ACCT6001 - Business Process Analysis: GAAM Company & IT Enhancement

This assignment presents a detailed business process analysis of GAAM, an international company manufacturing hydraulic and metal products. It identifies business participants, inputs, and outputs, and models the company's processes to highlight strengths and inefficiencies. The analysis reveals issues such as lack of integration and automation, time wastage, difficulty in finding information, and cost inefficiencies. The assignment then proposes solutions through process re-engineering and the implementation of information technology, focusing on improved communication, performance tracking, customer feedback mechanisms, and product development. It also suggests leveraging technologies like cloud computing, social media, and mobile money transfer to enhance business operations. Desklib provides a platform to access similar solved assignments and past papers.

A business process is a manual or automated procedure followed in an organization to achieve a certain goal. It includes different
participants assigned for specific tasks to ensure the goal set by the organization is achieved without fail. These can be categorized in
3types namely
I. Management
II. operational
III. Supporting process.
An accounting information system is a method of collection, management and storage of financial data for analysis by those who have
invested in the business, agencies that collect tax and auditors to keep track of the flow of money in a business. The collected data may
include invoices, payroll, sales orders, and purchase requisitions among others (Oh & Ko, 2018)
For a business process to be efficient, there must be a proper accounting information system that is put in place.
a) Business Participants
Participants include people who have been given a task to perform at a specific step in the business process.
GAAM Company has put in place the following participants for the efficiency of their business process (Kundu & Bairi, 2016)
1) Suppliers

These are the people who are responsible for taking the essential product to the organization. The company gets the raw
material they need to make their product from them.
2) Purchasing manager
He or she is the person in charge of purchasing the order received from the suppliers on behalf of the company. He gets orders
from employees on what they want then he chooses and authorizes the supplier to bring the required material/equipment.
3) Users
These are the workers in need of the purchased equipment/material required to make the final product for sale.
4) Secretary/clerk
He or she is the person in charge of filing documents, and this includes the invoices of the purchased supplies and the ones that
are sold.
5) Buyer
This is the person who purchases the final product from the organization.
b) Input
Input is what the company has used to produce their goods or services, it includes;

Money; it’s used to purchase the required material/equipment.
Knowledge; involves creativity used in making the product.
Equipment; used to make the final product.
Raw Material; example is foundry sand, it is needed for making their products.
Labor; it is workforce involved (Rindell, Mysen, Svensson & Billstrom, 2013)
c) Output
Includes what the mentioned company sells, that is;
 Hydraulic systems
 Building systems
 Metal products
 Hydraulic equipment such as; gear pumps, motors, telescopic cylinders, and control valves.
Business Process Model
The following diagram is a representation of the company’s business process by use of a diagram to show potential improvement.

Strengths and inefficiencies of the current system
Strengths
Participants Products Process End Users
Operations manager
Suppliers
Manufactur
er
Raw material Manufacturing
Customers
sales

1) Protocol
There is an order to follow in the company before purchase of any product. Each department is assigned its specific role to play, and
everybody knows what to do to deliver.
2) Flexibility
The company has put in place a different process to be followed in case of an emergency. This ensures that in case something is
needed urgently, the company doesn’t have to waste time by following the normal process which might take time and slow down the
entire process, it has devised a better way of ensuring what’s required is available.
3) Enough employees
The company has a good number of employees for the normal running of the company; thus there is no overworking because this
usually leads to poor delivery. Each department has a representative to represent them.
4) Communication
A system has been put in place to ensure there is no communication barrier in the whole company. The company has
introduced a card that enables buyers to purchase and the company to sell its product efficiently.

Inefficiencies
1. lack of Integration and automation
The company has failed to embrace the digital way of doing things whereby a program can be set on a computer and be automated to
enable purchases to be made digitally and also to give the company full control of all the purchases and sales made. Instead of using a
card, they can keep a data record of all the purchases and sales of the company. This will quicken the process (Elliott, 2014)
2. Time wastage
Employees waste a lot of time doing things manually. Walking from point A to point B to relay information. E.g, using the card that
has to be frequently checked to see how many purchases they have made and if the buyer has reached the limit. This consumes a lot of
time for both the buyer and the seller.
3. Struggle to find information
It might take a lot of time for an employee to find information especially if they have to go through files or cards manually. Reviewing
files manually is quite a process especially if information needed goes a few years back. Papers sometimes get torn and the ink
becomes invisible with time. It’s a struggle to dig through files to get information.

