Webster’s dictionary defines “fusion” as a merging of diverse, distinct or separate elements into a unified whole. In the past while the word fusion was typically used in the context of energy, most recently it has become associated with food and music. “Asian fusion” restaurants offer an East meets West culinary experience, and today’s music offers a fusion of styles, combining jazz with rock or ethnic elements with more traditional sounds.
Technology has also created fusion with the merging of product offerings. Previously telephone and cable providers offered specific "point solutions" only; today they compete with offerings that fuse voice, Internet, television and cellular products. This fusion of services has separated the companies that offer all-in-one packages from those that offer single products alone, leaving the single service providers looking for ways to recapture lost business.
Given current economic conditions, organizations need to be innovative to drive new business. One of the ways many are achieving this is by focusing on improvements within their infrastructure. These improvements, such as those that involve a company’s business processes, have the capacity to transform the businesses themselves, leading to innovation and opportunities. In his book "Management Challenges for the 21st Century," Peter Drucker stated that “Continuous process improvements transform the business. They lead to innovation. They lead to new processes. They lead to new business.”
Not all business processes, however, were created equal. Structured business processes often exist alongside of ad hoc processes, as well as activity-based processes (which more closely resemble projects). Different types of processes need different kinds of interfaces to optimize and manage them.
While there will always be a requirement to manage both structured and un-structured processes, what is needed is technology that can manage and improve all processes, regardless of type. This is particularly true as companies continue to operate with fewer resources and need to find solutions that help them achieve faster and better returns. That requirement sets the stage for tools that offer a fusion of traditional process management with the ability to also embrace project management requirements.
Driving Competitive Advantage
As a prerequisite for innovation, companies must strive to achieve greater operational effectiveness. To do so, they must improve their internal processes. That enables them to remain competitive, while providing quality services and products. Streamlining internal processes further enables these organizations to become more efficient and, consequently, more competitive.
As a result of implementing new methodologies and approaches, articulated and measured as part of key corporate initiatives, today’s business leaders can point to track records that demonstrate performance improvements within their organizations.
Process improvement strategies and initiatives, including Lean Six Sigma, Business Optimization and Business Process Management, have improved process management. While these Initiatives are excellent at establishing baselines and metrics for the anticipated improvement, the Initiatives often fall short of the goal by failing to address one very vital dimension: Time.
Time is a critical element in the planning, oversight and improvement of business processes. Organizations must seek not only to automate and streamline processes, but to also reduce the overall amount of time it takes to execute those processes. This is particularly true for processes that are repeated with great frequency or those for whom timely completion is a requirement, not an option.
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Source : cmswire[dot]com