IndexIndex11: Business Process21.1: Importance of Business Process21.2: Business Process Modeling To Achieve Results22: Operational Planning42.1: Elements f Operational Plan For Own Area of Responsibility52.2: Developing an Operational Plan53: Concept of Organizational Performance ImprovementMonitoring the Appropriate System63.1: Organizational Performance Improvement Models to Achieve Results74: Managing Workplace Health and Safety Issues to Achieve Results84.1: Health and Safety Management System9References12

1: Business ProcessBusiness process is an integrated set of processes to perform a typical business task. It can be performed by trained human resource, machine or both with linked activities by transforming an input into a final refined output. In any business model input, a process and output are directly related to each other. Business process can be categories into three types; (1) Management Process, (2) Operational Process and (3) Supporting Process. Elzinga, et al. (1995) has explained all types of business processes. He said that management processes govern the business core operations, include strategic management and corporate governance and operational processes are the core process at departmental level like purchase, manufacturing, marketing & sales. Supporting processes include all supportive process like IT, Human Resource, Account and Finance. Elzinga, et al. (1995) defines the business process management as it is a systematic, structured approach to analyze, improve, control, and manage processes with the aim of improving the quality of products and services.1.1: Importance of Business ProcessThis saying tells importance of business process in organization structure if you always do what you always did, youll always get what you always go (Carter, n.d.). Management should focus to bring change in their process to be more efficient, try to cut the cost and customer satisfaction, customer service. Best business process can be map excellently with competitive human resource, advance technology and efficient business processes. Processes should goes right across the organization, sales process start with marketing and production mean set best targets for cost and profit calculation account department involve which should deliver best price, this will help to close sale. Timely production depends on best supply chain management and ultimately organization adopt best business process win all set targets. 1.2: Business Process Modeling To Achieve ResultsBusiness process management include all the methods like tools and technique to support the final design, management, enactment, operational analysis, human involvement in processes, supporting application, documentations and other sort of information as described Smith & Fingar (2003). Business process management helps in process improvement at operational level with the help of highly professional and accurate process aware information system. During business processes management it is compulsory to assess measurement and controls, whether organizational objectives meets or not. The objectives and goals of stake holder should be seen in business process management. Change always comes when you are unsatisfied with business model or process and plenty of room of growth identified. Therefore it is very important before finalizing business process change, stake holder goals must communicated explicitly and it should be traceable during proposal, approval and in implementation. In Business process model symbolic notation can be used to present business processes. This term is influenced by system engineering and mathematics. Business process modeling is well known term but methodologies for business process modeling is different in the eyes of management experts, it depends on the situation and final output, what result or outcome you want to extract in specific situation. The use of symbolic diagram in business process modeling communicate all major processes of organization which also indicate complexity of business processes may involved or not in specific business process. And such finding effects organization planning in business process improvements. Melao and Pidd (2000) states that there are 25 business process modeling methodologies 72 different BPM techniques and 102 tools available for business process modeling.When organizational stake holder wants to monitor and calculate changes according to goals and objective a very popular method of business process proposed method is being applied as Lamsweerde (2001) illustrates. It is used to couple existing and future formal and informal goals of stakeholder with reasonable methodologies and business process modeling notation can be achieved through satisfied relationship between concepts which are represented before. Business process modeling notations are developed by www.bpmi.org. These methods totally generate business processes according to stakeholder goals, every process of business play effective role to attain goals of organizations. Business process is combine effort of human resource, machinery and effective communication tools and in business process modeling notation these processes and sub processes shows in flow objects (Event, Activities and Decisions) and connecting objects (Control Flow Linked). Business processes models and organizational goal and objectives are interlinked and directly related to each other, if management see successful implementation of strategic goals, this help to create a rich organizational culture within organization, executive force should be enough motivated and mentally trained to accept changes and perform according to new set principle and business processes.2: Operational PlanningOrganizations use strategic management as a tool to handle everyday work activities. To do so managers develop plan and strategies. A well implemented plan yields the best results and in the long run provides a strategic path to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Operational planning is the everyday execution of strategies in a well managed way. Operational planning plays a critical role in strategy execution. Operational planning guarantees that program activities are best placed to achieve strategic results. It is a management approach and a part of strategic management to achieve long term goals and objectives. An operational plan is essential to achieve the organizational goals and objectives as defined by Matlock (2005), because it consists