The discipline of enterprise engineering

International Journal of Organizational Design and Engineering. 2013. Vol. 3. No. 1. P. 86–114.

Dietz J., Hoogervorst J., Albani A., Aveiro D., Babkin E., Barjis J., Caetano A., Huysmans P., Iijima J., Van Kervel S., Mulder H., Op't Land M., Proper H., Sanz J., Terlouw L., Tribolet J., Verelst J., Winter R.

A century ago, Taylor published a landmark in the organisational sciences: his Principles of Scientific Management. Many researchers have elaborated on Taylors principles, or have been influenced otherwise. The authors of the current paper evaluate a century of enterprise development, and conclude that a paradigm shift is needed for dealing adequately with the challenges that modern enterprises face. Three generic goals are identified. The first one, intellectual manageability, is the basis for mastering complexity; current approaches fall short in assisting professionals to master the complexity of enterprises and enterprise changes. The second goal, organisational concinnity, is conditional for making strategic initiatives operational; current approaches do not, or inadequately, address this objective. The third goal, social devotion, is the basis for achieving employee empowerment as well as knowledgeable management and governance; modern employees are highly educated knowledge workers; yet, the mindset of managers has not evolved accordingly. The emerging discipline of Enterprise Engineering, as conceived by the authors, is considered to be a suitable vehicle for achieving these goals. It does so by providing new, powerful theories and effective methodologies. A theoretical framework is presented for positioning the theories, goals, and fundamentals of enterprise engineering in four classes: philosophical, ontological, ideological and technological.

Keywords: enterprise architecture, Enterprise engineering, Scientific management, Enterprise Ontology, complexity management, Organisational concinnity