Business Process Management.

Case study regarding the course Business Process Management. Attached are both the article and the required questions to be answered regarding the case.

III. SUMMARY

Provide a summary in your own words on the article you requested to read and analyze in the following space.

IV. KEY LEARNING POINTS

Identify the key learning points in the read and analyze assigned activity.

V. RELEVANT STATEMENTS TO THE SESSION

While you reading, identify the relevant statements to the session and insert them in order in the following space.

VI. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This is the most important section in your analysis. To complete it sucessfully, learner is to consider the following guiding steps:
?    Present arguments coherently, supported by evidence and facts to substantiate on why you may take a particular stance and/ or position towards a particular approach whether against or in support of it;
?    Capable of bridging the gap between the theory and conceptual work with the application under consideration.

VII. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

How could you apply the subject matter from the article in a real business case?

VIII. LEARNING REFLECTIONS

What have you learnt? Critical thinking is about lessons learnt to be drawn from the analysis.

Experiences of implementing
process management:
a multiple-case study
Klara Palmberg
Lulea° University of Technology, Lulea° , Sweden
Abstract
Purpose – Process management is becoming an essential part of contemporary organizations in
all industries. However, many organizations experience problems during the implementation of
a process management approach. The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the
organizational implications when implementing process management, how to handle the relationship
between the functional organization and a process perspective, and the roles of managers, teams, and
individuals.
Design/methodology/approach – A multiple-case study approach is used to get an extensive
picture of and analyze how three Swedish organizations have worked with process management.
Findings – The studied organizations have introduced a process management structure into their
functional organizational structure, including the introduction of new management positions such as
process owners and process leaders. A discourse is identified in earlier research between those arguing
for a full transformation from a functionally oriented to a fully process-oriented organizational
structure, and those promoting a more moderate transformation where a process management
structure is “matrixed onto” the existing organization. The analysis could be interpreted as supporting
the second line of reasoning, where the functional and process structures co-exist in the organization,
creating a constructive dynamic.
Originality/value – The paper provides two major contributions. First, the empirical descriptions
and analysis of implementing process management contribute to the knowledge and understanding
among both practitioners and researchers. The second major contribution is the identified need of
co-existence of a process and functional perspective, and the implication that complexity is created
rather than reduced in organizations.
Keywords Process management, Business process re-engineering, Organizational structures, Sweden
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
Processes and process management are becoming an essential part of contemporary
organizations in all industries. Quality management, Six Sigma and Lean all build on
components of working with and improving organizational processes (Andersson et al.,
2006; Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). The new ISO 9001:2008 standard is
placing considerable emphasis on processes (ISO, 2009), and process management is a
significant part of most excellence models, such as the Malcolm Balridge National
Quality Award (NIST, 2009) and the EFQM Excellence Model (EFQM, 2009). When
exploring if Six Sigma and Lean are new methods, or if they are repackaged versions
of previously popular methods – total quality management and just-in-time – Na¨slund
(2008) emphasises the importance of placing organizational change and improvement
methods in general under a process management umbrella.
Zairi (1997) stated, based on a literature review, that the word “process” had become
a part of everyday business language. Hammer and Stanton (1999) argued, on the basis
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-7154.htm
Process
management
93

Business process management

bizagi moduler to be used for doing “TO BE” and “AS IS” analysis diagram.its very important to be done only through that software.some references should be of author books as well.cause and effect fish bone diagram, gap analysis diagram, controlers and enablers diagram. total content should be 2000 words excluding references ,executive summary and diagrams. maintain zero plagirsm and it should be done in time.according to the assignment material prepare a proper financial statement of the company and also mention the estimated cost in appendix.

MPM701 Business Process Management
Written Assignment
Trimester 2, 2015
Due: Friday 4th September, 2015
Marks: 40% of Unit Assessment

Objective
Upon successfully completing this assignment you will have demonstrated that you can provide clear
written advice, and recommendations for change, to a business owner, in relation to business
process management (BPM). Your advice will offer the business owner several reasons for adopting a
business process management approach;
?

an explanation as to what the current business processes are and why they should be
redesigned

?

a proposed redesign solution

?

special considerations that need to be taken into account to deliver the proposed solution
successfully; and succinct recommendations

In providing your advice to the business owner you will take into account various perspectives and
circumstances encompassing the business.