of schedule programs and plans necessary to perform related actions to accomplish results. A good operational plan starts with a comprehensive planning and after that directs the organization to necessary activities. MBO (Management by Objectives) defines the sole roles and responsibilities of every individual working within the organization. In MBO goals and objectives of employees has been defined for a specific period of time. Similarly in operational planning roles and responsibilities of every employee are being defined. In this management approach work activities are being classified in to units. For the accomplishment of unit achievement organizations develop plan at individual level. The individual plans are being developed on the basis of assigned responsibilities. According to the www.sqa.org.uk, the area of responsibility may be a branch or department or functional area or an operating site within an organisation. So we can say that defining the operational plan for own area of responsibility means to develop and implement an operational plan for a single business unit. Single business unit can be a department or a functional area of an individual employee. Employees as a manager or leader belong and have responsibilities to the organization and have to plan and implement day to day operations to contribute in achieving the long term operational goals. The managers should have a set of specific and implied generic skills to plan and implement operational plans in their own area of responsibility. The common skill set consists of planning, risk management, delegating, and innovating, monitoring, evaluating and building consensus. It is the top down bottom up strategic planning in which goals and objectives have been established at unit (department/functional area) level. In order to more scatter the work the goals then set at office level, then division level, then districts and section level. Performance measurement is essential to keep track the effectiveness of established unit plans because in strategic management and MBO staff performance is being tied with their individual goals and objectives.2.1: Elements f Operational Plan For Own Area of ResponsibilityMatlock (2005) address that developing an operational plan must answer the following questions, "Why I need it? What needs to be done? And what I am currently doing? Answers should give you a clear understanding of your objectives that what you want to do in order to achieve results and suggest you a systematic way to develop and implement an operational plan. Formulation of an operational plan for own area of responsibility is the part of short and medium term planning in which usually goals and objectives has been set from six month to three years. Rich literature is available on formulation of operational plan but in generic an operational plan for own area of responsibility must have important elements. As Matlock (2005) stated that a good operational plan for own area of responsibility should address; Visionwhere you want to be in future Goalsset your goals to determine and manage the direction of your work activities Objectivesyour objectives must be SMART Program to Achieve ObjectivesThe program should have potential to drive you in the direction of achievement Timelineyour plan must have the detail schedule about the execution of activities Performance Management CriteriaTo determine the effectiveness of your operational plan for own area of responsibility you must have linked a performance management system A Strong Communication NetworkYou must have a strong communication network to communicate your goals and objectives to all employees2.2: Developing an Operational PlanAn operational plan must be as simple and meaningful as possible. It should address three basic characteristics as Matlock (2005) has described. Your operational plan must have a clear format which can be understandable easily. Structure and goals and objectives of your operational plan must not contradict with your organizatuonal strategic goals and objectives. Development of an operational plan does not required a rocket science, it is simple but required a strategic framework. Following are the essential steps need to establish an operational plan for own area of responsibility.Establishing GoalsFirst of all you have to establish your own goals to achieve results. Goals should be clear, understandable and easy to achieve.Establishing ObjectivesAfter establishing and setting the goals, in nest step you have to identify and set your objectives. The objectives are the annual achievements you must realize. The objectives should not challenge your operational goals but to support.MeasurementsIn this step develop a scorecard to measure the performance of your operational plan in the light of KPIs (Key Performance Indicator). You should have established standard KPIs for every task before meausring the actual performance of your operational performance.CommunicationEstablish a strong communication network to communicate goals, objectives,KPIs and measurement results.ImplementationIn this step implement your operational plan in real world.3: Concept of Organizational Performance ImprovementMonitoring the Appropriate SystemA system to improve organizational performance is as essential for the organization as blood for the body. Organizational performance based on the effective and efficient frequent mechanism of establishment and monitoring of goals and together builds an organizational performance improvement system as McNamara (n.d.) explain. Appropriate monitoring mechanism is required to assess the continuous organizational performance. It is possible through a well organized and systematic method to address the results. While developing and implementing an organizational performance improvement system you have to identify the elements which need improvement. Potocki & Brocato (1995) has explained organizational performance improvement system as a continuous quality improvement system and suggest a model to monitor and improve organizational performance. Wilkerson (2005) also illustrates the same that organizational performance improvement begins with identifying the areas of improvement and what people expect from your program. It can be done through proper assessment methods. It could be very helpful if you conduct regular assessments of performance improvement. Goals behind monitoring the organizational performance improvement system should be