165
l.2.l. Knowledge Base 166
l.2.2. Problem Solving Component 168
l.2.3. Explanatory Component 171
l.2.4. Knowledge Acquisition Component 172
2. Business Economics Implementation of Expert Systems 173
2.1. Competing Approaches 173
2.2. Application Areas 175
3. Business Economics Structuring of Expert Systems 177
Chapter 3: EDP-Orlented Business Economics Solutions 179
A. Strategic Significance of EDP-Oriented Solutions 179
I. Example 180
II. Methods of Determining Strategic Effects 180
III. Procedure for Developing an Information Strategy 184
B. Sector-Specific EDP Systems 186
I. Industry 186
1. Production Planning and Control (PPC) 187
l.l. DeSCription of PPC 187
l.2. Business Economics Evaluation of PPC 195
2. Computer Integrated ManufactUring (CIM) 200
2.l. Description of CIM 200
2.2. Business Economics Evaluation of CIM 208
II. Trading 216
III. Banking 223
l. EDV Support for Individual Banking Transactions 224
2. Electronic Banking/Computer Integrated Banking (CIB) 226
IV. Insurance 230
C. Non-Sector Specific EDP Systems 232
I. Accounting 232
1. Financial Accounting 233
2. Cost and Results Accounting 237
II. Marketing 242
III. Personnel Management 243
x
IV. Enterprise Planning 244
v. Office Automation 248
1. Description of Office Automation 248
2. Business Economics Evaluation of Office Automation 254
Chapter 4: The EDV-Orlented Business Economics Information Model 256
References 270
Index 294
Chapter 1: EDP-Orientation of Business Economics
A. Business Economics and EDP
The areas of emphasis within business economics have changed several times in the last
40 years. In production theory factors of production and the ways of combining them
occupy the foreground; in decision-oriented business economics the stress is on the
analysis and optimization of decision processes; system-Oriented business economics
considers bUSiness processes as Interdependent feedback loops; and the empirically
based research approach emphasizes the necessity of establishing the empirical
foundations for theoretical statements.
None of these approaches can be expected to provide comprehensive coverage of the
practical field of "business economics". Rather. these approaches should be regarded as
complementary.
In this sense. therefore. the proposed EDP-orientation of business economics should be
understood as a further area of emphasis within this field. Reflecting the renaming of
"computer science departments" as departments for "information systems" or
"information management". the term "information-oriented business economics" is
equivalent to the term "EDP-oriented business economics". as long as "information
oriented" is understood as closely linked with the possibilities of information processing
techniques. This conceptual development is reflected In the title ''Principles of efficient
information management".
The collective term "electronic data processing" (EDP) comprises the information and
communication techniques for the electronic processing of data. that is the entry.
storage. transformation. transfer and output of data. For simpliCity. the term
"information and communication techniques" will often be replaced by the term
"information techniques".
This Includes both hardware and software technology as well as concrete
implementations. e.g. in the form of specifiC hardware configurations and application
programs.
The relationships between bUSiness economics and EDP are manifold:
EDP makes possible the use of corporate planning methods that are costly in
processing and data terms. This in turn facllltates the introduction of
2
organizational processes which would be uneconomical or infeasible without
EDP.
The economic advantages of EDP can only be fully exploited if suitable
business application concepts for its use are available.
EDP application programs have an increasing effect on fundamental business
processes within the enterprise. It has been asserted. for example. that an
industrial concern whose EDP system fails becomes functionally incapacitated
within about 10 days (see Anselstetter. Nutzejfekte d.er Datenverarbeitung 1986. p.
19). With increasing levels of penetration this interval will become considerably
shorter. Widely used standard application programs for financial accounting,
production planning, etc. have a large multiplier effect on the business
concepts they contain.
These three aspects form the basis for the close interdependences between
business economics and EDP:
EDP support for processing-intensive or data-intensive business methods,
the need for EDP-oriented business models to improve data processing
efficiency,
the considerable organizational effects of applications software.
EDP know-how did not find its way into business economics until the mid '60s with the
establishment of business informatics. Business informatics is defined as the science
of designing and implementing computerized information and communication
systems.
Because the use of information techniques has largely developed in the practical sphere.
the theoretical foundations for business applications were only developed subsequently.
For a long time. therefore. the business informatics literature mainly consisted of
predominantly instrumental textbooks. Here descriptions of hardware and software
basics and techniques for designing EDP systems were predominant. Systematic
presentations of computerized business applications have only started to appear more
recently.
For this reason the EDP-technical publications provide little motivation for speCialists in
the classical business disciplines to become more involved with the possibilities of
electronic data processing. In fact they exacerbate the prejudice that bUSiness
informatics is prinCipally concerned with "technical" problems. As a result the existing
uncertainty with regard to EDP is increased. and defensive attitudes towards this
supposedly "alien" discipline are strengthened.
