Process Management
Related Books
Business Processes
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Process based
management systems
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Producing business outputs
Process based management systems are emerging as a way to
improve organization efficiency and effectiveness. All organizations desire to produce outputs that satisfy
their customers. The primary output of any business is
therefore conforming product and service - hence the preoccupation with product
quality. But process based management systems are not only focused on
product quality. If properly designed, process based management systems
enable an organization to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders. Most
organizations employ functionally based management systems and as a result
create friction between the various functions. Therefore there is a choice
as to how we manage business outputs. We can either create functionally
based management systems or process based management systems so what's the
difference? |
Resources
Guide to process based management
systems
Integrated management systems
Converting a QMS using a process approach
FAQs on Process based management systems |
The functional
approach
We could treat each output as an objective to be achieved and install a
management system to achieve it. We have national and international
standards to guide us such as ISO 14001 on the environment, ISO 9001 on
quality, BS7799 on information security and OHSAS 18001 on occupational
health and safety. In this context a management system would comprises a
number of activities designed to function together to fulfil a specific
management objective. By this definition we could create several
management systems - all we need to do is identify a objective and put in
place a management system to fulfil it. This is illustrated in the diagram
below. We can call this the functional approach to management. Taking this
a few steps further, we could appoint managers to look after these systems
and make them responsible for achieving the associated objectives. In this
way we would create Quality Managers, Health and Safety Managers,
Environmental Managers. This is how it all started - the evidence is all
around you. Just look at any ISO (001, ISO 14001 certificated organization
and this is what you are likely to witness. But is it effective? |
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There are several disadvantages with this approach. It
forces managers to trade off one objective against the other so that
quality targets compete with environmental and financial targets. Managers
of these functions wrestle for the same resources. In the end no one wins
and the customer gets a product that might be cheap and environmentally
friendly but does not function in the way required. What is needed is an
approach where everyone wins. A win-win situation. The answer is the
process approach to management. There do not have to be losers. Process
based management systems ensure everyone is a winner. |
The process
approach
Instead of taking each output as an objective, we take the primary output of producing products and services that satisfy
customers make this the objective and classify the other outputs as
satisfying constraints because, without products and services, there would
be no constraints that applied to the organization. We then identify the
factors upon which these outputs depend and from this identify the core
processes that deliver stakeholder satisfaction. The result is a diagram
similar to that below. Four core processes that deliver outputs that satisfy
stakeholders needs and expectations that sit within a process based
management system |
© Transition Support 2004
Remember you saw this diagram here first!
For help in turning Functional Based Management Systems
into a Process Based Management Systems a number of resources are available
by following the links above or you can simply
contact us |
