In order to be able to plan, execute, and control its activities to achieve the desired results, it is essential that organizations tie together the academic knowledge and the operational experience by utilizing proven scientific theories in the organization executables. There are several theories about how to frame the models of corporate governance according to different perspectives; there are advantages and disadvantages in the adoption of each of them. The more or less complete dimension when related to the scope of each model is also an important aspect in its use and disclosure. The EX-ANTE and EX-POST model proposes a set of concepts that allow for the co-existence of mechanisms of access control and registration and validation, being the governance of the system based on four architectures: strategic, business, applications and technology. The model that the Portuguese Air Force uses for the definition of its annual flying hours regime includes five well-defined phases that may improve the level of coverage if the listed security mechanisms, control and audit, recommended in the Model EX-ANTE and EX-POST, are considered.
TopThe Ex-Ante & Ex-Post Model
In the current scenario, the concepts of flexibility and adaptability are directly applied to the organizations that need to monitor the changes in the environment in which they operate.
In this context, it is stated that “the search for flexibility can be considered as the main driving force behind the management of business processes, both at the organizational level, where the strategy of business processes is investigated, and at the operational level, where the work-flow of the people and the system are important concepts for the definition of the business processes.” (Weske, 2007).
For organizations to be aware of what is happening in their surrounding environment, and even within their own organization, they need technology to enable them to know how their actions are leading to compliance with the strategy.
“A successful organization identifies new technologies, introduces them quickly and sells them next. An organization that does not have this behavior will be absorbed by a competitor. Thus, top managers require their employees to develop and implement an enterprise architecture that ensures a superior position over its competitors.” (Chorafas, 2007).
The indicators appear due to the emergence of information systems, databases and data warehousing, the use of which has established themselves as essential for the survival of businesses and organizations in a context of competitiveness, as they now deal with an amount of complex data without precedents. Working the amount and complexity of information in a useful way is a challenge. One can then conclude that “providing quality information adds value as it helps managers to make better decisions, contributing to a consequent improvement of the business performance.” (Neves, 2007).
It can be argued that “well designed performance indicators help the organization to spend more time on important activities that are relevant for its performance and less time on activities that are not so relevant.” (Rasmussen et al, 2009).
It is through the indicators the “information systems provide that we are aware of what is essential for the functioning of the organization, allowing us to gain an insight and knowledge of the organization”. (Tribolet, 2005; Magalhães, Zacarias & Tribolet, 2007; Aveiro, 2010). The Organizational Self-Awareness (OSA) represents an evolution from the traditional view, since it brings in the need for capturing the static and dynamic aspects of the interactions of the organization’s agents with the organization’s activities and resources and enabling the construction of models exhibiting non-deterministic interaction patterns.