Maritime University of Szczecin
Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
2010, 23(95) pp. 40–44 2010, 23(95) s. 40–44
Analysis of the internal customers’ requirements
from the perspective of process management
Badanie wymagań klientów wewnętrznych w aspekcie
zarządzania procesami
Alicja Gębczyńska, Bartosz Szczęśniak
Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Organisation and Management Institute of Production Engineering
Politechnika Śląska w Gliwicach, Wydział Organizacji i Zarządzania, Instytut Inżynierii Produkcji 41-800 Zabrze, ul. Roosevelta 26, e-mail: alicja.gebczynska@polsl.pl; bartosz.szczesniak@polsl.pl
Key words: process, internal customer satisfaction, process management Abstract
The notion of an internal customer is a relatively new one, and it finds is application in numerous fields of expertise including quality management, process management and external marketing. Internal customers create a chain of value at the end of which there are the product final recipients – the consumers. Therefore, the knowledge of the final product depends on the level of service provided to the internal customer. Failure to satisfy the employees’ requirements may lead to reducing the company’s performance and the quality of the product delivered to the external customer. The need to investigate the internal customers’ requirements results from the necessity of assessing the relations between the internal customers and suppliers as well as solving the conflicts and discrepancies which may occur between them. In order to identify the internal customers and their requirements, one can apply the process-based approach where process management proves to be of use. Using the results of the research into the internal customers’ requirements in the process management is expected to contribute to more efficient company management.
Słowa kluczowe: proces, zadowolenie klienta wewnętrznego, zarządzanie procesami Abstrakt
Pojęcie klienta wewnętrznego nie jest nowym zagadnieniem, znajduje ono zastosowanie między innymi w zarządzaniu jakością, w zarządzaniu procesami, w marketingu wewnętrznym. Klienci wewnętrzni tworzą łańcuch wartości, na którego końcu znajdują się ostateczni odbiorcy produktu – nabywcy. Zatem jakość wy-robu finalnego zależy od poziomu obsługi klienta wewnętrznego. Niespełnienie wymagań pracowników mo-że doprowadzić do zmniejszenia efektywności funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstwa oraz obnimo-żenia jakości pro-duktu dostarczanego klientowi zewnętrznemu. Potrzeba badania wymagań klientów wewnętrznych wynika z konieczności oceny relacji pomiędzy wewnętrznymi klientami i dostawcami oraz rozwiązywania pojawia-jących się między nimi konfliktów i rozbieżności. Do identyfikacji klientów wewnętrznych i ich wymagań można wykorzystać podejście procesowe, w którym zastosowanie znajduje zarządzanie procesami. Wykorzy-stanie wyników z badania wymagań klientów wewnętrznych w zarządzaniu procesami powinno przyczynić się do skuteczniejszego zarządzania przedsiębiorstwem.
Introduction
Processes are integral elements of every com-pany, and their appropriate planning and implemen-tation is decisive for the existence and development of an organisation. There are numerous definitions of a process to be found in the publications related
to the subject matter of management. One of them is that a process is a set of actions conducted inside a company in order to deliver a specific product or service to the customer. According to another one, a process can be perceived as an ordered and com-bined set of productive or servicing actions per-formed within a specific timeframe and bringing
the effects of specific benefits to the external and internal customers [1]. A process can also be inter-preted as an entirety composed of successively conducted operations aimed at obtaining specific, predetermined results [2].
S. Krawczyk defines the process as a sequence or partially arranged set of interlinked actions inte-grated through time, expenditures and overall as-sessment of performance, and accomplished for the sake of a specific goal of the organisation [3].
M. Hammer and J. Champy understand the process as a chain of actions interrelated in a logical manner which, by utilising the available resources (people, information, technology, tools, equip-ment), transform the input into the output as a means to achieve the predetermined objective [4]. Processes are events taking place in time, causing the conditions and characteristics to change [5].
In accordance with PN-EN ISO 9000:2006 [6], a process is a set of interlinked or mutually influ-encing actions transforming the input into the out-put. The purpose of the transformation is to convert the resources at hand into the products delivered to the subsequent processes or the final customers. The process is a consciously driven transformation as a result of which, owing to the intellectual and physical activities undertaken, a certain objective of tangible or intangible nature can be attained [3].
In order to accomplish the objectives, one must ensure the necessary human, material and financial resources. However, providing these resources is not a guarantee of attaining the process objectives, since “one cannot achieve anything by working without the capital, the capital will not bring any effects without work, and neither capital nor work will not prove successful without the genius managing them” [7]. In order to attain the results planned, it is necessary to implement the process management.
According to M. Hammer [8], the companies willing to focus on processes must:
define their processes,
persuade all employees of their importance, introduce the relevant process measures, move on to process management.
