Process excellence.

Process based management (PBM) is an approach to management rooted in the thinking that companies operate through cross-functional business processes that need to be managed in a way that optimizes performance and provides the best value to customers. In Process Based Management: A Foundation

for Business Excellence, published by CAM-I, authors Dennis Daly, Patrick Dowdle, Robert McCarty, and Jerry Stevens have gone beyond writing another book about improving the management of processes. Their book is aimed at organizations that want to make process excellence and agility their core philosophy and strategy.

The authors begin their discussion in Chapters 2 and 3, titled "What is process based management?" and "The benefits of process based management," respectively, by presenting an excellent overview of the benefits of process based (as opposed to functionally based) management and providing examples, concise summaries, and excellent graphics to outline the benefits of improving an organization's focus on management by processes. Benefits of PBM include pushing customer focus inside operations and succeeding in implementing technology by putting process requirements firmly in the driver's seat.

The heart of the book is in the discussion of three models that define a path toward becoming a process based organization. The process based management loop (Figure 1) provides a framework for thinking, planning, taking action, and assessing progress. It presents a very clear picture of how the authors characterize a process based organization and will help you decide whether this strategy fits your organization.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The Discipline Model provides true insight into the reasons most management initiatives fail. It provides a simple visual model that drives home the point that this book is truly talking about management philosophy and strategy as opposed to a set of methods and tools. It addresses very directly and credibly the reasons that managerial "Three Letter Acronyms" typically fail.

The Process Based Management Assessment Framework provides a comprehensive "mind map" of the actions an organization must take to adopt a process based philosophy and strategy throughout the organization. Initially, the descriptions of the actions struck me as somewhat vague and circular, but they are well supported by tangible case study examples where the assessment framework was field tested.