COIT12203 Workflow Analysis - Carlson Case Study Report, Term 1, 2018

This report provides an analysis of the Carlson case study, focusing on the company's business process management strategies. It evaluates Carlson's approach to process management, performance evaluation techniques like management by objectives and forced ranking, and its methods for motivating employees. The report also addresses potential change management and risk issues, outlining a systematic procedure for managing change, including readiness assessment, communication planning, and managing resistance. The analysis concludes by emphasizing the importance of a well-defined process management plan and the need for continuous evaluation and adaptation to organizational changes.

REPORT ON THE CARLSON CASE STUDY
May 29, 2018

2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Process management refers to the process by which a company or business organization aligns
procedures with its strategic objectives, designs and implements process architectures,
establishes systems that align with its goals to measure the processes and educates managers on
effective process management. Similarly, a business process is a collection of activities
undertaken by an organization with an intention of transforming information, resources or
business commitments to produce an output.
This report covers the case study on business process management of Carlson Company. It is a
private company based in America with headquarters located in Minnesota. It is one of the
leading companies in the travel industry, offering hospitality, travel, and accommodation
services. Carlson Company practices process management in its endeavors to monitor and ensure
the smooth running of business processes. This report aims to describe how the Carlson
Company conducts its business process management.

3
Part 3: Process Performance Evaluation
Performance evaluation is an important aspect of any business organization. Creating an
evaluation system to review the performance of employees and the company at large can help
determine the direction of the business. Management by objectives is one of the perfect methods
used by companies to measure performance. Carson Company has a total of one hundred and
seventy-six thousand employees. All these employees need to be evaluated and monitored in
terms of performance so as to ensure quality output from each of them (Fengel, 2014).
To evaluate performance, a company may need to follow the procedure involved. This
includes creating a form for guidance during evaluation, identifying measures and criteria of
performance, setting guidelines for feedback, formulating procedures for disciplining and
terminating processes and employees, and finally, setting a schedule for evaluation. Management
by objectives is mostly used to evaluate the managers and employees in top positions. To
implement this, the Carlson Company should clearly define their objectives to the employees;
provide necessary resources for the achievement of the goals, and meeting periodically to assess
performance. The performance can then be measured by the number of goals achieved by the
employees within the designated time frame (Klun & Trkman, 2018).
Carlson Company can also use the forced ranking technique to measure the performance
of its employees. The best performers should be ranked separately from average performers, who
should also be ranked separately from poor performers. This technique does not only evaluate
performance but also promotes competition among the employees, resulting in quality output.
The use of graphic rating scales can also be an appropriate method to measure performance. This
process involves listing employee duties and performance standards with a rating scale of one to
five. Choosing one scale indicates the performance of an employee on certain duty. Maruscia et
al (2017) argue that this method is ideal for companies dealing with fast pace activities, making
it suitable for Carlson Company since it deals with hospitality and travel services.
Process performance management involves the ways in which a company motivates and
empowers its employees to create a conducive and pleasant environment for quality
performance. Carlson Company can employ this method of management to ensure full utilization
of potentials and skills possessed by its employees. In the travel industry, so many activities are

4
involved and the working hours usually run into the night. To motivate and empower the Carlson
employees, management should ensure that workers only work within designated hours and not
to overwork themselves. Also, day offs and holidays should be offered apart from giving salary
increments. The company can also offer insurance covers to the employees to assure them of
their safety during work. This move may motivate them to work hard and hence performance
evaluation may become easier (Natschläger & Geist, 2013).
After creating a friendly and conducive working environment for employees, motivating
and empowering them, the management now needs to assess their performance as well as the
performance of the company in general. Assessment of performance can be done through
evaluating the objectives and identifying which ones have been met and which ones have not yet
been met. The individual assessment of employees in terms of ranking and evaluating individual
projects and objectives can also help in assessing performance. The Carlson Company can assess
its employees by checking on their set objectives and whether they have been achieved within
the set time or not. Quality service delivery is one of the main objectives of Carlson Company.
Reviewing and checking quality service feedback from customers can be an appropriate method
of assessment. Also, an increased number of people seeking their services is another sign of
improved performance (Rocha, Fantinato, Thom, Eler, 2015).
Part 4: Potential Change Management and Risk Issues
In any business organization, change can occur any time for or against the objectives set or the
expectations of the company. Change is inevitable, and it is something the management should
always be ready to handle, whether positive or negative. Critical factors may also arise in the
process of change. There are three elements that can guide organizations in managing change; Preparation for change
Carlson Company, being an organization under the hospitality and travel industry can encounter
uncertainties in term of booking fluctuations, competition, seasons and demand. The company
should always be prepared in the case of any of them occurring. The top management should
first define their change management strategy. A change management team should then be
organized, composing of different ranks of employees and the management. Finally, a
sponsorship model should be developed (Röglinger, Pöppelbuß & Becker, 2012).

