The Application of Concepts and Methods Based on Process Approach to Increase Business Process Efficiency

Procedia Economics and Finance 39 ( 2016 ) 197 – 205
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
2212-5671 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of BEMTUR- 2015
doi: 10.1016/S2212-5671(16)30284-2
ScienceDirect
3rd GLOBAL CONFERENCE on BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT and TOURISM,
26-28 November 2015, Rome, Italy
The application of concepts and methods based on process approach
to increase business process efficiency
Andrea Gazova a *, Zuzana Papulova a , Jan Papula a
aComenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Management, Odbojarov 10, 820 05, Bratislava
Abstract
Business process management (BPM) as a systematic managerial approach enables organization's workflow to be more effective,
more efficient and more capable to adapt to an ever-changing environment. BPM attempts to improve processes continuously
with consideration of customer’s needs and requirements. The concept of BPM is not new, however many companies are still
struggling with the implementation of BPM and with application of concept and methods based on process approach. The article
presents findings of our research on current state of implementation and application of BPM in enterprises operating in Slovak
Republic. Our study was focused on several aspects related to BPM such as examination of the reasons why managers decide to
implement BPM in their businesses, the level of process mapping, the level of usage of concept and methods of BPM as well as
the detection of limitations and barriers of process management implementation and application.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Selection and/ peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Research and Education Center.
Keywords: Business Process Management (BPM); Process Approach; Business Process Efficiency; Implementation of BPM
1. Introduction
As natural consequences of the competitiveness growth, of the impact of rising customer requirements and of the
increase of the number of companies offering comparable products, companies are constantly trying to streamline
the operation of the entire organization and to enhance own productivity. As many practitioners and researches
pointed out, business process management in this regard helps to reduce costs, flow time and to improve quality,
productivity and efficiency of processes in organization (Repa, 2012; Weske, 2012). By placing business processes
* Andrea Gazova. Tel.: [phone]
E-mail address: [e-mail]
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of BEMTUR- 2015

198 Andrea Gazova et al. / Procedia Economics and Finance 39 ( 2016 ) 197 – 205
on center stage, companies can gain the capabilities they need to innovate, reenergize performance and deliver the
value current markets demand (Smith, Finglar, 2006). The company investigates all the details concerning the
analysis of their process attributes because every detail can mean an opportunity to improve a competitive advantage
and performance of the company. The process approach is seen as a key tool for continuous improvement of
business processes. The concept of BPM is not new, but still remains as one of the current trends in management
and not only in Slovakia. The benefits and advantages of BPM are quite clear for many managers but on the other
hand, it is necessary also to mention the barriers and risks of process management implementation that are
discouraging managers from BPM implementation. The main challenge remains how to implement process
principles into an organization's operation (Skrinjar, Trkman, 2013).
Therefore, the main purpose of our study is to analyze the implementation of process management and the
attitudes and support of managers towards successful application of process management and its tools and methods.
The aim of our research is to assess how managers approach the implementation of process management, to identify
the main barriers and also to assess the usage of process tools and methods to support application of process
management.
The paper is organized as follows. After introduction, in the literature review, we discuss the principles, history
and various methods and tools of process management. We also point out differences between traditional functional
management and process management to understand the principles of BPM. In addition we define the benefits and
the barriers in connection with the application of process management and change management. In the next section
we describe the main goal, data and methodology of our research. The results of research and analysis are presented
and summarized in the section Results. Last section summaries and concludes our main findings.
2. Literature Review
2.1. From functional orientation to processes orientation
The phrase by Peter Drucker "do the right things the right way" perfectly describes the principle of process
approach in management. Process management is not another form of automation or a fashionable new management
theory (Smith, Finglar, 2006). To gain better understanding, it is useful to start with short explanation of history and
of the classical approach to management based on functions. Process approach in management can be better
specified through its comparison with classical, traditional approach to management.
For many years, companies focused on efficient execution of individual functions, which has led to a local
optimization and perfection of functional areas (Becker, Kahn, 2003). These classical principles in management
were created by Taylor and Fayol and they formed the approach called a „functional management”. Fayol, as a
founder of classical theories in management, named the basic management functions as a planning, organizing,
commanding, coordinating and controlling. He also divided activities of the company into business functions such
as accounting, finance, production, distribution and others (Robbins, Coutler, 2013). Although in the theory and
praxis of management other identification of the basic business functions and activities of company can be found, in
general, there is application of the same principle that aim to break down the company into number of specialized
functions. The main principles of functional management include the fact that the work is organized according the
specialization and creation of functional units, and that correspond with formation of organizational structure and
organization design. Although the functional management was extensively used and its traditional wisdom is deeply
rooted, it was more effective in past in relatively stable environment. We can find many authors and researches who
declared the limits and restriction of functional management and who pointed out the need for fundamental change
(e.g. Hammer a Champy, 1993; Becker, Kahn 2003; Trunecek, 2003; Borovsky, 2005; Repa, 2012). However, the
idea of a process orientation design is not new. It has been increasing attention since the end of 80 ́s (Becker, Kahn,
2003). The process principles were firstly outlined by M. Hammer in USA (Hammer, Champy, 1993). Their
approach is known as re-engineering and it began to be applied progressively in the U.S. companies from the early
80's of 20th century. Later in the 90's it began to appear in the U.S. under the name of BPM - Business Process
Management. Overall historical development of Process Management and comparison between continuous
improvement, re-engineering and the third wave of BPM is best expressed in Table 1, in particular with regard to its
development in the USA (Lusk et al., 2005; Papulova et al., 2014.) In Slovakia, process management became

