Simulation of Knowledge Intensive Processes

This chapter presents a literature review and theoretical investigation combining the areas of Business Process Simulation (BPS) and Knowledge Management (KM). In the beginning, it describes the concept of knowledge economy – the environment in which most modern organizations have to operate. Knowledge economy supports the concept of green technology because knowledge-intensive services aim at decreasing the use of natural resources, reducing the generation of waste as well as lowering the carbon footprint. This chapter defines knowledge intensity and Knowledge Intensive Processes (KIPs). It then investigates the relationship between KM (the discipline dealing with KIP) and BPS. It is expected that both KM and BPS can aid green technology by employing relevant techniques, which can introduce the new, more efficient technology, reduce the usage of natural resources, as well as lower the carbon footprint. This chapter presents the differences between Conventional Business Processes (CBP) and KIPs. After that, it describes problems that KIPs can pose to BPS. In the next step, it explores the opportunities and challenges of simulating KIPs. At this point, a conceptual model that embraces both KIP and BPS is proposed. Potential future research directions are discussed and in the end conclusions are drawn based on the discussions of the chapter.