BUSINESS 2020 Business Process Modelling

[1]
BCO2000 Business Process Modelling
By
[Student’s name]
Course
Institution
Date

[2]
1. The functional structure. This is a system where a company groups its employees
according to their functions to form various departments. In a functional structure decision
making is done by upper management which ensures that the top management exercises
complete control over the organization (Galliers and Leidner, 2014, p. 88). However, this
structure could lead to poor communication among the departments which would mean that
cooperation would be lacking between the departments and it could foster inter-departmental
conflict.
2. A functional information system is a system that is based on various business functions
for instance marketing, finance, human resources, and production. Each functional area in the
organization is given a suitable application. Functional information systems are preferred
because they are function specific hence enhances the efficiency within departments (Jeston and
Nelis, 2014, p. 44). However, functional information systems can be very costly to install in the
whole organization. Enterprise resource planning systems are systems that support the entire
organization needs with a single integrated system. They are efficient for the organization as it
enables data sharing within the departments however it can be notoriously expensive to install.
3. A business process is a set of activities that once completed will accomplish the
organization's goals a business process comprises of the management process, operational
process and supporting processes (Koschmider et al., 2011, p. 500). For instance, Samsung
Company aims at increasing their sales and meeting the customer's current technological needs
hence management process would involve to the approval of the developed designs in as long as

[3]
they meet the standards, the operational process would be the product development and proper
marketing strategies. Finally to support this goal Samsung’s HR team would need to ensure they
use the proper talent and create an appropriate working environment for their staff.
4. a functional view of business means that the company ‘s activities are organized
along its functions such as production, finance or marketing while a business process view
means that events are arranged in the order of their process, e.g. purchasing raw material,
manufacturing, distribution then sales (Mendling et al., 2010 , p. 130). The advantage of process
view or orientation is that it enhances the performance of organizations because they concentrate
on the process and not a particular function, it also encourages direct interaction between
departments which improves coordination and streamlines work flow. Finally, business process
orientation ensures departments collaborate to achieve common goals unlike in functional view
where the failure of one department could be detrimental.
5. Silo effect refers to a situation where there is lack of information flow between groups
or departments in large organizations. Sony Ltd in the 1980s was reorganized into 10 and then 25
sub-companies which over time reduced its efficiency because of the internal competition within
it. Introducing ERP within the organization can help break down silos because all information
and data in the organization are contained in one integrated system making it easier for
departments to share and access information generated by another department (Trkman, 2010, p.
50).