Economic Models - Convex Optimization

Topic 1
Enterprise Modeling and Integration:
Review and New Directions
Nikitas Spiros Koutsoukis
Hellenic Open University, and Democritus University
of Thrace, Greece
1. Introduction
Enterprise modeling (EM), Enterprise integration (EI), and Enterprise
integration modeling (EIM) are concerned with the definition, analysis,
re-design and integration of information, human capital, business process,
processing of data and knowledge, software applications and information
systems regarding the enterprise and its external environment to achieve
advancements in organization performance (Soon et al., 1997).
Enterprise modeling and Enterprise integration still are still ongoing
fields of research where the background and interests of contributors in
these areas are heterogeneous, including disciplines like mechanical manufacturing,
business process re-engineering, and software engineering.
However, the following two definitions (Vernadat, 1996) are representative
for current practices:
• Enterprise modeling is concerned with the explicit representation of
knowledge regarding the enterprise in terms models.
• Enterprise integration consists of breaking down organizational barriers
to improve synergy within the enterprise so that business goals are
achieved in a more productive way.
The main objective of this paper is to review the literature on EM and integration
and to provide a concise description of related topics. The paper also
discusses EM and integration challenges, and rationale as well as current
tools and methodologies for deeper analysis.
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