Business Management Process

For this Assignment, write a paper that answers the following questions (use the subheadings/numbered questions below to organize your paper):

Part 1: Innovation Activities There are many different activities for creating solutions identified in the Understand phase. The effectiveness of these activities depends on many factors, including the organizational makeup and the circumstances of the process.

Describe an innovation activity to generate improvement ideas that you think will work best for your selected organization. Include the following details:

1. Describe the activity; how is it tied to the activities in your selected process?

2. Describe the objectives of the activity; how will it improve the deficiencies in your selected process?

3. Who should be participating, and why?

Part 2: RASCI Model In any process, it is important to have a clear definition of who is responsible for the activity and to whom they are accountable, in addition to identifying those that may be in support positions.

Following the RASCI model described on p. 362, create a table similar to 18.2 that defines these roles for your selected process.

Begin by describing at least 4 steps in your selected process. Be specific about who does what in each step. Then fill out the table to denote the roles. In addition to including the table, describe each role briefly.

Part 3: Performance Management Kaplan University School of Business MT 400 Unit 6 Assignment As you explored in the Discussion Board, the performance measures play a large role in determining the actions of the employees involved in the process.

Identify three performance management metrics you will use to promote effective behavior from those involved in your selected process.

Clearly explain: 1. How the metric will be assessed,

2. What the expected targets would be.

3. How the metrics fit the process objectives.

Digital Book used Kaplan University

Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations, 3rd Ed.

Use the information from my last assignment. The company is West Marine. The process that is being used is special order boat parts that are not in inventory and how to get them faster by involving the Vendors process that provide them.

Copy of my last assignment: This needs to continue on with the new assignment listed above:

The Understand Phase

Part 1 – The Stakeholders

The process of taking orders and shipping boat parts anywhere in the world is a critical part of West Marine’s business. Many stakeholders are integrated into the process of ordering and shipping these parts. Many are directly a part of the actual process, but others are external to the process. A good example of a stakeholder that is not a direct part of the process is the vendor that supplies the parts to West Marine. Another key stakeholder that is part of the process from the initial setting the process in motion to the end of the process would be the customer.

Stakeholder 1: Vendors

1. Relationship/connection: The vendorsare an important group whose effectiveness and allocation sequence does immediately influenced[O1] the process of meeting orders for boat parts. The important part they play is meeting the requirement of the supplies to the organization, the time, the location, and the transportation of the parts. The vendor is essential to the process because parts are needed in inventory when an order is placed. If the part is not in stock, then a delay is created.

2. Expectations: The expectations are that the supplies are continuous and that they are filling orders error-free to the organization. They are expected to track the locations of their supplies as well as reflect the payment schedules for them. There are benefits for vendors, as their business will increase when West Marine retains and adds customers by meeting demands promptly.

Stakeholder 2: Customers

1. Relationship/connection: The customers regulate the timetables and will obtain the parts if they are accessible when ordered. It is the customer who guarantees a continuous need for the process of boat parts being shipped around the world.

2. Expectations: When the order is placed, the expectation is the part will arrive within the timeframe and in excellent condition as ordered. This is a real expectation that needs to be met. When this expectation is met, the customer stands to benefit and so does the organization.

The process of ordering boat parts includes the taking of the orders, filling the orders correctly, and the delivering of orders within a specific timeframe. This process intends to accomplish processing boat part orders and delivering them satisfactorily to customers around the world. The focus is seeing that the parts are in inventory, pulling the parts and preparing them for shipment. The actual intention is to meet the needs of the end users and in this case, that is the customer. This end user may be other business customers, or shipping service providers or a direct customer. When achieving success, there is a need to focus on the primary core goals. These goals are to ensure complete customer satisfaction by providing quality boat parts promptly.

