**3.1 Workflow design (WFD)**

Scholars and practitioners identify workflow design as an engineering activity that schemes and shapes what they refer to as the sequential tasks involved to take an item from "initiated" to "processed" one step at a time. Significantly the activity requires an intention to contrive for a purpose [36–38].

Research suggests that workflow design is based on the structure and characteristics of the product [39, 40]. These premises prompted Reijers et al. to offer a method referred to as product-based workflow design (PBWD) [41]. The authors argue that PBWD takes the product specification and three design criteria as a starting point, after which formal models and techniques are used to derive a favorable new design of the workflow process. Consistent with Reijers et al., Lee and Suh established and recommended a workflow matrix (WfM) with a view to analyze and reengineer strategies to improve the design process [42]. For the author, Workflow design establishes well-defined procedures and an operational-level sophisticated workflow.

Held and Blochinger enriched the workflow design discussion by introducing a concept of the collaborative workflow design. The concept combines cooperation and workflow model analysis [43]. Held and Blochinger argue that workflow design is often an effort of distributed and heterogeneous teams, therefore making tool support for collaboration a necessity.

The above scholars' discussion has brought to the shore the utmost importance of workflow design. On the basis of the arguments presented by scholars, workflow design enables organizations and businesses to see their entire activity processes and how data moves seamlessly from step to step. Therefore, workflow design is an indispensable strategy towards OE.

## **3.2 Control and correction of workflow processes (CCWFP)**

The success of a workflow design rests upon the resilience of its structures. This implies how robust, effective and efficient the process structures are when facing pressure. Thus the need for control and correction of workflow processes on a regular and permanent basis. Control means "to check the accuracy of, verify; to regulate," [44]. On this basis, control and correction of workflow processes are mostly methodical and technical support activities that aim at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the process structures.

Ideally, the strategy, with regard to weaknesses, in particular, would be to reduce and or transform them into strengths to reinforce the resilience capability of the process structures. In this way, the desired outcomes are most likely to be achieved because of the continuous improvement of the process structures.

### **3.3 Monitoring of workflow processes (MWFP)**

Monitoring is understood as a general sense of "observe, keep under review, to guide" [45]. Characterized by a broader scope, monitoring of workflow processes entails keeping track of and gathering data about the performance of workflow processes.

Previous studies indicate that monitoring is "a continuing function that aims primarily to provide… an ongoing intervention with early indications of progress, or lack thereof, in the achievement of results" [46]. Importantly, monitoring offers a "metric for tracking progress towards project goals through a logical framework documenting intermediate and long-term measurable objectives" [47].

Consistent with the above, the monitoring process starts with the definition of a logical framework that establishes a pragmatic approach to monitoring. Such an approach should ensure that actions are taken in order to "frequently facilitate the need to modify processes that can be used in instances where there are limited resources, limited financial capital, and limited human capital to determine whether programs and projects have had an impact" [48]. Unless monitoring of workflow processes is done effectively, control and correction of workflow processes will be undermined and thus jeopardize the outcome.

### **3.4 Workflow promotion of process-related learning in organizations (WPPRLO)**

PM tasks are activities that promote learning experiences in organizations by linking research to practice with respect to workflow processes. From business and management perspectives, learning is key to both survival and success [49]. The significance of learning organizations has been discussed over the years. Scholars' arguments are consistent in suggesting that a learning organization is one that builds and strengthens resilience capabilities to secure the intended outcome [50, 51].

Design, control, and monitoring of workflow processes constitute an integrated approach to the workflow management cycle (WFMC). As such, a benchmark of learning organizations.

It transpires, from the above, that the successful implementation of process management relies on the efficiency and effectiveness with which its four tasks are executed. Thus the need to shift to or integrate BPM because of the promotion of people involvement in the process. This suggests that unless workflow processes are managed adequately through perfect execution of the above-identified tasks, it will prove difficult to affect the efficiency of an organization's actions and development—improving organizational dynamism, readiness, and reactiveness capability to face challenges of the global business environment [52, 53].

## **4. Process management and organizational excellence: the integration facilitating factor (IFF)**

Research reveals that OE can be achieved and sustained when variables from both mechanistic and organic approaches complement one another. Furthermore, the success of the organic approach is measured through the effectiveness of the mechanistic approach. Hence, the need to establish well-functioning workflow processes that would guarantee the intended and expected quality of the outcome.