Overview of Hexband Pty Ltd
Business processes permeate all aspects of business and it is arguable that if a business is not
adopting a business process management approach to realise its strategies, and its subsequent goals
and objectives, then it may reduce its chances for success – even its very survival. By taking a business
process management approach, organisations can improve their chances of succeeding in their
quests for sustained competitive advantages through greater efficiencies, quality, innovation and
customer responsiveness. In, what is now, a highly competitive, global, interconnected and uncertain
business environment, there has never been a better time to draw on the advantages offered by
applying the BPM discipline to any business or organisation anywhere.
Jett Tardis is twenty eight years old and is the inventor of the Hexband. The Hexband is a digital
fingerless wrist gauntlet (a glove-like clothing accessory extending up the arm about half way to the
elbow). Among many of its features are included a very advanced digital interface (the whole unit is
essentially a flexible touch screen), a terabyte of storage capacity, a GPS mapping system, digital HD
TV, video telephone, full Internet connectivity, MP3, MP4, digital video camera, hundreds of
software applications (including gaming, business and lifestyle applications), FM digital radio
receiver, compass and a biometric and body composition feedback system (including a stress
detector). It is waterproof, shock proof, bullet proof and rust proof. It contains a rechargeable
battery but also recharges in light (solar) and with arm movement. The Hexband has attracted
enormous popularity among a wide range of people in various walks of life but most particularly, it

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

2

has become a ‘cult like’ object with people aged roughly between 13 and 39, and most particularly
among surfers, skaters, bicycle riders, hikers, university students, military forces, musicians in rock
bands (particularly heavy metal bands) and their fans, professional people and computer gamers.
Jett commenced working on his Hexband invention during his teenage years. He was at an ‘Iron
Maiden’ heavy metal concert and was wearing a studded wrist band on his left arm and was
wondering what the time was. But he quickly realised that he’d left his watch at home so that his
wrist could accommodate the studded wrist band. Then he looked for his mobile phone, as that also
had a clock, but he didn’t bring that either as his studded leather jacket didn’t have pockets. He
thought to himself, ‘why can’t a wrist band like the one I’m wearing contain everything I need?’ So,
following years of development and testing, Jett, finally launched his Hexband in a new business that
he established in 2009.
Jett’s business is a company called Hexband Pty Ltd. The business manufactures the Hexband but
obtains parts from external suppliers. The company’s suppliers are based in Mexico (supplying the
leather finger attachments for the gauntlet screen wrap around) and another in China (supplying the
touch screen wrist wrap around interface). The Chinese supplier is the only company in the world
capable of manufacturing these unique and highly technical components. Jett has built the business
to perform most major functions that are typical of a medium-sized enterprise. The company’s
organisational structure chart is shown below.

Organisational Chart
CEO
Jett Tardis

Production
Harvey Shenker
(14 employees)

Logistics
John Gunn
(8 employees)

Purchasing
Dana Scott
(7 employees)

ICT
Rock Steed
(1 employee)

HR
Moon Unit
(10 employees)

Sales
Dave Hamersmith
(7 employees)

Accounting
Lewis Litt
(6 employees)

R&D
Steph Bendixsen
(2 employees)

The departmental directors are named in their respective function boxes in the chart. The number of
employees working under each director is shown in each of the function boxes respectively (numbers
of employees in each department include the directors of those departments). The sales function is
also charged with marketing and service responsibilities; service requests though are usually referred
to the logistics department. The accounting function is also charged with finance responsibilities. The
production function manufactures the Hexband and manages the warehouse. The firm has a

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

3

centralised IT function which provides some of the firm’s IT needs. Hexband Pty Ltd currently
employs 56 individuals, including Jett.
The business experienced strong growth in its first few years and this enabled it to grow quickly. In
2014 things started to change. Sales were down and profits reduced (see profit table below). By 2015
things were worse. By mid-year, the world had just witnessed Greece default on a major debt
payment and global markets took a massive hit. People were panicking about what the future might
hold for them financially and so spending on necessities rather than luxuries became the norm.
Housing values decreased in some places by 50 percent and even more. Fuel and food prices soared
and jobs were being lost in every industry. The long anticipated global financial crisis ‘Mach II’
appeared to have finally materialised. The world had changed and smart business manoeuvres were
sought by business owners genuinely seeking long term sustainability.