ensuring, monitoring, analyzing and improving the designed processes. Organizations manage change due to the different internal and external elements which affect the organizational processes. The factors could be technological change or advancement, regulatory changes or economical changes. Organizations adopt different techniques and implement different strategies to monitor organizational performance improvement system such as action learning and knowledge management system.3.1: Organizational Performance Improvement Models to Achieve ResultsIn management literature there is no hard and fast rules are available to design models to monitor organizational performance improvement system. Majority of approaches used highly customized form of models. Some are listed below;Balanced ScorecardIt covers four indicators of performance improvement which is customer perspective, internal-business processes, learning, growth and financials. All factors indicate growth with respect to goals.BenchmarkingIt is standard measure to compare performance with other organizations to know competitive edge.Business Process ReengineeringThis aims to increase performance by radically re-designing the organization's structures and processes, including by starting over from the ground up.Continuous ImprovementThis approach focuses on improving organizational performance through customer satisfaction with continuous and incremental improvement methods. ISO9000Is an internationally recognized standard of quality, and includes guidelines to accomplish the ISO9000 standardKnowledge ManagementIt is the technique in which collection of critical knowledge or areas used to maximize the performance of organization.Management by Objectives (MBO)MBO is a management practice used to plan, establish, align and measure the overall organizational performance with personal goals and objectives of human resource.Strategic PlanningIt is strategic direction of an organization with over all study of organization include vision, mission and processes.Total Quality Management (TQM)TQM means 100% perfection in all processes by adopting best practices of management in all departments.4: Managing Workplace Health and Safety Issues to Achieve ResultsWithin the organizations, resources are the most critical and risk oriented things. The resources are financial, human and other assets like machinery and tools. To minimize the associated risks managers develop plan and strategies. An organisation will never be able to achieve the highest standards of health and safety management without the active involvement of directors. External stakeholders viewing the organisation will observe the lack of direction (N, 2008). The risks at workplace can be hazardous and fatal in terms of illness, bad health and physical disabilities. According to the OSHA (2008) fact sheet, only in USA approximately $170 billion cost is being put away on workplace injuries and illness of workers. Whereas according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010), approximately 3.1 million non fatal workplace accidents were recorded in USA. According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) Statistics (2010/11) only in UK 1.2 million people were injured at workplace in the year of 2010/11 and 175 people were killed. In all over the world hundreds of departments at national and global level are working to minimize workplace accidents and to develop an effective SHMS (Safety and Health Management System). They have established laws, rules and regulations related to workplace safety and working conditions. These departments are also providing guidelines for safe and effective workplace. Organizations have to implement a systematic approach and strategies to cope with workplace health and safety related issues by involving the employees from top to bottom level management (Safeworksa, 2006).4.1: Health and Safety Management SystemSuccessful managers and leaders manage activities at workplace in order to achieve results and ultimate organizational objectives. To manage workplace related activities they developed and implement effective strategies and even a full fledge management system. Before developing a safety and health management system for workplace managers should have look in to the following critical elements; (1) management commitment, (2) employee involvement, (3) workplace analysis, (4) hazard prevention and control, (5) employee training. Here the question appears that who is the responsible to develop and manage the effective workplace management system. This problem is native in nature and every organization could have different teams and departments but some countries have some rules and regulations about this. WHS Act and Regulations in Australia discussed in Queensland Government Gazette (2011) has some guidelines about persons who are responsible to manage workplace related issues and activities to eliminate workplace health and safety risks. These are the persons who engaged in conducting a business or undertaking work for them, putting other people to conduct the work, people involved in installation, fixtures and fittings of plants and machinery, design, manufacturing, import or supply plant, machinery and other workplace related tools and infrastructure. Before managing the health and safety related activities at workplace you have to identify the major hazards at your workplace. It will guide you through the rest of process of development of an effective system and to manage the activities to achieve the desired results. OSHA has developed a questionnaire to identify the health and safety related issues. Managers can easily recognize issues by answering the some simple questions. This questionnaire contains simple and common questions about facts and factors that might be caused for minor as well fatal health and safety related hazards. The most common hazards at workplace are slipping and falling, toxic events, particularly chemical and gas exposure, getting struck by objects, electrocution or explosion, repetitive motion and ergonomic injuries, communicable disease, transportation accidents, workplace violence, and hearing loss as reported by Spiro (2010). HSE has suggested to managers a systematic approach aimed to develop understanding of principles and practices of basic health and safety management issues. The HSE (2008) suggested systematic approach is a cost effective in its nature to eliminate the financial and physical risks involved at workplace.

