Process optimization
The process optimization is used in economic entities to the efficiency and effectiveness of existing labor , business , production and development processes and the use of these requirements, resources to improve continuously.
General
The economic subjects include companies , authorities , social institutions or other associations of people who can carry out internal process optimization to better achieve their goals .
The process optimization has been a long time as the task of quality management angesenen, however, is increasingly becoming a part of a comprehensive integrated today Process Management grown from businesses and institutions. Process thinking and optimization as the basis of an effective business management orientation is an indispensable part of every modern management today in order to be able to survive in national and international competition .
Basics
The basis is a process-oriented approach to all operational processes. For this it is necessary to abandon traditional hierarchical “departmental thinking” and instead define process chains across departments ( process vs. organizational structure ). The given processes must first be recorded and classified as part of the process analysis, for example using process modeling . In order to evaluate the quality and performance of the processes to be described in this way, suitable parameters (so-called key performance indicators , or KPIs for short) must be introduced. With the help of a process description obtained in this way, a process map ( processogram ) of the company can be created, which serves as a reference basis for further optimization. This can affect all areas of the company, starting with research and development, through production and administration to purchasing , sales and delivery. Ideally, as part of an integrated e-business concept, the entire operational processes as well as the human and material resources are subjected to such an evaluation and classification. The aim of the continuous process optimization that starts on the basis of such an evaluation is to continuously improve the given processes without interrupting their sequence. Well-known management concepts in this context are, for example, Business Process Reengineering (BPR) from 1991, Six Sigma (early 1990s), Kaizen (1994) or Balanced Scorecard (1996), cf. Fischermanns, Praxishandbuch Prozessmanagement, p. 40 ff.
Tools
Mastering complex business processes and their optimization is no longer conceivable today without suitable software tools. For this purpose, a large number of providers offer more or less suitable software packages that can be adapted to the respective operational requirements. These serve in particular to analyze the defined processes and their key figures in order to be able to classify them with regard to their contribution to added value. On the basis of the knowledge gained from this, the operational resources are then to be concentrated on key processes with the help of these tools and corresponding target values are to be developed. The results obtained in this way are subsequently checked for their effectiveness in the context of software simulations .
status
In the context of the global complexity of today's business processes (e-business concepts, etc.), such process-oriented approaches are increasingly indispensable. However, companies and institutions that have achieved at least an approximate integration in this regard are still rare (see IDS Scheer Business Process Report 2006). Nowadays, production processes as well as sales and logistics processes are predominantly optimized in terms of costs and lead times. Areas that have more soft key performance indicators (KPI) (wherever the human factor comes into play) are seldom recorded in terms of process technology and subject to process optimization . This is not least due to the fact that the creative and complex value-added processes, due to their individual characteristics, can often not yet be appropriately analyzed and improved with the currently available software tools, as it is often difficult in the modeling and analysis phase to identify these soft factors with static models at all capture. Such processes are usually not very repetitive and can therefore only be partially optimized through standardization at the task level. More promising are methodologies that contribute to improving the self-management of employees. Leading technology companies use nudge management here . Based on knowledge of behavioral science, a process environment is created that makes it easy for those involved to instinctively behave correctly. (cf. P. Ebert, W. Freibichler: Nudge Management, 2017.)
See also
literature
- Guido Fischermanns: Practical Guide to Process Management . 11th edition. Giessen 2013, ISBN 978-3-921313-89-3 .
- Karl W. Wagner, Gerold Patzak: Performance Excellence - The practical guide to effective process management . Hanser, Munich / Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-446-40575-2 .
- C. Tonigold: Program, resource and process optimization as components of the adaptation planning of machining production systems in flow production. ( Heinz Nixdorf Institute ) publishing series, Paderborn, Volume 230, Faculty of Economics, University of Paderborn, Jan. 2008.
- P. Ebert, W. Freibichler: Nudge management: applying behavioral science to increase knowledge worker productivity. In: Journal of Organization Design. 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Hermann J. Schmelzer / Wolfgang Stuhlmann: Business process management in practice: Satisfy customers - increase productivity - increase value . 6th edition. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2008.