Revenue
$m
Expenses
$m
Profit $m

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 to July

8

10

12

12

13

10

2.7

3

3

3.5

3

3.3

3.5

500k

5

7

8.5

9

9.7

6.5

2.2

Sales of the Hexband essentially relied upon word of mouth communication and a solid marketing
strategy had not been developed at all. Worse still, Jett had never put much time or effort into
developing streamlined and computer based business processes and rather, resorted to many paper
based manual methods to get things done, including purchasing material, controlling production,
satisfying customer orders and managing all the accounts.
Jett’s business strategy has always centred on differentiating from potential competitors such as
watch makers, wrist accessory manufacturers and mobile phone producers, through the appearance
of, and the functionality provided by, the Hexband. He underpins this strategy with a focus on quality
and customer responsiveness. He realises though that most of his competitive advantage comes
from innovation – no other firm has been able to match the Hexband’s looks and features in a single
unit. He also realises that, given a recent rise in customer complaints about delays in receiving
orders, his firm’s customer responsiveness is waning and needs redress. Jett wishes to maintain his
strategic stance but knows that organisational change must occur urgently if it is to work as
intended.
Jett decided to hold a meeting with his directors. They assembled during the morning around the
board room table where Jett asked “What happens when a customer places an order for a
Hexband?” (Jett’s question assumed that the group would understand that a customer might be a
wholesale or retail customer or an individual purchasing directly from the company either online (via
eBay) or via phone or fax. Hexband Pty Ltd does not have a retail store front).
Dave spoke up and said, “well, we write up a sales order form and send it to production.” Harvey
said, “when we get to the sales order form, usually within three days, we physically check to see if
there is a Hexband (or number of Hexbands) in stock that suits the configuration required – black
silver or dark grey finger attachments), and if there is, we pack it, label it and write stock details onto
the sales form and send it over to John’s guys to ship it out and we also send a duplicate copy to
Lewis so he can organise the accounts. We keep a triplicate in a box in my office – I guess I should get
a filing cabinet one of these days, last week Alf tripped over the box and I had papers all over the
place, half of which ended up in the bin! Ah well, we shoved most of them all back into the box in
about two minutes, not a problem! I also keep ‘post it’ notes of sales orders on my office whiteboard
– these usually match the triplicates in the box so I don’t need to fiddle with the papers in the box.”
When the box is full, we send it to Lewis in Accounting.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

4

Then John said, “well, when we get the sales order from Dave, we sign it and make notations of the
date and time, then, when we pack the order onto one of the trucks for local delivery or get Fedex to
collect it for interstate or international delivery, we forward the sales order along with a shipping
note to Lewis in accounting. We don’t know what he does with it but we’ve always done this. We
keep a photocopy of the shipping note in a ring binder in the warehouse office.
When the photocopier is broken we just slap a ‘post it’ note on the order in the folder. This seems to
work well because we don’t lose the details for many orders.
Then Lewis spoke up and said, “when we receive the sales order from Dave we file it and wait for the
shipping order to come in from John. We usually cross check all sales orders and shipping orders that
are sitting on our desks every day to ascertain whether an invoice action can be taken. When we see
a sales order and a shipping order for the same sale (which we ascertain by looking at the name of
the customer on the order), we send the customer an invoice to the customer’s address, either their
shipping or head office address – it doesn’t really matter, we just choose whichever address appears
first on the order. Payment terms are net 14 days and the majority of our customers pay within this
time which means that there is very little action required in following up debtors.”
Jett sighed quietly to himself and then asked, “well, what happens if we haven’t got any suitable
Hexbands in stock?” Harvey said, “well, when we get the sales order from Dave and check for
suitable stock, if we find that we’ve run out, we organise a purchase request and send it to Dana so
that we can get the necessary materials to make more. It only takes us a few days to get the
purchase request organised and sent.” Dana then spoke up and said, “when we get the purchase
request from Harvey, we file it for action so that purchase requests are tended to in order of date
received. That’s how we prioritise things in my department! When we finally find time to get to the
request, we study it and then organise purchase order forms which we complete and send to our
respective suppliers. We send these in the surface mail. It usually takes about four and a half weeks
before we receive dispatch confirmations and invoices from our suppliers indicating that our orders
have been filled and sent. Then we send the original invoices from our suppliers, with a payment
order, to Lewis so that he can organise payment for the materials. Our job is done!”
Lewis then said, “when we receive the invoices and payment orders from Dana, we pay these
immediately. We’d hate to ruin our relationships with our suppliers.”
Jett sensed tensions between members of the group. He particularly noticed a strong three way
tension between Harvey, Dana and Lewis. Dave seemed to be the most positive member of the
group, even though sales were down, and whenever he spoke, Jett noticed that all other members of
the group became anxious.
Jett was beginning to see the consequences of his neglect of the firm’s business processes and
sensed that if all of this were to continue, he could be out of business within a couple of years or
even sooner. He is confident that the Hexband can adapt to changing times and will remain very
popular for many years to come but he knows that he must match this fantastic product with
excellent business processes.
Jett calls you in as his BPM Consultant to help make sense of the current organisational approach and
to provide some preliminary advice about redesigning processes so that the current downward trend
in performance can be reversed. He gives you the transcript of his meeting with his directors (as
seen above). He also provides you with some other basic information that he quickly gathered
together for you including some Balance Sheet items (to help you to form a view of the firm’s
position to invest in change) and some other miscellaneous information which might help you to
determine the extent of change necessary. No other information is available to you to develop a
solution. Jett states that he has at least been conscious of accumulating some cash reserves for the
firm’s development and that it seems the day has come to use some (or possibly all) of these! All of
this is revealed in the tables shown below.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

