Management of Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management of Processes - Essay Example However, the pressure of globalization and foreign competition had a big impact on the revenues of these companies (Emmons, Garry 2006). Lack of vision, corporate bureaucracy, bloated product lines or overcapacity, and lack of proper business management process started pulling down the sales of the American auto majors. Where the American auto companies lost, The Japanese auto major - Toyota - gained. Toyota acquired a significant market share by exporting attractive, low-cost, fuel-efficient vehicles to America. The Japanese auto giant achieved this by focusing on refreshing their products and having the flexibility in their factories. It stressed on the importance of lean manufacturing process and evolved the Toyota Production System (TPS). The company prefers to customize existing systems and equipment rather than installing the latest fancy technology. Their plants are in a state of continual improvement and repurposing, with input from everybody. Toyota uses technology not only in the manufacturing process, but also in engineering and designing. The objective of the 14 Principles of the Toyota Way is to base management decisions on a philosophical sense of purpose and think long term, to have a process for solving problems, to add value to the organization by developing its people, and to recognize that continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning (Liker, J. 2004). Behind Toyota's assembly line are sophisticated information systems supporting and enabling the business processes that help the automaker eliminate waste, limit inventory buildup and continually improve production. The main idea behind this business process management [BPM] is to blend machine-to-machine and human-to-machine connections to improve efficiency. What drives Toyota is its presumption of imperfection. The management encourages its work force to design and implement processes that help in getting it right the first time by reducing errors. It stress on continuous improvement and a pervasive lack of complacency with whatever was accomplished yesterday. B200 - Understanding Business: Processes Business organizations are considered as complex assemblies of interrelated sets of activities in which inputs are converted into outputs. This section helps us understand how business organizations apply the systems theory to perform their activities. It focuses on the importance of processes, and the resources that are needed for organizational success. Business management is now a systematic, methodical process that guarantees efficiency and effectiveness. Dr. Fahad Al Mekrad has discussed this topic at length in one of his works (B200 - Understanding Business: Processes). Transformation Process Model Organizations perform as systems and all parts the organization are operations. Organizations can either be 'closed or 'open' systems. Closed systems are completely self-supporting, while open systems interact with their environment. Open systems receive inputs from their environment, convert these inputs into outputs, and discharge their outputs into their environment. All operations are based on this input-transformation-output model. Competing on Capabilities The building blocks of corporate strategy are not products and markets, but