Business Process Management Case Study: Small Business Analysis

This report presents a comprehensive reflection on Business Process Management (BPM), drawing insights from a case study focused on its implementation within small businesses. The study highlights the application of BPM techniques and tools to improve business operations, mirroring the benefits observed in larger organizations. The report details the background of BPM, its evolution, and the advantages it offers, such as increased flexibility, accuracy, and cost savings. It discusses the challenges faced by small businesses, including time constraints and limited resources, and explores how BPM can overcome these obstacles through automation and the use of technologies like workflow and document management systems. The case study showcases the positive outcomes of BPM adoption, including improved quality, timeliness, and labor management. The reflection also covers the impact of ERP systems and the role of process infrastructure in achieving business objectives. The report concludes by emphasizing the applicability of BPM in small business environments and its potential for further development, offering recommendations for focused improvements in areas such as small stream development and specific implementation strategies. The report references key literature to support the analysis and findings.

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Name
Course
Lecturer
Date of Submission

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BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT
Part B: Individual Reflection Report
Introduction
Business process Management (BPM) being a broad management discipline it deals with
upscaling the performance of an organization by making improvement, managing and controlling
of business processes. It comprises of techniques, methods and software which are important in
all its stages of process lifecycle which includes design, analysis, control and enactment. Greater
flexibility, fast execution, increased accuracy reduced investment and cost savings are some of
the targeted performance benefits by BPM.
BPM is critical to organizations since it helps in understanding business operations,
facilitating designing of products and services, promotes stakeholder engagement, enhancing
organizational change and also communication based on internet.
Module reflection and learning
Module 1 covers: Business process model which comprises of several activity models
and particular constraints while executing them e.g. quote to order, order to cash, procure to pay,
etc. Pillars of BPM which are people, process and technology. BPM development which involves
functional organization, process thinking, the Rise and Fall of BPR, technology advancement
e.g. ERP and WfMSs systems. BPM life cycle which consists of design and analysis,
configuration, enactment, evaluation and also, administration and stakeholders. Business process
levels which composes of organizational and operational business processes.
Module 2 covers: it deals with drivers of BPM projects and opportunities. The interests in
BPM are to be able in responding to market change fast and with agility, better understanding of
business processes and be able to change them quickly, and elements of core business process.
Key BPM capabilities such as leveraging for efficiency, responding faster and managing change.
Basic components of BPM which comprises of modeling and simulation, business activity
monitoring (BAM), rules and pre-built frameworks, content-centric processing, collaboration
between people and process automation. The Ten principles of good BPM which are principles
of context awareness, continuity, enablement, holism, institutionalization, involvement, joint
understanding, purpose, simplicity and technology appropriation. BPM drivers and triggers
related to organization, management, employees, customers, products and services, process and
information technology.
Module 3 covers: Business process analytics which involves the using of tools and
techniques for the purpose of turning data into business insights making it meaningful. Types of
analytics consist of descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics. There is also traditional
analytics, big data analytics and excel power user. Key BP analytics includes core competency,
supply chain and, project and program analytics. Some of the commonly used business and
analytical tools are spreadsheet (current in-use), databases, purchased information, gathering

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from business social media, regressions, statistical tools, modelling, Oracle, SAP and salesforce.
Main BPI methods which contains Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), process mapping,
Six Sigma and benchmarking.
Module 4 covers: Enterprise system, ERP system, ERP phases/Life cycle, ERP and E-
Business, ERP business objectives, ERP implementation, ERP monitor and control, ERP
customization and configuration, challenge of ERP, ERP evaluation and its tools.
Case study and presentation reflection
In the presentation, it is describing the background and adoption of BPM techniques
which were used in small businesses and organizations. Automation of manual business process
and procedures was one of the common practice of the study. Improvement of the corporate
functions of the businesses was the main focus. The case for the small and medium sized
organizations was about services of outsourced management accounting.
A great percentage of business in Australia is contributed by the small business which
consist of not more than 20 employees. The business process which was designed for the purpose
of business long-term viability and competitiveness is in pilot phase and the final full suite is
offered to the clients.
During the application of BPM, implementation of process infrastructure was done to
research the small business effectiveness. This involved preparing a process governance
framework, process architecture, modelling of the core service delivery processes, developing of
pilot process and procedures library, and demonstration of a system for resource allocation.
BPM methodologies were used for smaller organizations which have simpler structure
and deviates from the ones used in larger businesses traditionally, and this method in minimizing
complexities for the firm.
Compering the consistency in quality and time maintenance with the rivals was one of the
adoption technique used in business processes of the small organizations. Labor management
which involves minimizing labor costs would help in gaining competitive advantage.
Technology implementation such as workflow and document management would be used in
which the ability is limited.
The consequences of the BPM adoption are process models and documentations for
training and reference purpose, assistance of having shared understanding of the system, resource
allocation which are beneficial to the organization.
For recommendation, Small stream development, research and considerations, delivery
techniques and specific implementation and demands are useful for achieving better focus of the
businesses.
For conclusion, the presentation was from a case study of a single business, which shows
application of BPM tools, techniques and technologies for small businesses with option of
exploring the sector further and potential developments. (Breyfogle III, 2014)