Balance Sheet Items (summarised as at June 2014)
Cash at Bank (based on latest statement found on floor)
Debtors (estimated)
Percentage of debtors outstanding more than 2 months
Creditors
Stock on Hand (based on rough estimate count in warehouse)
Other Assets (including land, buildings, equipment and vehicles (straight line
depreciation), investments, patents, trademarks and goodwill.
Other Liabilities (including bank loans, venture capital)
Loan expiry and review date

5

$
1,200,000
400,000
26%
226,000
74,600
1,526,000
476,000
30 June, 2016

Other information (based on Jett’s investigations only; no other information is available)
Item
Units/Info
Organisational Personal Computers (Quad Core, basic peripherals)
Laser Printers (Hewlett Packard, 4 years old)
Local Area Network
Internet Access
Software – Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Vista
Telecommunication Networks – Cable available to whole business
Telecommunications provider
Some client data are currently held on spreadsheets
Three MS Access databases hold some data on employees
A Filemaker Pro database on a standalone PC holds some data on the
Hexband configurations and stock holdings; it is out of date
Managers are equipped with Hexbands
A company intranet has not been established
Computer literate staff (basic and intermediate levels; no power users)
Total product lines
Suppliers (one in Mexico, one in China, both have Internet access
Customers (i.e. retail stores and some distributors)
Retail Price for a Hexband
Cost of producing a Hexband unit
Individual Directors’ salaries p.a.
Staff average annual income
Production time for one Hexband

11
3
6 PCs connected
7 PCs connected
12 Licences only
Cable
Telstra
Excel and Open Office
Name, Address, Employee
Number and Title only.
Product names, Stock Keeping
Unit number, number
available

22
3 approx.
2 approx.
27 approx.
$1200
$327
$180,000
$52,250
8.5 hours

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

6

Task: Preliminary Business Report (40 marks)
This assignment must be completed by teams of 3 individuals.
Your task is to prepare a preliminary business report for Jett. Jett has an in-house style which he
expects for business reports, so the main body of your report must be structured using the following
headings. An brief about what each section of the report must address is also provided.

BPM and Strategy
?

Advise Jett why a BPM approach should now become part of the way ‘Hexband’ does
business.

?

Introduce Jett to Business Process Management by stating in plain terms what it actually is
and how it can help his business

?

In describing the benefits of BPM to Jett, ensure that you briefly highlight how BPM connects
to business strategy (internal and external perspectives), positioning, structure and value
propositions. Briefly describe the meaning of value chains and how using BPM, in conjunction
with this concept, can assist Jett to improve the business.

Problem Analysis
?

