Process organization

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Processes in the company

In a process organization , a company is oriented towards (cross-departmental or cross-divisional) business processes . Business processes are often divided into three categories: core processes (e.g. marketing processes, production processes , logistics processes), management processes (e.g. planning and control processes) and supporting processes (e.g. personnel processes, accounting and finance processes) .

Process organization is based on processes that link activities with defined follow-up relationships and with a continuous flow of services. The processes are based on the customer in order to add value for the customer and the company. On the one hand, this should improve coordination - fewer interfaces at departmental boundaries should lead to fewer errors in the temporal and material provision of (partial) services. On the other hand, the motivation of the employees should increase, since services add value and are provided for the customer.

The term process organization was coined by Michael Gaitanides , who replaced the traditional term of process organization on the basis of the reengineering concept .

introduction

Process organization takes a " horizontal" holistic view of the company (as opposed to the organizational, vertical, hierarchical view). The horizontal view extends beyond company boundaries and includes not only customers but also suppliers . The organizational structure (e.g. represented by an organizational chart ) is pushed into the background by the change in perspective . Concentrating on the process organization enables a company to recognize its value creation processes and to improve them in a targeted manner (e.g. with CIP ). Effective process management helps to design optimal processes and can set the company apart from the competition , as customer-oriented processes represent a competitive advantage.

Reasons for process organization

  • Increasing competition
  • Higher market dynamics require flexibility and adaptability of the products / services and the processes behind them
  • increasing customer expectations regarding products / services and the related service
  • Increasing demands of qualified employees on the job, away from specialization towards interdisciplinary activities

Theoretical foundations

The contingency approach of organizational theory describes that in dynamic environments a process organization is more likely to arise because it is then more efficient. The transaction cost economics describes a development path for process organization when the environmental conditions are dynamic. In this case, the transaction costs rise sharply with a specialized division of labor (additional factors for the level of the transaction costs are the specificity, the frequency and the strategic importance). In the case of non-dynamic environments, the Tayloristic principles should be adhered to, since their advantages overcompensate for the disadvantages of the interface problem. Both theories can only give tendencies. A recommendation as to when and which form of organization makes more sense cannot be derived.

Structure of the process organization

A process-oriented company is organized according to consistent, cross-functional processes that extend from the supplier to the customer. The individual processes consist of related activities that are grouped into organizational units. They are largely autonomous and aim to efficiently meet customer needs. Processes are typically categorized into

A process is subordinated to a process owner who is responsible for the results and takes over the coordination within the process and with other processes. The employees are grouped together in a process team that oversees a process from start to finish. It is also possible for the team to organize itself.

advantages

The advantages of a process organization are

  • the concentration on the activities that create value and are thus rewarded by the customer.
  • the better mastery of the work processes
  • (dynamic) process thinking and the departure from a more static organizational structure
  • a cross-functional perspective, as many processes run through several company areas

Other advantages are

  • a clear number of interfaces , which leads to a reduction in coordination and coordination problems.
  • a clearly defined responsibility, whereby sources of error can be reduced to a minimum and thus the throughput time of a process can be shortened.
  • a high degree of flexibility with regard to a constantly and rapidly changing environment. Process-oriented companies can react quickly and in a customer-oriented manner to changing market requirements .
  • a defined person is responsible for a process and is therefore the contact person.

disadvantage

  • The change in perspective from a vertical to a horizontal view necessitates a fundamental rethinking of the entire company, which can lead to expenses for team building measures and training.
  • Optimization of the process flows leads to a coordination effort, especially in the process steps that can be assigned to several value-adding processes.
  • If the company management fears losing authority , it can lead to conflicts, up to and including a return to the old form of organization.
  • By concentrating on the process - instead of concentrating on the function - the efficiency advantages of the Tayloristic division of labor and specialization are lost.
  • Excessive process thinking (“process-relatedness”: a process is defined for every event; the company no longer has a clear structure, but is only understood as a collection of processes) can lead to renewed bureaucratisation, a loss of improvisational skills and a blurring of responsibility.

application

An ideal process organization is only very rarely achieved in reality. Often the hierarchy (which has grown over the years) in a company is too strong. However, an attempt can be made to meet the requirements of process orientation as well as possible.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ M. Gaitanides: Prozessorganisation, 1st edition, Munich 1983, p. 62
  2. ↑ M. Hammer, J. Champy: Business Reengineering. The radical cure for the company, 7th edition, Frankfurt / New York 1997
  3. ↑ Service processes in contrast to other process categories
  4. ^ Kohlbacher, M. (2010): The Effects of Process Orientation: A Literature Review . Business Process Management Journal 16 (1), pp. 135–152.

literature

  • Hartmut F. Binner: Handbook of process-oriented work organization . 3. Edition. Munich 2008, ISBN 3446416277
  • Guido Fischermanns: Practical Guide to Process Management . 11th edition. Giessen 2013, ISBN 978-3-921313-89-3 .
  • Michael Gaitanides: Process Organization . 3rd edition, Munich 2012, ISBN 3800642174
  • Michael Hammer, James Champy: Business reengineering . 7th edition. Frankfurt 2003, ISBN 3-59335017-3
  • Thilo Knuppertz, Uwe Feddern: Process-oriented corporate management. Introduce and anchor process management holistically . Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-7910-2985-6
  • Hermann J. Schmelzer, Wolfgang Stuhlmann: Business process management in practice . 8th edition. Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-446-43460-8
  • Manfred Schulte-Zurhausen: Organization . 6th edition. Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-8006-4689-0
  • Rudolf Wilhelm: process organization . 2nd Edition. Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-486-58302-1