PM is recognized as one of the pillars for OE [2, 5, 6]. On the evidence of the discussed WFMC, it has become transparent that organizations cannot achieve excellence if WFMC is not established and does not function effectively and efficiently to produce quality bound outcomes. WFMC is an execution of PM tasks—design, control, monitoring of workflow processes, and workflow promotion of processrelated learning in organizations. Therefore, OE is perceived as a means to a quality outcome. It depends on the successful implementation of PM from a mechanistic perspective. **Figure 2** below captures the process.

**Figure 2** above, presents the relationship between PM and OE which leads to quality of service or product. However, the effectiveness of PM depends on three conditions namely conceptualization and operationalization of PM, and the context *Process Management: A Requirement for Organizational Excellence in the Twenty-First Century… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101769*

**Figure 2.** *An integration of PM and OE.*

in which PM is implemented [54]. These conditions determine when and how PM may have a stronger or weaker impact on OE.

### **4.1 Conceptualization and operationalization**

Conceptualization and operationalization of PM encompass how formal, participatory and comprehensive PM has been defined and established. PM is a formal process because it incorporates and promotes a systematic way (e.g. thinking, doing, and applying) to reaching a possible outcome. This is bureaucracy by excellence [55–59]. It is participatory because it encompasses the involvement of all stakeholders (e.g. the superior and subordinate) in the process, therefore consistent with the theory of management by objectives [60–62]. The comprehensiveness refers to how aligned both employees and the management are. It emerges as a result of PM formality and the participation of the stakeholders in the process. Our first three propositions reflect the impact of these the integration facilitating factors between PM and OE:

P1: Formalized processes in organizations are most likely to be managed with efficiency and effectiveness for establishing a systematic way of completing tasks (doing things).

P2: Organizations that involve all the stakeholders (i.e. employees and the management) in the design and operationalization of processes are most likely to achieve success in formalizing processes.

P3: Unless all the stakeholders (i.e. employees and the management) are involved in the conceptualization and operationalization of processes, it would prove challenging to share a common understanding and comprehend the workflow management cycle.

Therefore, it becomes evident that the conceptualization and operationalization of PM help align the understanding of the workflow management cycle following the involvement of all the stakeholders. Consequently, processes will

be engineered and run with efficiency and effectiveness because they have been formalized. When they have been designed to show conformance to standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OSHAS 18001 in particular, formalized processes establish consistency in performance and results saving time and money to organizations [63–66].

#### **4.2 Context**

The context encompasses the management and administration of public and private organizations in both developed and developing countries. A school of thoughts advances that distinctions between public, private, and non-profit become confusing and misleading because of diverse sets of management settings involved in them [67].

However, practitioners and a growing number of scholars joined Harvard Business School Joseph L. Bower in distinguishing that public management and administration entails dealing with the needs and interests of a nation as a whole [68, 69]. Private management and administration, on the other side, focus on the needs and interests of individuals or a narrower group of people. **Table 1** below illustrates the difference.

Significantly, the difference lies in values. While public management and administration value amongst others sustainability by trying to balance public interest, public needs, and political interests [70]. Private management and administration values promote business profit by focusing on "risk-taking", "customer focus", and "bottom-line orientation" [71, 72].

It is argued that both public and private management and administration in developed countries yield better results than in developing countries. In fact, one of the common characteristics of developing nations is the struggle portrayed in matching the level of results produced by developed nations as far as public management and administration is concerned. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa are an example of such characteristics. They lag very much behind developed nations in ensuring that everyone benefits equally from provided goods and services such as mail service, public health services, schooling, and highway systems to mention but a few. In the light of the above, the last three propositions read.

P4: Effective management of organizational processes helps generate outputs equal to or beyond the expectations of stakeholders.

P5: Values promoted in either public or private sectors influence the conceptualization and operationalization of organizational processes towards effective management.

P6: Developed and developing country contexts are separated by the ways in which both contexts approach and associate values to organizational process management.

A well-established and functioning PM promotes an organizational culture of excellence. The opposite destroys trust with employees and reduces their commitment and creativity—resulting in lost profits and lowered productivity [73].


#### **Table 1.**

*The difference between public and private management and administration.*

*Process Management: A Requirement for Organizational Excellence in the Twenty-First Century… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101769*
