key benefits to an organization, which can be used to contribute to competitive advantage. These benefits include:
• Empowering employees . When a business process is designed correctly and supported with information technology, employees will be able to implement it on their own authority. In the returns policy example, an employee would be able to accept returns made before fourteen days or use the system to make determinations on what returns would be allowed after fourteen days. • Built-in reporting . By building measurement into the programming, the organization can stay current on key metrics regarding their processes. In this example, these can be used to improve the returns process and also, ideally, to reduce returns. • Enforcing best practices . As an organization implements processes supported by information systems, it can work to implement the best practices for that class of business process. In this example, the organization may want to require that all customers returning a product without a receipt show a legal ID. This requirement can be built into the system so that the return will not be processed unless a valid ID number is entered. • Enforcing consistency . By creating a process and enforcing it with information technology, it is possible to create consistency across the entire organization. In this example, all stores in the retail chain can enforce the same returns policy. If the returns policy changes, the change can be instantly enforced across the entire chain. Business Process Re-engineering As organizations look to manage their processes to gain a competitive advantage, it is also important to understand that Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 170
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