Process management
Process management means coordinated actions in the scope of process driving and supervision with regard to quality. Process management can be defined on two levels of generality. In a broader context, process management is described as consi-derably comprehensive (covering not only the enterprise itself but also its business partners,
sup-pliers and recipients), continuous (repeatable in time) and systematised (executed in accordance with specific principles and procedures) application of the relevant concepts, methods and tools (tech-niques) of influencing the processes taking place in the organisation (company, institution) with the purpose of attaining its goals and satisfying the needs of its customers, both external and internal [9].
Process management in the narrow perspective means planning of the changes improving the processes implemented in the company and control of their progress. It is primarily focused on the company strategy, analysing, assessing and shaping (improving), driving and controlling the value creation processes inside companies and between companies [9].
In the narrow perspective, process management (process driving) means making decisions by the appropriate persons (process owner, process teams, i.e. the management of functional units) who, owing to the possibility of using the resources at hand, lead the organisation towards the objectives assumed. This function is referred to as monitoring of the process results. In this understanding, driving processes is performed through the following functions [10]:
Objective planning under which partial objec-tives (objecobjec-tives for each action performed under the process) are derived from the main process objective. They are assumed to be in harmony with the objectives of the individual company functions (e.g. supply, sales), departments and workplaces.
Resources organisation – allocation of resources (equipment, employees, funds) necessary to com-plete the individual activities in the process.
Incentive, i.e. influencing the attitudes and be-haviours of the persons involved in the processes so that their actions are compatible with the objectives assumed.
Control and driving – this function is performed by collecting opinions of the customers on the process results, comparing the actual results with the assumed values of the major and partial pro-cesses, analysing deviations, undertaking remedial measures, correcting all errors in the process and possibly altering the process objectives (adjusting them to the customers’ expectations and the com-pany goals). Additionally, the relevant information must be delivered to all the parties involved.
S. Nowosielski [9] proposed a specific process management procedure composed of the following four successive stages:
1. Problem identification, 2. Process modelling,
3. Process introduction,
4. Process driving / performance assessment. Process identification is the first stage of the process management. This stage can be brought down to selecting and mapping the processes taking place in the organisation. In order to identify the processes, one can apply both the top-down or bottom-up method, or their combination. Under the identification procedure, one must determine the type, content and general structure of the processes as well as their objectives resulting from the assumed organisation’s goals and the customers’ requirements [9].
Process modelling is a method of establishing the architecture of the individual processes required by the company to attain its goals. The purpose of process modelling is to ensure that the company’s goals and the customers’ requirements are con-formed with to the fullest extent possible. Authors of various publications on this subject mention numerous principles that should be adhered to while modelling processes. Process modelling is governed by the following principles:
Each process begins and ends for the given cus-tomer (recipient) that defines the requirements and makes use of the results (effects) of this process (process separation).
Each process consists of sub-processes, actions and other elementary components (process struc-turing).
Each process is assigned a responsible person. i.e. the “process owner” (establishing the process responsibility).
Each process is based on processing (producing) of one object (determination of the process subject). The process components which do not create added value are eliminated (focusing on value crea-tion).
For each process, from the perspective of time and other resources, the most advantageous struc-ture of its course is determined (shaping the course of the process).
For each process, it is necessary that the sup-pliers provide for the entire process (establishing the process inputs with the supplier) [11].
Introducing the redesigned or improved pro-cesses requires their implementation and estab-lishment of the conditions enabling their actual functioning.
The last stage of the process management, i.e. the process driving and performance assessment, requires continuous monitoring of the process in order to improve it and adjust it to the requirements of the organisation and the customers.
Process management is expected to enable the company to accomplish the objectives assumed, at the same time attaining the customer satisfaction, by using the appropriate concepts, methods and techniques. Process management consists in plan-ning the processes, attaiplan-ning the assumptions adopted, assessing the results and courses of the processes as well as improving them based on the results attained on the previous stages. Process management should enable increasing the effi-ciency and effectiveness of the processes mainly by reducing their time consumption and costs.
According to Lee Iacocc, management is pri-marily the art of evaluation and assessment [12].
In the most general terms, process management means:
seeking improvements in the existing processes, planning changes in the processes and
control-ling their progress,
monitoring the basic parameters and results (process effects) [13].
In the broader context, process management puts an emphasis on satisfaction of the needs of both the external and internal customers. The idea of focus-ing on the external customers’ requirements is known and commonly applied in all companies observing the principle of customer focus, whereas assessment and performance of the internal cus-tomers’ requirements does not find wide applica-tion in practice. Most probably, such a state of mat-ters is a consequence of the fact that companies function based on an organisational structure which often assumes the form of a functional structure. Company management is performed through orga-nisational objectives decomposed into the goals of the individual departments. Both the managers and the employees are held responsible for how much of the goals established for the individual depart-ments (sections, functions) they have managed to attain. It may even happen that the goals assumed for the individual departments are incompatible or they may not entail the internal customers’ needs. Those needs result from the course of the processes identified in the given company. An internal cus-tomer is to be interpreted as a recipient or user of the products/services delivered by the organisation being a part of the same organisation. Employees can assume the role of both the internal customer, who receives a certain semi-finished product, and the internal supplier, who delivers the given semi-finished product to another internal customer. An internal customer is also a process owner. If the internal customers are satisfied, they are more eager
to attain the company’s objectives and to focus on the external customers [14].