The success of this process will totally depend on meeting the demands of the customer. The process will be organized from start to finish. In order to succeed there is a need to keep detailed records so that the process is in continual review looking for ways to improve. An important component to success is understanding what the risks are. One way that the process will have greater success will be to keep parts in inventory based on customer demand. Easier access to continuous parts will help with shipping delays. One way the process will be supported is by enhancing all departments and services. Increasing profitability from this division of the company is a goal that can be accomplished. One of the expected successes would be cutting cost and increasing market share. One way of reducing cost would be to shorten preparation time for shipping. As mentioned above having access to most frequently used parts would speed the process up. Another way of speeding the process and saving money would be a more efficient procedure for preparation. Since customer, satisfaction is the main goal, quicker access to parts, and improvement of time spent on preparing for shipment would lead to fewer delays. Some of this cost savings could be passed on[O2] to the customer, which should increase the customer base.

Part 2 – Metric

Metric 1: Accuracy

1. Definition - The state or quality of being correct or precise the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact; freedom from error or defect; faithful measurement or representation of the truth; correctness; precision (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014). Accuracy is the metric that is applied to a repeated process to determine whether the process produces the same expected results.

2. Significance in assessment -A smart, efficient process of an order can be carried out correctly every time. There is a need to see if the orders are accurate and if not how often they are in error. In comparing the number of total orders shipped and their accuracy, we can determine the number of shipping errors.

3. Example -Companies face increased pressure to provide higher quality with a need of improving in accuracy during their processes. Human error mainly influences the accuracy of this process. In tracking the number of orders shipped and the number of orders sent back by customers, we will see which department is making the mistakes and how often.

Metric 2: Cost-Effectiveness

1. Definition-This metric is a calculation for conducting an analysis of a specific cost that is associated with a process. A process is cost-effective when its costs are covered or compensated by its outcomes.

2. Significance in assessment -This measurement is necessary so that we can see the reasons some parts are special ordered and the cost associated with that part of the process. In tracking, the non-inventory parts other variations can be revealed such as the vendor may not be meeting scheduled delivery or cannot meet our demands. Some of the cost seen will be the expedite fees charged when we ask for these parts.

3. Example -The use of this method is important to consider due to extra cost associated with specially ordered parts. The best method to measure the cost of special ordered parts will be to record the cost for each special part order at the time of its order. This will help measure the frequency, the vendor associated and expedition fees associated. When we can see a good view of how often this occurs then cost analysis can be run and changes made to save money.

Metrics 3: Timelines

1. Definition -This metric will determine when the process is completed and when the process produces a desired outcome. It will measure the potential of the operation over the short term. Time is a great metric because it naturally shows how the process is driven.

2. Significance in assessment-Since a business runs with the best efficiency based on time, this is an important metric to the process. This will help us to see how we can take advantage of rapid order turnaround. Our customers will be served better if we measure the time it takes to ship an order. In other words, we will see the time it takes to get the finished product out the door. This is an important metric because the information obtained will be used to minimize any unnecessary delays in the process.

3. Example -In this metric, we will start by measuring two different times in the process. Since placing the order is the first component, we will randomly track orders for several weeks. The key to the time measure is to start at the first component. The time needs to be recorded when the order hits the system. An important measurement will be how long it takes before the order is sent to the first step in the process. The other time measure encompasses how much time is wasted getting the order ready for shipping. Is the shipping preparation time longer or shorter than the initial processing of the order time? The ideal measure at each end of the process should be similar.

Part 3 – Quick Wins

Since quick wins are visible, have the immediate benefit and can be delivered[O3]quickly, this process appears to have several. Our customer’s needs, and wants can be met in a timelier manner as the process improves. The people involved in the process will see improved communication; know what their role is and what their responsibilities are. This can be accomplished by identifing and supporting key activities. The people who are part of the process provide a boost to the project, as they are also the ones who can provide that extra satisfaction to the customer.

A critical quick win, in this case, contains the cost of special order boat parts. The suppliers can have a real impact in this area. It is the job of our vendors to meet our required delivery as quickly as possible. Since they are a first line component to this area of the process, we can engage in better communication of our needs. Increasing our dialog with them about delays causing problems can help. Having everyone on board will benefit our vendors, customers, and our organization.

---

[O1]This should be “influenced”.

[O2]Work on staying away from a passive voice. Provide what is being done and support it with facts.

[O3]There are examples of “passive voice” throughout the submission. They are underlined in green. These need to be addressed in your future postings.