5
 Managing change
Having prepared for change, Carlson Company should then manage the change in case it occurs.
This can happen through developing a change management plan, taking action and implementing
the plan according to the nature of the change that may have occurred. Reinforcing change
The company should take the step of reinforcing the change. This is effective through the
collection and analyzing of feedback, investigating any gaps and managing resistance. Lastly,
Carlson can now implement corrective actions and celebrate success.
In the event of changes occurring in an organization, there are potential risks that may
occur. Carlson Company may follow a systematic procedure for managing change and potential
risk issues that may occur. The process involves nine steps as follows;
i. Assessment of readiness
The change management team put in place should use the necessary tools to assess the readiness
of the company concerning change. Such tools may include culture and history, employee
assessment, change assessments and organizational tools. These tools may provide a rough idea
to the team on the potential challenges and changes that may occur (Samsul & Tava, 2014).
ii. Communication/ Communication planning
The management of Carlson Company should clearly communicate to its employees concerning
the potential changes and the company’s readiness towards them. The communication should be
effective in such a way that it should consider the following components;
 The audience
 The message
 The time at which it is communicated

6
iii. Sponsor activities and roadmaps
The selected team should develop a sponsor activities plan that can help business leaders in
executing the plans. Sponsorship is the process by which the top business leaders actively
participate in supporting a change management plan by offering support and guidance (Segatto,
Pádua & Martinelli, 2013).
iv. Training managers on change management
Managers are usually on the resistant side of change. They do not always take change
positively and may refuse to implement some of the change management plans. The
Carlson Company should ensure they are backed up by the managers and supervisors of
the organization, after which training can be done to equip them with skills on handling
change (Severine & Adnane, 2015).
v. Developing and delivering training
Training employees and those in management is a good way of imparting knowledge and
skills to them, for a better readiness towards change. They should be made aware of the
need for change and the urge to back it up.
vi. Managing resistance
It is a common thing to experience resistance from employees and managers towards
change. Nevertheless, persistent resistance can threaten a change project. Reasons for
resistance should be identified and addressed so that the implementation process can
proceed. Carlson Company may face resistance from employees in terms of increasing
the workload or cutting salaries. The management team should use suitable means to
convince them of the advantages of being flexible to change (Wang et al, 2018).
vii. Getting the employee feedback and corrective action
Carlson Company’s involvement of employees in the change management process may
be advantageous to the organization. Feedback acquired from employees may help the
management team in identifying an area that needs correction and taking necessary
corrective actions.
viii. Celebrating success and reinforcing change
Success must be recognized and celebrated by a company after successfully
implementing the change management plan (Tbaishat, 2017).

7
ix. Performing a review after the project
It is good for the Carlson Company to review the whole process after it has ended. This
helps in identifying future potential changes and updating the change management plan
(Tbaishat, 2018).
In conclusion, the Carlson Company needs to work on the right procedure to ensure a good
process management plan and implementation. This can be done by evaluating performance and
implementing the right plan to manage possible changes in the organization.

8
References
Fengel, J., 2014. Semantic technologies for aligning heterogeneous business process models. Business
Process Management Journal, 20(4), pp. 549-570.
Klun M. & Trkman P., 2018. Business process management – at the crossroads. Business Process
Management Journal, 24(3), pp. 786-813.
Maruscia B., Marcelo F., Lucineia H. T., Violeta S. & Hung P. C. K, 2017. Business process point analysis:
survey experiments. Business Process Management Journal, 23(2), pp. 399-424.
Natschläger C & Geist V., 2013. A layered approach for actor modelling in business processes. Business
Process Management Journal, 19(6), pp. 917-932.
Rocha R.S, Fantinato M., Thom L.H., Eler M.M., 2015. Dynamic product line for Business Process
Management. Business Process Management Journal, 21(6), pp. 1224-1256.
Röglinger M., Pöppelbuß J. & Becker J., 2012. Maturity models in business process management.
Business Process Management Journal, 18(2), pp. 328-346.
Samsul I. & Tava O., 2014. Truck-sharing challenges for hinterland trucking companies: A case of the
empty container truck trips problem. Business Process Management Journal, 20(2), pp. 290-334.
Segatto M., Pádua S.I.D & Martinelli D.P., 2013. Business process management: a systemic approach?.
Business Process Management Journal, 19(4), pp. 698-714.
Severine L. & Adnane M., 2015. How high-tech entrepreneurs bricole the evolution of business process
management for their activities. Business Process Management Journal, 21(1), pp. 152-171.
Tbaishat, D., 2017. Business process modelling using ARIS: process architecture. Library Management,
38(2), pp. 88-107.
Tbaishat, D., 2018. Process architecture development using Riva and ARIS: comparative study. Business
Process Management Journal, 24(3), pp. 837-858.
Wang X., Xuan Z., Tong L., Junhui L. & Qingyi C., 2018. Correctness of aspect-oriented business process
modeling. Business Process Management Journal, 24(2), pp. 537-566.