Implementation of the strategy assumed by the company requires collaboration between various departments and functions entailing the needs of the internal suppliers and customers. All departments of an organisation function for the sake of satisfying the needs of one or many customers, both external and internal. If the given department operates in favour of the external customers, the level of their satisfaction should be measured by the degree to which the products or services delivered fulfil the customers’ needs. However, if the given department only serves the internal customers, it is to be assessed based on the needs of these custo-mers and hence the degree to which it contributes to increasing the value of the product or service deli-vered to the internal customer [7]. The assessment of the company’s performance should not be con-ducted merely on the basis of the degree to which the individual departments’ objectives are attained, but it should also entail the internal customers’ expectations.
In accordance with the first rule of process modelling (“each process begins and ends for the given customer that defines the requirements and makes use of the results of this process”), process management requires determination of the custo-mers’ requirements for each and every process.
Fig. 1. Hierarchy of developing an organisation’s objectives [7]
Rys. 1. Hierarchia formułowania celów organizacji [7]
As shown in figure 1, the organisation objec-tives must be reflected in those of the departments and processes. Attaining the process objectives depends on attaining the departments’ objectives as well as those of the individual workplaces. The objectives can be assessed by measuring their effi-ciency or indirectly by measuring the satisfaction of both the external and internal customers. Drawing conclusions concerning the objective performance based on the customer satisfaction enables
indi-cating the individual factors (unsatisfied customers’ requirements) disturbing the appropriate course of the given process.
The internal customers’ satisfaction assessment requires determination of their expectations and measurement of their performance. The internal customers’ requirements should be reflected in the process objectives. Attaining the process objective depends on meeting the requirements of the internal customers as well as their contribution to perfor-mance of the specific actions. The effects of these actions are delivered to another internal customer by the internal supplier. Therefore, the employees take part in the process both as internal customers and suppliers. The first of the aforementioned roles is related to defining the requirements and assessing their performance, whereas the second one requires that the actions are performed in a manner satisfac-tory to their recipient. Every internal supplier should know the needs of the respective internal customer and strive to satisfy them. Internal sup-pliers, analogically to external supsup-pliers, should be subject to assessment. A failure to satisfy the inter-nal customer’s requirements should result in under-taking specific actions including resignation of the given supplier’s services (e.g. through outsourcing). In accordance with the relevant literary sources, [9] the recommended solution is to measure the inter-nal customers’ satisfaction every three months. The more often the measurements are conducted, the sooner it is possible to introduce the applicable modifications.
The determination of the internal customers’ needs should enable continuity of the process per-formance, elimination of any misunderstandings and minimisation of the scope of coordination works.
The internal customers’ satisfaction can be measured by analysing the complaints lodged by internal customers, however, questionnaire surveys seem definitely more reliable. Conducting surveys requires development of an analytical tool enabling identification of the internal customers’ needs. Un-der the surveys to be conducted, it is worth finding out about the importance of every need identified in order to be able to focus on the most important ones. One must remember that the internal custo-mers’ requirements can be very diverse, since the satisfaction level assessment for the individual internal customers requires preparation of the appropriate questionnaire adjusted to the specificity of those surveyed. The main purpose of measuring the internal customers’ satisfaction is to determine their requirements as well as the degree to which they are satisfied by the suppliers. Meeting the
Organisation’s objectives Process objectives
Departments’ objectives
internal customers’ requirements should be re-flected in the effects attained in the processes which, in turn, are reflected in performance of the organisation’s objectives.
Conclusions
The process management is not a new concept, but it is becoming more and more appreciated nowadays. There are numerous reasons for that including the increasing interest in the quality man-agement system based on a process approach. Fur-thermore, process management facilitates the or-ganisation management by determining and linking all the actions performed in the company into a coherent system enabling the objectives and results assumed to be attained. Process management is not only focused on attaining the organisation’s objec-tives but also entails the satisfaction of the external and internal customers.
In order to attain the objectives assumed by the company, it is required that specific methods be established for the sake of analysing and measuring the results achieved, whereas satisfaction of the external and internal customers involves the neces-sity of developing and implementing the methods enabling identification of the customers’ require-ments as well as the degree of their performance.
For the internal customers, one must additio-nally examine their relations with the suppliers, both the internal and the external ones, in order to be able to systematically assess their satisfaction level. The information obtained by measuring the satisfaction level enables meeting the internal customers’ requirements by providing them with semi-finished products conforming with their expectations. Moreover, measurement of the inter-nal customer satisfaction level enables elimination
of the conflicts and misunderstandings occurring between the internal customers and suppliers.
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Recenzent: prof. dr hab. inż. Krzysztof Chwesiuk Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
