FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: George M. Tomczyk, (716) 275-8189
SIMON SCHOOL PROFESSORS WIN BEST PAPER AWARD FOR DEVELOPING A NEW DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR COMPLEX BUSINESS PROCESSES
Rochester, N.Y.--April 9, 1998--For the second time in just over two years, two Simon School professors in computers and information systems have won top honors from their peers and computer industry professionals.
Rajiv M. Dewan and Abraham Seidmann have won the 1998 HICSS award for the best research paper in the Collaboration Systems and Technology Track. The award, presented on January 9, 1998, in a ceremony sponsored by the University of Hawaii College of Business Administration at the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences in Kohala, Hawaii, was determined by an extensive peer review and an anonymous vote by senior practitioners and academicians.
Dewan is assistant professor of computers and information systems at the Simon School. Seidmann is Xerox Professor of Computers and Information Systems and Operations Management. Dewan and Seidmann shared the award with their co-author, Zhiping Walter, a Simon School Ph.D. candidate and faculty member at the University of Connecticut's School of Business, for their paper, "Workflow Optimization Through Task Redesign in Business Information Processes."
Seidmann stated: "Our work has tremendous economic value for banks, hospitals and government agencies who deal with complex business processes. We show them how to effectively reduce the number of documents processed without sacrificing quality."
Dewan, Seidmann and Walter examined business process design, with a focus on redesigning tasks, or task consolidation. "There are reports in the trade press," said Seidmann, "that many reengineering efforts have led to dramatic results, but at a significant investment. These efforts often involve many people and large amounts of money and effort, and are ultimately critical to the survival of many organizations." According to Dewan, the researchers developed a novel mathematical model of how to "redesign tasks within a process to make them more efficient"--and thus, more productive and successful. "Task consolidation is not as easy as it seems," said Dewan. "Our results lead to better designs with fewer handoffs and duplications."
This is the second time that Dewan and Seidmann's joint research in this area has been recognized. In December 1995, their paper (with Shankar Sundaresan), "Strategic Choices in IS Infrastructure: Corporate Standards Versus 'Best of Breed' Systems," won the Best Conference Research Theme Paper Award at the 16th International Conference on Information Systems in Amsterdam.
"Business process reengineering involves a unique blend of technology, process design and organizational changes," said Seidmann, "and that's something we specialize in at the Simon School. We bring technology together with the understanding of operations and of organizational architecture, and these award-winning papers are the result of that integrated approach."
Dewan's work has appeared in the Journal of Computing, Decision Support Systems, IEEE Transactions on Computers and other journals. Seidmann publishes extensively in leading scientific journals. He has consulted on four continents with various international corporations on the strategic implementation of computerized management systems and on product and service management.
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The Simon School is routinely ranked among the top 25 graduate business schools by U.S. News & World Report and Business Week. With one of the most highly regarded faculties in the country, it is one of the nation's leading research facilities. The School, recognized worldwide for its leading scholarship in management education, employs a distinctive approach to business education because of its flexibility, innovation, youth, size, global outlook and vision. Copies of the paper, "Workflow Optimization Through Task Redesign in Business Information Processes," are available from the Simon School Office of Public Affairs. Phone: (716) 275-3736; Fax: (716) 275-9331; [email protected]
Information about the Simon School is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ssb.rochester.edu. 98-02
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