Jett is aware that there are a number of problems within his company and whilst he is happy
for you to briefly describe these, he would like you to concentrate your efforts on the
problem which you determine to be the most urgent. In relation to this problem, Jett would
like you to identify the causes of the problem, the problem and the consequences of the
problem; refer to the capabilities gap and the performance gap here if relevant

?

Show the current ‘As Is’ process using Bizagi Modeler software

?

Identify any process flow problems and/or day to day management problems; output and
input problems; and problems with controls and enablers; develop a project scoping diagram
to illustrate the problem which you have identified

Proposed Solution
?

Advise Jett what it means to develop a ‘business process architecture’ and, particularly, how
valuable this can be to him and the success of the business

?

Bridge the identified gap, revealed in the previous section, by describing a ‘To Be’ process;
what will the ‘To Be’ process do, or not do, when the change project is rolled out

?

Support your ‘To Be’ process with a BPMN process flow diagram using Bizagi Modeler
software

?

Are there any key aspects in your proposed solution that you should clearly describe to Jett,
for example: SOA; ERP; Master Data; Core, Support and Management processes; alignment
issues; etc?

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

7

Solution Considerations
Large BPM driven organisational changes can be extremely valuable, they are also complex
undertakings impacting the organisation, its people and its use of modern technologies.
?

Identify and briefly describe significant considerations that might impact ‘Hexband Pty Ltd’,
both during the redesign development stage and upon the implementation of your proposed
solution. Some considerations might pertain to the costs of bridging the gap (time, effort,
money, etc.), risks, opportunity costs, politics, etc.

Recommendations
?

Provide Jett with a succinct list of recommendations to conclude your report

Written Assignment Administrative Details
You may include a brief executive summary, table of contents and brief appendices. Do not include
extensive appendices – this is a preliminary report – extensive appendices may result in a reduction
of marks. Use the section headings above to structure the main body of your report (you should not
need sub-headings). Jett will not read the report if it does not use the above headings in the body of
your report.
Jett wants to see a reasonable use of references. While textbook references can be used, Jett would
prefer that you use industry research reports, case studies and any other industry-based evidence
which can justify why his organisation should implement your proposed BPM solution.
You do not need to specify a particular commercial solution (such as SAP or another enterprise
system), although you may specify commercial solutions to help you to clarify and support your
proposed solution recommendations.
The report must be no longer than 2,000 words (approximately 4 to 5 pages of words, but by
including diagrams and any other graphics or figures it will be considerably longer. Words in diagrams
such as the Gap Model, Project Scoping Diagram and As-Is and To-Be process diagrams will not be
included in the word count provided they are used to explain necessary steps and highlight critical
information. If paragraphs of text are included in these diagrams, they will be included in the word
count. Words in tables are included in the word count of the main body of your report.
Note that the 2,000 word count does not include your cover page, your executive summary, your
reference list or your appendices.
Note also that 10% of the total available marks for the assignment may be deducted from your final
assignment mark for every 100 words that exceed the 2000 word limit. For example, assignments of
2300 words (not including cover page, executive summary reference list or appendices) may receive
a penalty deduction of 30% of the total available marks for the assignment. Please do not exceed the
word limit for the assignment.
It is strongly recommended that the process to produce your report be an iterative one, with interim
reports and drafts produced early so that you and your partners can reflect on progress and refine
the work as necessary. You might be asked in your seminars to present a brief update about the
progress of your report. This is a major unit assignment, get started early as the trimester moves
very quickly.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

8

Assessment
Business Report (40 marks)
Your report will be assessed using the marking criteria shown below:
Marking Criteria
BPM and Strategy
Problem Analysis
Proposed Solution
Solution Considerations
Recommendations
Overall Quality of the Report
? Presentation
? Spelling and Grammar
? Quality and use of References
Total

Mark
15
20
20
15
10
20

100 (will be converted to a mark out of 40)

