Moving from a functional organization to one which is business process-based is not without problems. It
challenges the status quo. The power base of senior managers has been in functions. The career path of
individuals has been through functions. Abandoning this structure challenges the way organizations work. Mitel
Telecom has senior managers who were previously functional heads dictating to subordinates and who now find
they are facilitators. David O'Brien, the CEO of National &Provincial Building Society in the early 1990s,
regarded managers as coaches. Process management is about teams rather than individuals. But why should
organizations change? Is it a fad? There are real drivers which demand change. These are customer focus,
responsiveness, reduction in lead times and reducing costs; and moreover, improving these factors
simultaneously.
In this article I am presenting a set of principles for managing business processes, which are built on a research
based on concepts drawn from service processes, supply-chain management, total quality management (TQM)
and BPR. It has consistently been my belief that business process management only works when attention is
given to people, processes and systems in the context of the organization structure and organizational culture.
How do we know which are our business processes? Most organizations spend time working to agree a set of
However, many organizations are changing their view of the way they structure and manage themselves, to
focus on business processes rather than business functions. They may be encouraged in this view by having
undertaken a business process re-engineering (BPR) project or they may be using the European Foundation of
Quality Management (EFQM) assessment framework.
The latter identifies nine elements for excellence: "enablers" which give capability, i.e. leadership; people
management; resources; policy and strategy; and processes. These enablers influence performance measured
by business results, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and impact of society. So identification of
business processes as a key enabler starts the change in thinking about the way in which managers set the
direction for their organization, provide products and/or services and support these operational activities. Also,
by using the EFQM framework, organizations can assess their capability at managing their business processes.
Many are not good at this and far worse at managing the other enablers in the framework. Anecdotal evidence
from judges for the European Quality Award indicates that organizations lag in their development of business
processes. They may identify a discrete process, but fail to look at an integrated set of processes.