The Value of Processes
In a previous article I explained the importance of improving your business with technology by starting with a good plan and how you might be able to get started. This article will move you to part two of this series and explore the processes inside your business or operation.
First I want to point out that many businesses like manufacturing already have processes that follow strict federal, state and local requirements, guidelines or procedures. These companies are usually following mandated procedures that for certain products are then normally checked against a set of standards. Here I will talk mostly about concept but will also give some specific pointers on how average business processes should have value and talk about processes that have little or no regulatory mandates.
After spending over twenty years in government work, processes are near and dear to my heart. The government also has strict guidelines and procedures that must be followed in order to carry out an action or make a certain product. Nonetheless, I have found that it takes time to figure out what actions in your processes are the ones that give you the best results. We will take a look at how to find those and what all of that means to your business and the customers you hold near and dear to your heart.
Here we go! What is a process? A process is a set of actions, made up in logical order, to complete a set end state, you know a product or service. Where does the word value come in? Well, right after you begin your first action in your process. Processes must be viewed with a certain amount of value, the kind that will translate into each action, all the way to the products or services that appear in front of the customers.
Although value in processes is different than the value your customers see in your products or services, the initial concepts are the same. Most people use the same way to figure out the value of a certain product or service. I think Michael C. Harris defines value perfectly in Chapter One of his book, Value Leadership: Winning Competitive Advantage in the Information Age, published by the ASQ Quality Press. The concept of value is explained as comparing the value of what one receives against what was paid for its acquisition or creation.
In this book he states that perception is the key factor in the concept. He depicts both what is paid and what is received, guided by perceptions. He goes on to say that price is only one factor of value. Value is continuously engineered to higher and higher planes, that the value of the total package is much more important than the product or service price. He also cautions that products are fabricated in an industrial process, value is created in a linear pre-planned fashion. Mass industrial production requires heavy capital investment in both infrastructure and operation. He says there is little relationship between the amount of investment and the value added.
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