Maritime University of Szczecin
Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
2010, 24(96) pp. 28–32 2010, 24(96) s. 28–32
The process-like attitude in management of an enterprise
Podejście procesowe w zarządzaniu przedsiębiorstwem
Krzysztof Michalski
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: krzysztof.michalski@polsl.pl
Key words: integrated management systems, constant improvement, PDCA, map of processes Abstract
The need of being competitive and will to meet clients’ needs makes organizations form mining branch improve their actions. There is a wide variety of system-like solutions for such organizations, such as: quality management system, environment management system, and security and safety management system and social responsibility system. The tendency of implementing and connecting some of the above mentioned solutions has resulted in the integrated management systems. An organization which is prepared in such a way often decides for the next step which allows for self-improving even more efficiently, which in turn results in a quicker reaction to clients’ needs- the implementation of process-like attitude. The process-like attitude allows to identify weak elements of organization as well as help to improve them and identify those which should be included in an organization.
Słowa kluczowe: zintegrowane systemy zarządzania, ciągłe doskonalenie, PDCA, mapa procesów Abstrakt
Potrzeba konkurencyjności i chęć sprostania oczekiwaniom klienta wymusza na organizacjach branży wydo-bywczej doskonalenie działania. Wsparcie działalności zapewniają różnorakie rozwiązania systemowe w dziedzinie zarządzania: system zarządzania jakością, system zarządzania środowiskiem, system zarządzania bezpieczeństwem i higiena pracy oraz system dotyczący odpowiedzialności społecznej. Tendencja wdrażania kilku wymienionych rozwiązań i łączenie ich w jednej organizacji spowodowało powstanie zintegrowanych systemów zarządzania. Tak przygotowane organizacje decydują się często na kolejny krok, umożliwiający o wiele skuteczniejsze samodoskonalenie się, a w efekcie szybsze reagowanie na potrzeby klienta. Tym roz-wiązaniem jest wdrożenie podejścia procesowego. Pozwala ono wychwytywać słabe elementy działania or-ganizacji, by je usprawnić oraz identyfikować te, które powinny zostać włączone w działanie organizacji.
Management systems in an enterprise
The work of coal mining is supplemented with different kinds of system-like solutions within a field of management. The areas which are most often focused on are as follows: quality, care about environment and industrial safety or social respon-sibility. The creation of such concepts as: quality management, environment management, manage-ment of social responsibility or industrial safety management is the consequence of focusing management practices on gaining an aim in the above mentioned areas.
The standards of ISO 9001:2000 are the basis for system-like solutions in the area of quality ma-nagement. They are characterized with clarity of wordings in terms of expectations what seems to be important as it is easier to understand the aim of changes which should take place in an enterprise. The clarity of guidelines does not make their reali-zation easier though. It is on the contrary, it re-quires from an enterprise a conscious involvement in the construction of the system, awareness of its functioning and aims which an organization wants to gain [1].
The structure of environment management system is close in its form to the structure of quality management system. The biding operations which should be taken are as follows: the necessity of overhauls conducted by the management, conduc-ting trainings which rise staff’s awareness and competence, duty of supervision over documents and records, conducting measurements and moni-toring, identifying incompatibility of correcting and preventive actions as well as conducting environ-ment manageenviron-ment system. The standard ISO 14001 is the most significant in the realization of the program. The operation of system (likewise quality management) is based on the cycle PDCA (Plan – Do – Check – Act) which predict a constant improvement of quality of action.
Planning is done by means of the preparation of documentation for realizing the strategy of esta-blished aims of an enterprise. The action stands for the realization of planned actions in the processes and for gathering information about their course. The control is about verifying results of actions in a given plan. The improvement stands for the change of elements in a process or implementation of a new element into a process.
Fig. 1. The stages of constant improvement of Deming’s rule [2]
Rys. 1. Etapy ciągłego doskonalenia zasady Deminga [2] The idea of constant improvement, which was created by Deming, recommends searching for the causes of problems constantly in such a way that all elements of production system along with actions connected with it become better and better. The PDCA cycle is presented in figure 1. The stricter legal regulations are the main stimulus for entre-preneurs to make a decision about the implementa-tion of industrial safety systems. Growing staff’s
awareness, multinational companies’ interests and easy access to these well described issues encour-age employees to follow the guidelines of industrial safety management. The standard OHSAS 18001 prepared by British Standard Institute – BSI is the key standard which regulates actions taken within this area.