4. Cost efficiency
Recording data on a computer doesn’t cost a thing unlike making and printing cards keep records on a computer than it is to print
cards. It costs money any time they print them. Use of a computer will cut down the cost of printing cards and will also reduce the
workforce.
Ways through which inefficiencies can be corrected through Re-engineering and use of Information Technology
How to Re-engineer a Process
I. Select Process for Re-engineering
Go through the entire business process and pinpoint the specific areas where there is a problem. You must find out what the
problem is before doing anything. This will enable you to know what to do (Darmani & Hanafizadeh, 2013)
II. Re-visit the mission and Redefine your goals
Once you are aware of what the problem is, you can now go back to the mission of your organization and checks if the mission, the
company or the client has changed in any way then see if there is need to update the mission and come up with new objectives. If any

of the above mentioned things have changed, then there might be need to redefine your goal. Point out the goals you want to redefine
and communicate to all the stakeholders about the changes you wish to make and why (Sikdar & Payyazhi, 2014)
III. Identify major Business Processes
Come up with a business process that relates with your mission and the new objectives if any that will work towards the improvement
of performance of the company in terms of quality, service and cost (He, Ma, Zhang & Shao, 2011)
IV. Build the Process Team
If you are coming up with a new strategy, you need to choose a team that will be trained to handle those changes made and ensure that
chosen team is fully dedicated to taking responsibility for the implementation process so as to achieve your goals in terms of
productivity and efficiency and this will in turn lead to quality production (Timane, 2012)
V. Designing a Streamlined Process
When roles are well defined, some people will eventually become unnecessary to the process. Make sure you get rid of extra staff and
ensure everybody involved in the new process has value to add to the organization. Review the work of every individual and similar
activity to limit the number of employees who are involved in doing same tasks. If possible use BPM software to automate some tasks
(Hossain, 2016)

N/B if the entire process does not add value to the business, do away with it. Focus on what will make the company move forward
towards its mission and achieving the set goals and if the new process becomes successful, stick to it. Avoid long term goals if
necessary and focus on short term goals which will enable you to do the reengineering process more often (Johnson, 2014)
How technology helps to correct inefficiency
a. Communication
Technology can help in improving the communication in any organization.
Soft wares and applications like Cloud and whatsapp mobile technology can help employees to collaborate especially when they are
out on field work stationed in different places (Mturi & Johannesson, 2013). Cloud enables them to work on one document together
and give their contributions as a group. Whatsapp enables a company to form a group where by all information and suggestions can be
made faster and at once manage your ideas.
Nowadays, there are soft wares available to put into system innovation efforts. Such will provide employees a chance to suggest on
issues and work together by choosing and developing on good ideas into products in the companies’ operations.
b. Track performance

Technology has come up with trackers that help to monitor ones performance or the company’s performance. If a company installs
such tracking devices, it will be easy to monitor the performance of an individual as well as the company compared. This makes it
easy for the company to know what changes to make in terms of innovation (Moos & Botha, 2016)
It also helps if the company needs to lay off some workers. The tracker makes it easy for the company to know who is performing well
and who is not.
c. Monitor customer feedback
Any company will want to get feedback from their customers so as to make improvements to their products. Instead of sticking to the
old way of doing things e.g. use of suggestion box, go digital. You can open a social media platform e.g. a Facebook page for your
product and have your customers make improvement suggestions for every new product that you introduce to the market .This will
enable you analyze your market and can lead to good customer relations.
d. Improve products
Technology can also help you develop your product e.g. the 3-D image technology can enable your clients to see the product before
making it. This will provide a ready market for the product by the time it hits the market.

You can also use technology to introduce paperless billing. If your customers take a lot of time or are too slow when paying for goods
let them pay electrically. It’s easier, faster and efficient.
Technologies that can help improve business process
Technology today is playing a major role into the business world through its selling systems to make the business process convenient
for the buyers all over the world. Product delivery is being made online as compared to the analogue way of doing things manually
(Lindgren, 2012)
You Tube
Products such as music have been digitalized. People are running away from cds and DVDs and are selling their music online. Adverts
can also be posted online for consumers to access them
Social Media
Social media platforms have opened a door for business in many ways in that through Facebook, twitter, Instagram and other online
platforms. Business frontiers can advertise their products online free of charge or at a low cost thus saving on advertisement costs.

We also have online shopping sites like eBay a company can sell its products to the buyer without them having to come to the office
and this reduces congestion in business places (Solaimani & Bouwman, 2012)
Most companies are embracing the delivery of goods and services through the internet e.g, Turbo Tax company. This company can
make sell its products to the buyer directly through the internet without having to meet them in person; this saves time both on the
buyer and the seller in that the buyer doesn’t have to go to the seller to get good and neither does the seller have to attend to its buyers
directly.
ATM
Technology has enabled many to access their money faster and anywhere. No more queuing in bank halls to withdraw money.
Mobile Money Transfer
Mobile phones have also come in handy when it comes to money transactions. You can withdraw money from the bank using your
phone then walk into a Mobile money transfer agent that is near to your home and get your money as fast as possible. Most
transactions are being made digitally, in banks, hotels, supermarkets, etc. There is a need to embrace technology in our business plan
to ensure we are at per with the current digital world. Inventory in most companies can also be done by technology not forget those
who order goods in retail (Li, Hao & Zhao, 2009)