It is expected that you and your partners will contribute significantly and equally to the team’s efforts
and will therefore receive 100% of the final assignment mark out of 40. However, if you do not make
a significant contribution you will receive less than 100% of the assignment mark. In particular, in the
past, some members of some teams have only made a contribution in the last few days before
submission – they are usually awarded a very low percentage of the assignment mark, sometimes
0%.
Also note that it is not sufficient to simply research aspects of the solution that your team proposes
without also contributing to the overall final report. You must normally make regular, at least weekly,
contributions to the work; if you are unable to do so you must make necessary arrangements with
your partners. Other team-working skills may be discussed in seminars and online in Cloud Deakin.
The first page of the business report must contain the names of all team members with the
proportional contribution of each team member agreed to by all team members. The total
proportion must sum to (or round up to – see below) 100%. For example:
Clint Eastwood: 33.3%
Cameron Diaz:

33.3%

Tom Cruise:

33.3%

Rounded Total

100%

In case of dispute, your seminar facilitator will be able to provide advice on determining each team
member’s contribution, and may in certain instances intervene to determine the allocations.
Individuals will be awarded a percentage of the final team mark based on the proportions reported,
with the student(s) receiving the highest proportion obtaining 100% of the team marks and all other
team members receiving a proportional allocation. For example, if the team above obtained a team
mark of 32/40, both team members would receive the full 32 marks (they contributed equally).

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

9

Online areas and getting help
A ‘Written Assignment’ link is in the ‘Unit Assessment’ area in the MPM701 Cloud Deakin site (in the
Unit Resources folder) and it accessible to all students enrolled in MPM701. The written assignment
area contains resources to support your work for this assignment.
The Written Assignment area contains a Written Assignment Discussion area for questions and
discussions of a general nature about the assignment. It is open to all students so that all students
can benefit.

Submission instructions
(Up to 5 marks may be lost if these instructions are not followed correctly)
Your work must be submitted in accordance with the instructions shown below.
1. You lodge your assignment via the ‘Drop Box’ which is accessible in the Written Assignment area
of the MPM701 Cloud Deakin site.
2. The Word document you submit must be named using the Deakin user ID of the student who is
to do the actual submission in Cloud Deakin. The format is:
MPM701WrittenAssignment-DeakinuserID
For example, if Clint Eastwood is going to submit an assignment via Cloud Deakin and his Deakin
user ID is ‘clinte’, then the Word document would be named
MPM701WrittenAssignment-clinte
3. Your names and student numbers must be at the start of the business report. Again, the front
page must also contain the proportional contribution of each team member, agreed to by you
and your partners. The total proportion must sum to (or round up to – see below) 100%. For
example:
Clint Eastwood: 33.3%
Cameron Diaz: 33.3%
Tom Cruise:

33.3%

4. Submit the Word document (preliminary business report) via the Written Assignment Submission
link. Only ONE member of the team completes this step – that is, there must be only one
submission from the group.

Notes
?

?

Business process management

bizagi moduler to be used for doing “TO BE” and “AS IS” analysis diagram.its very important to be done only through that software.some references should be of author books as well.cause and effect fish bone diagram, gap analysis diagram, controlers and enablers diagram. total content should be 2000 words excluding references ,executive summary and diagrams. maintain zero plagirsm and it should be done in time.according to the assignment material prepare a proper financial statement of the company and also mention the estimated cost in appendix.

MPM701 Business Process Management
Written Assignment
Trimester 2, 2015
Due: Friday 4th September, 2015
Marks: 40% of Unit Assessment

Objective
Upon successfully completing this assignment you will have demonstrated that you can provide clear
written advice, and recommendations for change, to a business owner, in relation to business
process management (BPM). Your advice will offer the business owner several reasons for adopting a
business process management approach;
?

an explanation as to what the current business processes are and why they should be
redesigned

?

a proposed redesign solution

?

special considerations that need to be taken into account to deliver the proposed solution
successfully; and succinct recommendations

In providing your advice to the business owner you will take into account various perspectives and
circumstances encompassing the business.

