Introduction
Business process management involves managing all activities of an organization supporting the expectation of customers. It promotes efficiency and effectiveness of business, focusing on continuous improvement. Process breakthrough method is a business process that ensures that an organization moves from one level to another every time, it involves processes such as benchmarking, redesigning, business re-engineering. The organization is forced to change due to various factors such as technology, economic, legal, social, and cultural factors. Employees resist change due to fear of the unknown (Jeston & Nelis, 2006, p.297).
Organization change
Organization change involves the alteration of existing activities to new activities in an organization system. Change is introduced in an organization to improve productivity, to be competitive, to respond to new challenges such as technology, restructuring demands, and business expansion. Change should be introduced in an organization in a series of steps to make it easier for employees to cope with it. Such steps include unfreezing step which involves identifying the need for change and making it clear to employees. Step two involves introducing the change where employees abandon old practices and adopt new practices. Refreezing is the last step involving measures taken by the management which would ensure that employees sustain and continue with change attitude. An organization is forced to change its practices due to external and internal factors. External factors involve forces that arise in the organization itself such as interrelationship, performance, organization structure, or products. Interrelationship involves dedication to providing the best to employees to motivate them thus if they are dissatisfied with the working condition it will lead to conflict (Harrington, 1991, p.26).
Internal change
Internal change forces involve forces outside the organization such as technology, competition, political factors, legal factors, economic factors, and social culture. An organization has to change to meet and move with technological changes. The organization needs change to meet competitors’ demands and challenge them, due to political factors such as instability organizations need to change to meet political pressures. There is also a legal requirement every organization has to adhere to, thus it needs to change to meet the legal requirement. In case of poor economic performance in a country, the organization is forced to change to meet new cost-cutting measures. Social and cultural factors such as social norms, values, and attitudes force the organization to change its production practices to provide customers taste (Harrington, 1991, p.55).
Kurt Lewis and Paul Kutler developed a similar change model by describing change implementation into three steps. The first step was unfreezing involving identifying the need for change and making it clear to employees how the organization will benefit by changing its status. The second step involves a change, a transition period in the change process when employees abandon old practices and adopt new practices. The last step is refreezing, involving measures taken by the management which would ensure that employees sustain and continue with change attitude.
Process management framework
Process management framework involves designing business processes to ensure that business process management yields positive returns. It involves various processes such as organization structure, organization designing, methods used in the business process. Organization structure is the relationship among managers and employees in an organization that controls and coordinates activities around. Organization design involves grouping employees according to similar tasks, functions, and activities and assigning managers to supervise employees. Organization design is very important for effective and efficient production. Process management framework ensures structural organization design and methods used in a business process are organized to produce a positive result in the organization (Grove & Kettinger, 1998, p.245).
Business re-engineering
Business re-engineering is a contemporary business process that ensures the organization achieves remarkable improvement in performance management such as the provision of quality products, services and speed effectively. Business process re-engineering involves the use of new strategic processes, restructuring the organization, and redesigning old activities. The business re-engineering process achieves remarkable improvement through the implementation of change in the organization. It focuses on business processes and ways to redesign organization activities and strategic plans to add value within the organization’s boundaries. Business process management ensures the effectiveness of all aspects of an organization by promoting business efficiency through the business re-engineering process. Total quality management is the process that ensures quality is maintained during production. It accomplishes quality by reducing error in the production process, ensuring customer satisfaction, and moving with technology (Grove & Kettinger, 1998, p.291).
Total quality management forms the base for the business re-engineering process in an organization by improving quality. The main aim of total quality management is to improve quality and employees’ performance to meet customers satisfaction. It is achieved by ensuring office automation system is applied, proper business processes management, employees are trained and organization is meeting competition requirements. Total quality management measures the overall quality in all departments such as employee response to change, business process design, quality assurance, maintenance of quality control, development of quality design, and quality improvement. For an organization to achieve total quality it should train employees, ensure good customer care and satisfaction, ensure process breakthrough, involve employees in making a decision, and use appropriate methods and equipment. Total quality management aims at providing total quality products and services.
Automation
Automation is a computer hidden operation that organizations use to enhance work methods. Automation is an enhanced level of mechanization that uses machine technology to produce highly productive systems. Automation improves the productivity of employees by providing individual effective ways to process organization data and improve documentation. The use of automation products and increase quality in the production process thus producing quality product and services at a reduced cost. Proper use of automation leads to total quality management and eventually business re-engineering processes. Automation is a way that forces an organization to change to meet new technological changes. Automation improves customer care services, employees skills, reduces production cost and time. The use of automation is a stepping stone to acquire business re-engineering and quality (Grove & Kettinger, 1998, p.143).
The organization uses various approaches to attain total quality and re-engineering. Such approaches combined yield remarkable results that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the company. The functional approach aims at grouping employees according to similar activities. It improves productivity by ensuring maximum utilization of resources and by reducing employees’ duplication. Effective use of organizational approaches makes it easier for problem-solving, improves employees’ flexibility, provides better customer care services, improves organization strategic management, and forms better performance accountability.
Software re-engineering
Software re-engineering is a process that modifies the business system to correct errors and improve organization functionality. The business re-engineering process combines software re-engineering techniques to be more effective such techniques include combining several jobs with related jobs, performing a job where it makes sense, involving employees in making decisions, centralization, and decentralizing of organization operation, training and developing employees by taking part in management development. The structured engineered organization moves away from functional department to project teams, empowers employees to accept responsibility, focuses on results and not performance or payment, encourages flatter and less hierarchy (Jeston & Nelis, 2006, p.304).
Conclusion
In conclusion re-engineering, total quality management, and automation maximize production, improve the quality of work, downsize employees without causing conflict, and lower the rate of labor turnover in an organization.
Reference list
Grove, V. & Kettinger, W., 1998. Business process change: re-engineering concept, methods and technology. 2nd ed. USA: Idea Group Publishing.
Harrington, J., 1991. Business process improvement: the breakthrough strategy for total quality, productivity and competitiveness. USA: Mc Graw Hill.
Jeston, J. & Nelis, J., 2006. Business process management: practice guideline to successful implementation. United Kingdom: Elsevier.