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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 (that serves a particular business goal) 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. (2025). 9781466602502, Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781466602502 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 . (2025). 9780128004722, Morgan Kaufmann. ISBN 9780128004722
Broadly speaking, business processes can be organized into three types, according to von Rosing et al.:
There are other definitions of the classification of processes proposed by José Manuel Pardo Álvarez9788481439489 ISBN 9788481439489
A business made up of many process may be decomposed into various subprocesses, each of which have their own peculiar aspects but also contribute to achieving the objectives of the business. The business review analyzes processes, that usually include the mapping or modeling of processes and sub-processes down to a group of activities at different levels. Processes can be modeled using a large number of methods and techniques. For instance, the Business Process Modeling Notation is a business process modeling technique that can be used for drawing business processes in a visualized workflow. While decomposing processes into process classifications, categories can be helpful, but care must be taken in doing so as there may be crossover. At last, all processes are part of a largely unified customer-focused result, one of "customer value creation." This goal is expedited with business process management, which aims to analyze, improve, and enact business processes.
One man draws out the wire; another straights it; a third cuts it; a fourth points it; a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head; to make the head requires two or three distinct operations; to put it on is a peculiar business; to whiten the pins is another ... and the important business of making a pin is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen distinct operations, which, in some manufactories, are all performed by distinct hands, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.Smith also first recognized how output could be increased through the use of labor division. Previously, in a society where production was dominated by artisan, one man would perform all the activities required during the production process, while Smith described how the work was divided into a set of simple tasks which would be performed by specialized workers. The result of labor division in Smith's example resulted in productivity increasing by 24,000 percent (sic), i.e. that the same number of workers made 240 times as many pins as they had been producing before the introduction of labor division.
Smith did not advocate labor division at any price or . The appropriate level of task division was defined through experimental design of the production process. In contrast to Smith's view which was limited to the same functional domain and comprised activities that are in direct sequence in the manufacturing process, today's process concept includes cross-functionality as an important characteristic. Following his ideas, the division of labor was adopted widely, while the integration of tasks into a functional, or cross-functional, process was not considered as an alternative option until much later. (2025). 9783642803178, Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642803178
a structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organization, in contrast to a product focus's emphasis on what. A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action. ... Taking a process approach implies adopting the customer's point of view. Processes are the structure by which an organization does what is necessary to produce value for its customers.This definition contains certain characteristics that a process must possess. These characteristics are achieved by focusing on the business logic of the process (how work is done) instead of taking a product perspective (what is done). Following Davenport's definition of a process, we can conclude that a process must have clearly defined boundaries, input and output, consist of smaller parts and activities which are ordered in time and space, that there must be a receiver of the process outcome—a customer – and that the transformation taking place within the process must add customer value.
Hammer & Champy's (1993)Michael Hammer and James Champy (1993). Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business definition can be considered as a subset of Davenport's. They define a process as:
a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer.As we can note, Hammer & Champy have a more transformation-oriented perception and put less emphasis on the structural component – process boundaries and the order of activities in time and space.
Rummler & Brache (1995)Rummler & Brache (1995). Improving Performance: How to manage the white space on the organizational chart. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco use a definition that clearly encompasses a focus on the organization's external customers, when stating that
a business process is a series of steps designed to produce a product or service. Most processes (...) are cross-functional, spanning the 'white space' between the boxes on the organization chart. Some processes result in a product or service that is received by an organization's external customer. We call these primary processes. Other processes produce products that are invisible to the external customer but essential to the effective management of the business. We call these support processes.
The above definition distinguishes two types of processes, primary and support processes, depending on whether a process is directly involved in the creation of customer value or concerned with the organization's internal activities. In this sense, Rummler and Brache's definition follows Porter's value chain model, which also builds on a division of primary and secondary activities. According to Rummler and Brache, a typical characteristic of a successful process-based organization is the absence of secondary activities in the primary value flow that is created in the customer oriented primary processes. The characteristic of processes as spanning the white space on the organization chart indicates that processes are embedded in some form of organizational structure. Also, a process can be cross-functional, i.e. it ranges over several business functions.