Its assumption is completely compatible with solutions proposed by ISO which concerns quality management and environment management. The standard OHSAS 18001 gave the basis for the crea-tion of the standard PN-N 18001 in Poland in 1999. This norm has been amended in 2004.
Industrial safety management assumes a con-stant improvement and can be used in each and every company regardless of size and of kind of company.
Many enterprises, which aim at the improve-ment of their image, decide on the ethic assessimprove-ment conducted by certain social groups, such as: a pany’s owner, shareholders and investors, pany’s employees, trade partners, suppliers, com-petitors, state administration, non-governmental organizations, pressure group and society. The position of enterprises is strengthened by means of creating positive relations with these groups. Since there has been a growing interest in social respon-sibility of an enterprise (OSP), International Organization for Standardization ISO started works on guidelines concerning this area in 2005. These works will be published in documentation ISO 26000 in 2010 [3].
Integration of management systems
The integration of above mentioned system-like solutions is commonly used in the management of an enterprise. When integrating systems of management, their compatibility is of the greatest importance. A more harmonious and dynamic development of an enterprise will be the effect of integrating systems (not necessarily all systems must be involved, it can be limited to two or three).
British Standards Institution defines Integrated Management Systems (IMS) as Connecting proc-esses, procedures and practices of operation used in an organization in order to implement such a policy which could be more effective in gaining aims than attitude through separate systems.
Benefits being a consequence of implementation of a system are mostly inside benefits, such as: improvement of documents flow and improvement of communication in an enterprise. The proper adjustment of structure of an organization, descrip-tion of operadescrip-tions and division of resources will
PLAN DO
help improving the operating of an organization. There are also other benefits of using IMS: possibility of creating one documentation, pos-sibility of simultaneous certification process and supervising systems, bigger flexibility when introducing changes, reducing costs of system maintenance and at the same time increasing profits and company’s profitability and raising level of the management.
Until recently, the quality has been the most important element of each and every enterprise, where the quality is understood as ascribing certain features to an end product which fulfils a user’s requirements. The quality scope which should include a wide range of operations connected with production and life of manufactured goods has been limited only to a production process. A slow growth of ecologic awareness in the world started to extort other attitude to problems of managing coal mining. It has realized the idea of interaction of business entity with environment [4]. Nowadays, companies can use many different techniques of pro-ecological management, such as: LCA (Life Cycle Asses-sment) or AIE (Assessment of Influence on Envi-ronment). When using a bit different criteria of assessment of company’s operation, these techni-ques focus on the necessity of understanding unquestionable influence of company’s operation as well as product’s influence on the environment. Apart from ecologic criteria, economic ones are also used which are strictly connected with productivity and valuation of elements of environ-ment being a natural capital. These method allows to identify and assess of the influence of planned enterprises and their alternative for the environment (its defined field) at different level of detail and concern different operations – which are investi-gated by means of a unit scale or wider one.
Process-like attitude in integrated management systems
The process-like attitude stands for a systematic identification of processes in an organization and proper management of these processes and their mutual connections. The use of process-like attitude means the realization of enterprise’s aims along with minimization of costs of processes’ operation [5]. The effective use of process-like attitude should be based on understanding how the elements of an organization influence each other when creat-ing a system of management. This kind of attitude constitutes one of the rules of quality management.
The process is a sequence of action whose aim is to transform a defined entry state into an exit state
along with using necessary resources and being client-oriented.
Fig. 2. Process model [6]
Rys. 2. Model procesu [oprac. własne w oparciu o 6]
The current supervision over connections between separate processes and their mutual influence allows to identify processes which were conducted wrongly and which require immediate improvement or allows to identify elements which should be involved immediately into a defines process. Isolating processes does not mean that they will be realized separately, on the contrary – an organization is perceived as a whole.
The level of complexity of processes is divided into [5]:
macro-processes sub-processes, tasks,
actions.
Each process is characterized among other things by the following dimensions:
efficiency, effectiveness, time of lasting,
the owner of a process, cost.
The first step in the process-like attitude is to isolate the main processes. The main processes are responsible for the communication with a client and for providing a product or a service. Next, the elementary processes, which constitute the main ones and are the basis for main processes, are identified. At this stage, it is important to create a map of processes – a graphic presentation of processes which facilitates the analysis of real processes. Then, the efficiency of processes is examined on the basis of data gathered during the conducted processes [7].
