The Selection and Training Framework for Managers in Business Innovation and Transformation Projects

Abstract

The riskiest factor in transforming a traditional Business Environment (BE) into an innovative and business lean oriented BE is the role of the business and (e-)Business Transformation Manager (BTM). The basic profile of such a BTM has not been sufficiently investigated in a holistic and educational manner. The characteristics of a suitable BTM profile is the main goal of the author's selection and training framework (STF) research project; that started in the year 2010. In this research paper, the author tries to prove that the STF research methodology, design and prototype (STF_RMDP) can be applied in a "real world case"; that is in fact the final phase. This final phase is labelled the "STF research empirical model". This whole research is a part of the author's doctorate in business administration. The STF_RMDP results define the optimal BTM profile who has to cope with complex business transformation projects (BTP). These BTPs need a specific set of skills, especially for the final and the very difficult implementation phase (Trad, Kalpic, IMRA, 2013-an award winning paper). The BTP's implementation phase is the major cause of high failure rates. The BTMs' needed hands-on skills; these skills should encompass: 1) knowledge of business process and services (BPs) technologies, 2) automated real-time business environments, 3) project management, 4) knowledge integration, 5) organizational behaviour, 6) management sciences methodologies 7) enterprise application integration and other concrete BTP implementation phase know-how artefacts. Therefore the researcher recommends the technocrats profile (Fahroomand, 2004) as a "base profile" for such BTPs; that need to be complemented with crossfunctional skills (Trad, Kalpic, ITI, 2013). More specifically, this research focuses on the influence of the BTMs' hands-on business architecture experience, background and education, on managing complex BTP implementations. Where such transformations integrate avant-garde innovation, knowledge and technology. “We know that those organizations that are consistently successful at managing innovation-related changes outperform their peers in terms of growth and financial performance” (Tidd, 2006). The author has based his research model on the main fact that only around 12% of business organizations successfully manage innovation-related business transformations initiatives. Therefore, there is an important need for a dynamic and automated way of selecting and training future BTMs. BTMs who would be capable of implementing such complex BP based systems (Tidd, Bessant, 2009). Where STF_RMDP is the empirical model with which the author wants to prove that future BTMs can be selected to successfully build or reengineer various electronic and lean BE (ELBE) components. The empirical model will contain a real world prototype and surveys that will generate the need data sets the qualitative research approach.