199Andrea Gazova et al. / Procedia Economics and Finance 39 ( 2016 ) 197 – 205
popular at the beginning of 21 st century. As mentioned, process management has been developing gradually - the
first wave with the development of information technologies and quality management. Since 1960, the development
of technology started the first wave of process orientation. International (especially Japanese) companies were
becoming more competitive, especially due to their concentration on quality and problem-solving areas. U.S.
companies began to imitate the approach to quality. The combination of this investigation and technological
development has led companies to rethink the management approach and thus the process era began. Companies
were also oriented to TQM and ISO standards later on. The increased need to manage data meaningfully caused the
development of Statistical Process Control. Increasing use of computers in the seventies and eighties led to the
development of quantitative statistical software and the use of techniques of data collection that allowed
measurement, collection and interpretation of the results. The second wave of process management encouraged
companies to expand their business with process innovation, radical redesign and operational excellence. Finally,
the companies focused on continuous change with better adaptability and agility in early 2000. Market growth was
the accelerator for process effectiveness and performance measurement. In this time of hyper-competition,
organizations witness an accelerating pace of technological change - an acceleration of “clockspeed” in one industry
after another (Fine, 1998). There is an infusion of new technology even in traditional industries. Major vehicles for
that infusion are the role of software and information technology (IT) in determining product functionality and
facilitating logistics. The focus is on meeting customer needs through discovery that enables heightened
performance and new features – BPM methods, not increased reliability through control. This is especially the case
with getting new technologies to customers as quickly as possible as firms seek to create new markets and carve out
market leadership positions with potentially long-term positive consequences (Moore, 2000).
Table 1 Three waves of Process Management
Phase Period Focus on Management of
organization
Technology Tools/ methods
Industrial age 1750–
1960
Specialization
Productivity
performance
Cost reduction
Functional
Hierarchy
Line production
Orders/Controls
Mechanization
Standardization
Data Storage
Scientific
management
Financial Modeling
Information age
The first wave -
Process
improvement
1970–
1980
Quality Management
Continuous flow
Task efficiency
Diversification of
companies
Fusions and
acquisitions
Automation
Information
Technology
Management
TQM
Statistical process
control
Process
Improvement
Methods
The second wave
– Re-
engineering
90 ́s
Process Innovation
Best practices
Better, Faster
Business over the
internet
Flat organizations
Value Added for
customers
operational
excellence
Enterprise
Architecture
ERP
CRM
Supply Chain
Management
ABC
Six Sigma
Process redesign
Methods of
Reengineering
The third wave -
Process
Management
2000 +
Evaluation
Adaptability
Agility
Continuous Change
Network-centric
organizations
Hyper-competition
Market growth
Process
effectiveness before
efficiency
Enterprise Application
Integration
Architecture oriented
on services
Performance
Management Software
BPM Systems
BSC
BPM methods
Outsourcing