Business Analysis, Kathleen Hass Associates

Is there such a thing as a new economy? Is the economic chaos so pervasive and unpredictable that we are victims of an uncontrollable force?

Business Analysis (BA), as Kitty Hass Associates presents it, hopes to provide innovative strategies to address modern business issues brought about by the volatile economic realities of the 21^st century. She refers to BA as her way of “capitalizing on complexity” that besets all business managers throughout the world.

This seems like a full-faced challenge for everyone to gear up and stand against the economic monsters wandering about us. Just how do you make use of the chaos or complexity of our times to our advantage? It is an interesting challenge and a positive push for Business Analysis as a modern tool for attaining success.

Obviously, Business Analysis has been around for many decades although it has been called by other names or found in some other forms. It basically refers to the evaluation of business practices of organizations and the amendments or changes applied in order to make them more mature and suited to the organizations needs and goals.

Analysing or scrutinizing how one manages a business in relation to positive outcomes requires targeting “maturity levels” for particular business practices over “a predefined set of process areas that improve the organization’s overall business performance” (From  The State of Business Analysis Practices in Organizations (Research Report). This can be done through three essential steps:

·        Understanding the market and the competitive environment

·        Establishing a future vision and setting strategic goals

·        Converting strategies into valuable innovation projects, and

·        Executing flawlessly by being the first to market

The organization’s ability to define and execute the program determines its effectiveness for innovative management. BA, therefore, consists of clearly defining and applying the solutions to issues that are encountered by an organization.

In all of this, obtaining sufficient and valuable management information is the key to accomplishing the task of Business Analysis necessary to establishing the programs and projects that will address the issues of the organization in relation to the entire economic environment and in managing its resources to achieve success. 

The new economy is, therefore, one that has simply attained complexity because of the vast information and diversity of forces and entities involved in a rapidly expanding economic environment. The forces and process are basically the same as before; it is the complexity that makes modern economics seem appear new. When we innovate, we simply adapt to the way things should be done in order to address the complexity.

For instance, trying to come out with a new hamburger in a market that has only McDonald’s as the competitor will be different when there are five or ten other competitors to deal with. Hence, one will have to consider location, innovative product add-ons and novel ways of promoting hamburger other than the way it has been done by those competitors (Wendy’s came out with salad bars, Burger King with mushroom burgers). Analysing existing business practices of one’s competitors and one’s own will provide the vision toward which one can map out a company’s future and executing them smoothly according to one’s strategies and programs.

In this sense, Business Analysis is a vital tool for modern business success and leadership.