The term business operating system (BOS) refers to standard, enterprise-wide collection of business processes used in many diversified industrial companies. The definition has also been extended to include the common structure, principles and practices necessary to drive the organization. [1]
Diversified industrial companies like Ingersoll Rand, Honeywell, and Danaher have adopted a standard, common collection of business processes and/or business process improvement methodologies which they use to manage strategy development and execution. In the case of Danaher, the business system is a core part of the company's culture and is seen as one of the key drivers of corporate performance.[ citation needed ]
The objectives of such systems are to ensure daily work is focused on the organisation's strategic objectives and is done in the most efficient way. The systems deal with the questions "why" (purpose of the work), "what" (specific objectives of the work) and "how" (the processes used to do the work). The Toyota Production System is focused on both how to make cars, and how to improve the way cars are made. A third objective can also be added, which is to improve the business system itself by identifying or improving the component tools and techniques.
Terms used to describe such systems include:
Many of business operating systems share common features. This is because the systems are derived from other known systems, and from established methods and practices for business management. The following is a list of features that appear in several systems.