Q7-3 How Can Management Improve Processes? Flashcards
What is the key role of management in process improvement?
Management improves processes by specifying and communicating process objectives and measures to ensure the process achieves its goals effectively.
What are the three key steps to improving process objectives?
Classify objectives as either effective or efficient.
Make unstated assumptions explicit.
Match objectives to strategy.
Why is collaboration important when setting process objectives?
Collaboration ensures that objectives consider the input of all relevant stakeholders and avoid assumptions.
This helps create objectives that better align with the team’s goals.
What is an example of an efficiency objective for the Sales process?
An example is reducing the time needed to place an order by phone.
What is an example of an effectiveness objective for the Sales process?
An example is increasing sales to freshmen.
Why is it important to make unstated objectives explicit?
Unstated objectives may create confusion and hinder process improvement.
Clear objectives help ensure all participants understand the process goals.
What happens when process objectives do not align with strategy?
If objectives do not match strategy, the process may fail to achieve the intended business goals, such as promoting the wrong products or targeting the wrong audience.
How does a small organization, like a pizza shop, benefit from clear communication of process objectives?
In a small organization, the manager can directly communicate with those executing the process, ensuring that objectives are understood and met.
What are process measures, and what are they used for?
Process measures, also called metrics, are quantities assigned to attributes that help assess the performance of a process.
In process improvement, the measures selected are known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
What is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator)?
A KPI is a measure used by managers to assess process performance.
For example, in a delivery process, the elapsed time from leaving the store to arriving at the customer’s location could be a KPI.
What makes specifying KPIs challenging?
Specifying KPIs can be difficult because it requires thorough knowledge of the process, and some objectives may be hard to quantify.
For instance, measuring freshmen sales for a pizza shop might rely on indirect indicators like dorm deliveries.
Why are all KPIs and measures imperfect?
No KPI or measure is perfect because not everything that counts can be easily measured.
Managers must select the best available measures, knowing their limitations.
What are the characteristics of the best KPIs?
The best KPIs are:
Reasonable (valid and compelling)
Accurate (exact and precise)
Consistent (reliable)
Why is it important for managers to avoid becoming attached to a favorite KPI?
Managers should remain flexible and willing to adopt new KPIs if better, more accurate, or consistent options become available.
Clinging to outdated KPIs can hinder process improvement.
What should managers do after specifying objectives and KPIs?
Once objectives and KPIs are specified and communicated, managers should focus on improving the process, often by applying Information Systems (IS), and monitoring the results using the selected KPIs.