The aims which were established for each process allow to define the extent to which they realize the strategy of an organization. The next step is to define the criteria of effectiveness of a realized process. Properly created criteria show in a clear way the effectiveness with respect of time, cost and quality [5]. A constant monitoring of
process
entry exit
processes allows to assess their affectivity and to introduce necessary changes.
The management of processes takes place accor-ding to PDCA cycle. At the stage of planning, the following aspects should be taken into account [8]: requirements concerning outside and inside
client,
establishing aims of processes,
establishing rule of process monitoring,
availability of resources (human, equipment, energetic, financial ones, etc.),
potential hazard.
At the stage of operating, planned actions are re-alized along with using the resources. Controlling, which is based on information listed below, allows to assess effectiveness of processes:
index of process,
extent of using resources,
planning or taken correcting actions.
The improvement is a connecting element of PDCA loop. Each overcoming of a loop should take
an organization on the higher level. Figure 3 presents an exemplary map of process which takes place in production enterprise. The map of proces-ses of coal mining was used here. Since a coal mining is a special kind of an enterprise, the main processes which start with a production cycle are connected with manufacturing a product. The part of supporting processes is connected with the production and a part (which refers to controlling and managing functions) is connected with functioning of the whole organization.
The main process also involves marketing and sale processes which are connected with clients as well as with mixing and initial coal processing (concentrating). The surveys which are conducted by the marketing department, allow to define a client’s satisfaction and expectations.
A coal mining is an example of production enterprise marked with a very low flexibility. Thus, a high level of providing services to a client, who usually enters into a contract with a coal mining for a long time, is in the centre of interest. What seems
Mining
works concentration Coal Quality control Distribution Client Marketing
and sales Processes and procedures
supporting production Investments, preparation f or production Other investments Human resources management Control and managing functions Suppliers of materials and goods Area of enterprise Main processes Supporting processes
Flow of materials and products Information flow
Fig. 3. The map of processes which take place in enterprises (an example of a coal mining) [9] Rys. 3. Mapa procesów w kopalni [9]
to be equally important in tightening an enterprise’s relationship with a client is a process of correctly conducted distribution [9].
The process-like management stands for organi-sation’s attitude to changes. It stands for accepting a model of acting whose effect will be a constant ability to adjust a company to a client’s needs in a quicker and cheaper way than competitors. In many enterprises, a change of proportion between direct costs and indirect costs with a tendency of rising the latter is observed. Therefore, other ways of more effective calculating costs are being looked for. The process-like attitude is one of solutions [10].
A human factor is the critical element which conditions the success of process-like attitude implementation. The board’s expectations that it is possible to implement quick changes which will improve the company’s operating and reduce costs without rebuilding a company deeply can bring satisfying results. The major problem of imple-menting a process-like attitude in many enterprises is its traditional, vertical structure which hinders the change of assigning the competence.
References
1. PN-EN ISO 9001:2000. Quality management systems. Requirements. PKN, Warsaw 2000.
2. HAMROL A.,MANTURA W.: Quality management – theory and practice. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2002.
3. ISO 26000. The promotion of standards social responsibi-lity in enterprises, http://odpowiedzialnafirma.pl/o-csr/iso-26000, entrance: 27.04.2010 r.
4. GIERSZEWSKA G.: Strategic analysis of enterprise. PWE, Warsaw 2003.
5. KRZEMIEŃ E.: Integrated Management: quality, technology, environment, safety. Wydawnictwo Śląsk, Katowice 2003. 6. HUBER Z.: The process-like attitude, part I.
http://www.skutecznyprojekt.pl/artykul.htm?AID=9, entrance: 29.04.2010 r.
7. GREBER T.: The process-like attitude ( criteria and costs of quality) http://www.ioz.pwr.wroc.pl/Pracownicy/greber/ Materiały/Podejście, entrance: 19.04.2010 r.
8. HUBER Z.: The process- like attitude in ISO-9000 – part II, http://www.strefa-iso.pl/iso9000-podejscie-procesowe-cz2. html, entrance: 20.04.2010 r.
9. ĆWIK S.: The management in Gwarek coal mining, Bulletin POU, http://www.wsz-pou.edu.pl, entrance 27.04.2010 r. 10. KASIŃSKI A.: Process-like attitude, Bulletin e-accounting,
Gazeta Bankowa, http://e-rachunkowosc.pl/artykul.php? view=905, entrance 17.04.2010 r.
Recenzent: dr hab. inż. Edward Michlowicz, prof. AGH Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza w Krakowie
