Work Process Analysis

Abstract

Perhaps no other principle has influenced management practice more than the emphasis now being placed on work processes. Managers are now keenly aware that work processes in effect define how all organizations actually function. As presented in Chap. 1, a work process is defined as the series of human actions and technology-based events that occur over time, often taking place across functional boundaries and involving diverse groups of people, which convert inputs into outputs. Authors in the quality management literature first began discussing the importance of work processes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This chapter defines work processes and presents four different types of work processes found in organizations.