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Challenges experienced
Normally small business operates under considerable pressure of time and cost, with
constrains of financial and human resources, and which their access to skills is limited. These
elements usually can negatively influence and impact the adoption of Business Process
Management (BPM) by the small businesses. Stakeholders’ perception and limited access to
references, comprehensive information and practical guidance made the process to consume
more time. (Imanipour, Talebi, & Rezazadeh, 2012)
If automation of all process is beneficial to an organization
Yes, having process automation is a sign of an organization operating its daily business
activities and processes on a very powerful IT equipment and system. The automation process
bridges both the business process expectation and business process reality. It helps in facilitating
accelerated process efficiency in which it ensures there is quality and easy management,
appropriate resource allocation and cost behavior. (Gardner, 2014)
Existing Advantages which helped easy implementation of BPM in small Business
According to Al-Mudimigh, the proliferation of ERP systems has been a major reason
and contributor for increasing prominence of BPM. Small businesses usually have activities
which are integrated tightly with rapid decision-making and strong work ethic. Having small
businesses composing of a large proportion of global businesses, within this sector a successful
and widespread adoption of BPM was essential in achieving a meaningful in-roads into
productivity improvement.
More important, The Business’ structure and culture evolution as a process-aware
organization was perceived as a strategic imperative. (Al-Mudimigh, 2007)
Errors Minimized in the case study related to lean six sigma
Some of the errors minimized were business Process complexity, key categories of
process decisions identification, process roles and responsibilities outlining, process standards,
performance measures and compliance activities. (Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2010)
Type of redesign process applied in OS
As per SPR knowledge, the modelling, analysis and simulation of software processes can
be employed from heuristics derivation based on results of theoretical or empirical studies.
(Mindtools, 2018)
Benefits brought by application of BPM in the case study.
Some of the benefits of the adoption of BPM as highlighted in “The Business” case study
are: It helped the organization in ensuring consistent in quality and timeliness of outputs as
compared to its rivals who don’t embrace them. It has led to better labor management by

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ensuring utilizing the cheap and appropriate resource. It developed the capacity to implementing
technologies such as workflow system, document management systems and business intelligence
in which their use is recently limited amongst its rivals. (Kirchmer, 2011)
An example of platform system used in BPM application infrastructure process
Service-Oriented Architecture is one of the systems platforms used in BPM application.
It is collection of services which communicates with each other. The services are offered to other
elements or components by application communicated over a network. (Siha & Saad, 2008)
Conclusion
The case study of process infrastructure development within a small business has outlined
that BPM techniques and tools are applicable in a small business environment in order to be
beneficial similar to those of larger businesses.
References

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Al-Mudimigh, A. S. (2007). The role and ipmpact of business process management in enterprise
systems implementation. Business Process Management Journal, 866-874.
Breyfogle III, F. W. (2014). Five Benefits from Implementing Business Process Management.
15-23.
Gardner, A. (2014). 7 Benefits of Business Process Automation. 4-9.
Imanipour, N., Talebi, K., & Rezazadeh, S. (2012). Obstacles in business process management
(BPM) implementation and adoption in SMEs. 67-82.
Kirchmer, M. (2011). Small and medium enterprises also benefit from MPE. High performance
through process excellence, 147-157.
Mindtools. (2018, December 04). Mindtools. Retrieved from Business Process Re-engineering:
https://www.mindtools.com
Rosemann, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2010). The six core elements of business process
management. Handbook on Business Process Management 1., 107-122.
Siha, S. M., & Saad, G. H. (2008). Business process improvement: empirical assesment and
extensions. Business Process Management Journal, 778-802.