Case 2: The Process Audit

The article The Process Audit by Michael Hammer is about the framework Process and Enterprise Maturity Model (PEMM) that would assist executives how to comprehend, plan and assess process based transformation efforts. It constitutes of five process enablers and four enterprise capabilities. The process enablers which pertain to individual processes are design, performers, owners, infrastructure and metrics. The enablers are mutually interdependent, which means any missing enabler would most of the times hamper the performance of the process even if it occasionally delivers impressive results, but those results wouldnt last. At the same time, the existence of all the enablers doesnt mean that the process would perform exceptionally well. During the phase of business process reengineering, many organizations faced varied obstacles which are very well depicted by the author through examples. The exhibit Assessing the Maturity of your Processes displays four levels (P1, P2, P3 and P4) of process maturity with five process enablers. Organizations like Michelin which utilized the exhibit to evaluate the maturity of their process found it effective in delivering high performance over time by understanding that their managers new roles were not clear. PEMM allows an organization to perform business process reengineering in a test environment which helps avoid digressions from the plan of action. Companies need to offer a supportive environment to ensure enterprises are ready for high performance process. The four enterprise capabilities of PEMM are leadership, culture, expertise and governance. All the capabilities are required to be in place across a company to ensure sustainability of the process performance. Stronger organizational capabilities make for stronger enablers which allow for better process performance. The exhibit Evaluating the Maturity of your Enterprise displays four levels (E1, E2, E3 and E4) of enterprise maturity with four capability enablers. The enterprise capabilities are taken for granted in many companies. The author illustrated through the example of CSAA, the importance of the executive assessing the enterprise capabilities at the business unit level and not at the corporate level.

The author compares his framework with another framework Carnegie Mellons Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) which applies to specific processes and identifies the best practices whereas PEMM is applicable to any industry and doesnt specify what a process should look like. He educated the audience about the simplicity and the feasibility of PEMM. The article has enabled us to understand that redesigning of business processes can result in highly improved performance over time.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1) In redesigning a process, we need to put equal efforts in both supportive structure modification and process essentials. Redesigning processes require extensive organizational change that provokes resistance down the lane. Companys senior executives commitment is essentially required while redesigning a process. Strong support structure results in strong process essentials. Both supportive structure modification and process essentials contribute equally in redesigning a process.

2) Unilever, a multinational consumer goods company witnessed a rapid decline in its customers when compared to its competitor P&G. Improper marketing is considered to be one of the prime reasons for the drop in customers base. Transforming their marketing strategy Media By implementing PEMM model, could be first step which Unilever should undertake to understand the drawbacks and failures in the marketing strategy.Team 5