Process-based management is a management approach that views a business as a collection of processes, managed to achieve a desired result. [1] Processes are managed and improved by the organisation for the purpose of achieving its vision, mission and core values. A clear correlation between processes and vision supports the company in planning strategies, structuring business and using sufficient resources to achieve long-term success. [2]
From a process perspective, an organisation regards its business as a system of vision-achieving vertical processes rather than specific activities and tasks of individual functions. The system is not a method or tool for a particular process, but a holistic approach to manage all of an organisation's processes. To manage processes effectively the organisation must have an effective team network and full knowledge of their vision.
The general management system focuses on specific work-knowledge and direct solutions for cost and budget; on the other hand, process based management applies these financial measurements but in an operational way considering how each performance affects the company as an amalgam of different processes. As a result of recent advances in technology and increased international competition, more companies aim for better methods of grouping and integrating organisational activities. [3]
Vision, mission and core values are three crucial factors to manage an organisation from a process perspective. Considering the vision, mission and values as a direction of their business, an organisation can build their corporate strategy and determine the processes they will take into account. [4] As a result, the organisation obtains strengths and competitiveness among other companies.
First, the vision is an aspirational purpose what the organisation would like to achieve in the long run. [4] The vision leads the company to challenge various tasks and develop its own business strategy. In other words, the organisation considers vision as a motivation to build a business structure, determine strategic plans and manage human resources. Therefore, the company carries out vision-achieving operations as their primary goals.
Mission is a fundamental purpose of a company that remains unchanged over time. The mission provides a guidance for decision making and gives a path to successful results. [5] For instance, mission is different from a vision in that mission is a something to be achieved whereas a vision is something to be aimed for achievement. [6]
Core values are principles that help companies to determine whether their actions and decisions are right or wrong. Values are essential to making decisions and sustaining the company's long-term success. [7]
To manage its business from a process based perspective, an organisation requires to understand what defines the process and which activities they consist of.
A business consists of different departments in charge of specific jobs or functions. Therefore, the processes support these managerial sectors and transform successful outputs. Then a process team performs a set of sequential tasks to analyse whether the organisation delivers useful outputs to the customers.
Basically, processes are built by information that indicates the current state of company and research data such as customer satisfaction. The information includes customer-based agreement, management documentation, purchasing manuals and flow charts. [6] For instance, the flow chart is a useful information in order to control the flow of processes and list several steps and activities in detail.
Analysed and clarified processes are allowed to implement on the actual business. Then, an organisation monitors its business and improves the overall stage of process.
To evaluate the sequence of process, measurement is an essential element that shows results of process performance with numerical and comparative data. In other words, organisations obtain a relevant analysis using the measurements that can be shown as graphical representations such as pie charts, bar charts, cause-and-effect analysis, and gap analysis. [6]
Many organisations highly depend on data and visual analysis processed by information system. For this reason, organisation must obtain accurate analysis based on exact data and must be cautious for mistaken output that impacts whole process of their business.
As a result, the measurements help the company to analyse current state of performance and give guidance for the firm’s sustainable improvements.
Having designed the processes of management system and analysed the performances using useful measurements, the final step is how to improve the system and maintain its effectiveness. Therefore, implementing the improvements is a key activity to examine the processes and improve the flow of the management system.
An organisation determines which part of processes must be improved and modified. It analyses how each process influences a set of activities and applies the improvements to some parts of system. The purpose of implementation is to operate its business strategically and to deliver sufficient resources. In effect, the process based management results in outputs that satisfy their customers and develop the business itself. [8]
ISO 14000 is a family of standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment ; (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements; and (c) continually improve in the above.
Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost.
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals.
In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organization operates. Strategic management provides overall direction to an enterprise and involves specifying the organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve those objectives, and then allocating resources to implement the plans. Academics and practicing managers have developed numerous models and frameworks to assist in strategic decision-making in the context of complex environments and competitive dynamics. Strategic management is not static in nature; the models can include a feedback loop to monitor execution and to inform the next round of planning.
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan so that goals may be achieved. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business.
Marketing management is the organizational discipline which focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities.
A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks performed by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product for a particular customer or customers. Business processes occur at all organizational levels and may or may not be visible to the customers. A business process may often be visualized (modeled) as a flowchart of a sequence of activities with interleaving decision points or as a process matrix of a sequence of activities with relevance rules based on data in the process. The benefits of using business processes include improved customer satisfaction and improved agility for reacting to rapid market change. Process-oriented organizations break down the barriers of structural departments and try to avoid functional silos.
Information management (IM) is the appropriate and optimized capture, storage, retrieval, and use of information. It may be personal information management or organizational. IM for organizations concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposal through archiving or deletion.
A balanced scorecard is a strategy performance management tool – a well-structured report used to keep track of the execution of activities by staff and to monitor the consequences arising from these actions.
Activity-based costing (ABC) is a costing method that identifies activities in an organization and assigns the cost of each activity to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. Therefore, this model assigns more indirect costs (overhead) into direct costs compared to conventional costing.
A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity in which it engages. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.
Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a business management strategy originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization. BPR aims to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors.
Supplier relationship management (SRM) is the systematic, enterprise-wide assessment of suppliers' strengths, performance and capabilities with respect to overall business strategy, determination of what activities to engage in with different suppliers, and planning and execution of all interactions with suppliers, in a coordinated fashion across the relationship life cycle, to maximize the value realized through those interactions. The focus of supplier relationship management is the development of two-way, mutually beneficial relationships with strategic supply partners to deliver greater levels of innovation and competitive advantage than could be achieved by operating independently or through a traditional, transactional purchasing arrangement. Underpinning disciplines which support effective SRM include supplier information management, compliance, risk management and performance management.
The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a United States federal law, designed to improve the way the federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology (IT). It was passed as Division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. Together with the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, it is known as the Clinger–Cohen Act.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to business management:
In marketing, a company’s value proposition is the full mix of benefits or economic value which it promises to deliver to the current and future customers who will buy their products and/or services. It is part of a company's overall marketing strategy which differentiates its brand and fully positions it in the market. A value proposition can apply to an entire organization, parts thereof, customer accounts, or products and services.
In organizational theory, organizational analysis or industrial analysis is the process of reviewing the development, work environment, personnel, and operation of a business or another type of association. This review is often performed in response to crisis, but may also be carried out as part of a demonstration project, in the process of taking a program to scale, or in the course of regular operations. Conducting a periodic detailed organizational analysis can be a useful way for management to identify problems or inefficiencies that have arisen in the organization but have yet to be addressed, and develop strategies for resolving them.
Environmental certification is a form of environmental regulation and development where a company can voluntarily choose to comply with predefined processes or objectives set forth by the certification service. Most certification services have a logo which can be applied to products certified under their standards. This is seen as a form of corporate social responsibility allowing companies to address their obligation to minimise the harmful impacts to the environment by voluntarily following a set of externally set and measured objectives.
Process capital is the value to an enterprise which is derived from the techniques, procedures, and programs that implement and enhance the delivery of goods and services. Process capital is one of the three components of structural capital, itself a component of intellectual capital. Process capital can be seen as the value of processes to any entity, whether for profit or not-for profit, but is most commonly used in reference to for-profit entities.
In commerce, global supply-chain management is defined as the distribution of goods and services throughout a trans-national companies' global network to maximize profit and minimize waste. Essentially, global supply chain-management is the same as supply-chain management, but it focuses on companies and organizations that are trans-national.