Johansson et al. (1993).Henry J. Johansson et al. (1993). Business Process Reengineering: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance. John Wiley & Sons define a process as:
a set of linked activities that take an input and transform it to create an output. Ideally, the transformation that occurs in the process should add value to the input and create an output that is more useful and effective to the recipient either upstream or downstream.This definition also emphasizes the constitution of links between activities and the transformation that takes place within the process. Johansson et al. also include the upstream part of the value chain as a possible recipient of the process output. Summarizing the four definitions above, we can compile the following list of characteristics for a business process:
Frequently, identifying a process owner (i.e., the person responsible for the continuous improvement of the process) is considered as a prerequisite. Sometimes the process owner is the same person who is performing the process.
Creating a Strong Brand Presence through Social Media
Creating a strong brand presence through social media is an important component to running a successful business. Companies can market, gain consumer insights, and advertise through social media. "According to a Salesforce survey, 85% of consumers conduct research before they make a purchase online, and among the most used channels for research are Website (74%) and social media (38%). Consequently, businesses need to have an effective online strategy to increase brand awareness and grow." (Paun, 2020) Customers engage and interact through social media and businesses who are effectively part of social media drive more successful businesses. The most common social media sites that are used for business are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Businesses with the strongest brand recognition and consumer engagement build social presences on all these platforms.
Resources: Paun, Goran (2020). Building A Brand: Why A Strong Digital Presence Matters. Forbes. Sourced from
The world of e-business created a need to automate business processes across organizations, which in turn raised the need for standardized protocols and web services composition languages that can be understood across the industry. The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) and Business Motivation Model (BMM) are widely used standards for business modeling. The Business Modeling and Integration Domain Task Force (BMI DTF) is a consortium of vendors and user companies that continues to work together to develop standards and specifications to promote collaboration and integration of people, systems, processes and information within and across enterprises.
The most recent trends in BPM are influenced by the emergence of cloud technology, the prevalence of social media and mobile technology, and the development of analytical techniques. Cloud-based technologies allow companies to purchase resources quickly and as required, independent of their location. Social media, websites and smart phones are the newest channels through which organizations reach and support their customers. The abundance of customer data collected through these channels as well as through call center interactions, emails, voice calls, and customer surveys has led to a huge growth in data analytics which in turn is utilized for performance management and improving the ways in which the company services its customers.
Business processes are designed to be operated by one or more business functional units, and emphasize the importance of the "process chain" rather than the individual units.
In general, the various tasks of a business process can be performed in one of two ways:
Typically, some process tasks will be manual, while some will be computer-based, and these tasks may be sequenced in many ways. In other words, the data and information that are being handled through the process may pass through manual or computer tasks in any given order.
For example, if a recommendation to replace a given policy with a better one is made with proper justification and accepted in principle by business process owners, then corresponding changes in the consequent processes and procedures will follow naturally in order to enable implementation of the policies.
Another example from production is the process of analyzing line occurring on the shop floor. This process should include systematic periodical analysis of rejections by reason and present the results in a suitable information report that pinpoints the major reasons and trends in these reasons for management to take corrective actions to control rejections and keep them within acceptable limits. Such a process of analysis and summarisation of line rejection events is clearly superior to a process which merely inquires into each individual rejection as it occurs.
Business and operatives should realise that process improvement often occurs with introduction of appropriate transaction, operational, highlight, exception or M.I.S. reports, provided these are consciously used for day-to-day or periodical decision-making. With this understanding would hopefully come the willingness to invest time and other resources in business process improvement by introduction of useful and relevant reporting systems.
Large organizations that are not organized as markets need to be organized in smaller units, or departments – which can be defined according to different principles.
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