The 5 steps to manage health and safety related activities are;Set your policyYour health and safety policy should be in written form and address activities like selection of people, equipment and materials, and the work processes design and implementation activities.Organize your staffYour employees should have basic competencies to manage workplace activities. The competencies are; (1) Committed, (2) Control, (3) Cooperative and (4) Communication skills. Plan and Set StandardsIn formulation processes of health and safety policy first plan your activities. Planning activities should be in written form. This guide has suggested some important guidelines to plan health and safety policy. After having a written plan you have to set your standards. The key points to set standards are also included in this guide.Measure your performanceIn order to answer certain questions you have to measure your policy performance. It includes monitoring system of activities.Audit and ReviewThrough internal or external audit you can gauge that your policy, organization and systems actually achieving results or not. It is the process to check the reliability and effectiveness of implemented health and safety policies regarding workplace.

ReferencesAnon., 2010. http://www.bls.gov. [Online] Available at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm[Accessed 10 September 2012].Carter, P. S., n.d. http://www.metarasa.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.metarasa.com/management/process/the-importance-of-business-processes/[Accessed 10 September 2012].HSE, 2008. Managing health and safety Five Steps To Success, s.l.: HSE.HSE, 2010/11. http://www.hse.gov.uk. [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/[Accessed 10 September 2012].Matlock, P. E., 2005. Developing an Operations Plan. CryoGas International, pp. 24-27.McNamara, C., n.d. http://managementhelp.org. [Online] Available at: http://managementhelp.org/organizationalperformance/index.htm[Accessed 10 September 2012].N, U. N. I. V. E. R. S. I. T. I. E. S. A. N. D. C. L. L. E. G. E. S. E. M. P. L. Y. E. R. . S. A. S. S. O. C. I. A. I. O., 2008. leading Health and Safety at Work, s.l.: s.n.OSHA, 2008. OSHA Fact Sheet, s.l.: US Department of Labour .OSHA, n.d. Identifying Safety and Health Problems in the Workplace, s.l.: OSHA.Potocki, K. A. & Brocato, R. C., 1995. A System of Management for Organizational Improvement. JOHNS HOPKINS APL TECHNICAL DIGEST, 16(4), pp. 402-412.Relations, M. f. E. a. I., 2011. HOW TO MANAGE WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS Code of Practice 2011, s.l.: Minister for Education and Industrial Relations.Safeworksa, 2006. WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY HANDBOOK, s.l.: s.n.Spiro, J., 2010. http://www.inc.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/9-avoidable-workplace-health-safety-hazards.html[Accessed 10 September 2012].sqa.org.uk, n.d. http://www.sqa.org.uk. [Online] Available at: http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/MLB1DevelopandImplementOperationalPlansforyourAreaofResponsibility.pdf[Accessed 10 September 2012].Wilkerson, D., 2005. How to build a performance improvement system in your organization. [Online] Available at: http://www.carf.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=22499[Accessed 10 September 2012].

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