Overview of Hexband Pty Ltd
Business processes permeate all aspects of business and it is arguable that if a business is not
adopting a business process management approach to realise its strategies, and its subsequent goals
and objectives, then it may reduce its chances for success – even its very survival. By taking a business
process management approach, organisations can improve their chances of succeeding in their
quests for sustained competitive advantages through greater efficiencies, quality, innovation and
customer responsiveness. In, what is now, a highly competitive, global, interconnected and uncertain
business environment, there has never been a better time to draw on the advantages offered by
applying the BPM discipline to any business or organisation anywhere.
Jett Tardis is twenty eight years old and is the inventor of the Hexband. The Hexband is a digital
fingerless wrist gauntlet (a glove-like clothing accessory extending up the arm about half way to the
elbow). Among many of its features are included a very advanced digital interface (the whole unit is
essentially a flexible touch screen), a terabyte of storage capacity, a GPS mapping system, digital HD
TV, video telephone, full Internet connectivity, MP3, MP4, digital video camera, hundreds of
software applications (including gaming, business and lifestyle applications), FM digital radio
receiver, compass and a biometric and body composition feedback system (including a stress
detector). It is waterproof, shock proof, bullet proof and rust proof. It contains a rechargeable
battery but also recharges in light (solar) and with arm movement. The Hexband has attracted
enormous popularity among a wide range of people in various walks of life but most particularly, it

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

2

has become a ‘cult like’ object with people aged roughly between 13 and 39, and most particularly
among surfers, skaters, bicycle riders, hikers, university students, military forces, musicians in rock
bands (particularly heavy metal bands) and their fans, professional people and computer gamers.
Jett commenced working on his Hexband invention during his teenage years. He was at an ‘Iron
Maiden’ heavy metal concert and was wearing a studded wrist band on his left arm and was
wondering what the time was. But he quickly realised that he’d left his watch at home so that his
wrist could accommodate the studded wrist band. Then he looked for his mobile phone, as that also
had a clock, but he didn’t bring that either as his studded leather jacket didn’t have pockets. He
thought to himself, ‘why can’t a wrist band like the one I’m wearing contain everything I need?’ So,
following years of development and testing, Jett, finally launched his Hexband in a new business that
he established in 2009.
Jett’s business is a company called Hexband Pty Ltd. The business manufactures the Hexband but
obtains parts from external suppliers. The company’s suppliers are based in Mexico (supplying the
leather finger attachments for the gauntlet screen wrap around) and another in China (supplying the
touch screen wrist wrap around interface). The Chinese supplier is the only company in the world
capable of manufacturing these unique and highly technical components. Jett has built the business
to perform most major functions that are typical of a medium-sized enterprise. The company’s
organisational structure chart is shown below.

Organisational Chart
CEO
Jett Tardis

Production
Harvey Shenker
(14 employees)

Logistics
John Gunn
(8 employees)

Purchasing
Dana Scott
(7 employees)

ICT
Rock Steed
(1 employee)

HR
Moon Unit
(10 employees)

Sales
Dave Hamersmith
(7 employees)

Accounting
Lewis Litt
(6 employees)

R&D
Steph Bendixsen
(2 employees)

The departmental directors are named in their respective function boxes in the chart. The number of
employees working under each director is shown in each of the function boxes respectively (numbers
of employees in each department include the directors of those departments). The sales function is
also charged with marketing and service responsibilities; service requests though are usually referred
to the logistics department. The accounting function is also charged with finance responsibilities. The
production function manufactures the Hexband and manages the warehouse. The firm has a

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

3

centralised IT function which provides some of the firm’s IT needs. Hexband Pty Ltd currently
employs 56 individuals, including Jett.
The business experienced strong growth in its first few years and this enabled it to grow quickly. In
2014 things started to change. Sales were down and profits reduced (see profit table below). By 2015
things were worse. By mid-year, the world had just witnessed Greece default on a major debt
payment and global markets took a massive hit. People were panicking about what the future might
hold for them financially and so spending on necessities rather than luxuries became the norm.
Housing values decreased in some places by 50 percent and even more. Fuel and food prices soared
and jobs were being lost in every industry. The long anticipated global financial crisis ‘Mach II’
appeared to have finally materialised. The world had changed and smart business manoeuvres were
sought by business owners genuinely seeking long term sustainability.

Revenue
$m
Expenses
$m
Profit $m

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 to July

8

10

12

12

13

10

2.7

3

3

3.5

3

3.3

3.5

500k

5

7

8.5

9

9.7

6.5

2.2

Sales of the Hexband essentially relied upon word of mouth communication and a solid marketing
strategy had not been developed at all. Worse still, Jett had never put much time or effort into
developing streamlined and computer based business processes and rather, resorted to many paper
based manual methods to get things done, including purchasing material, controlling production,
satisfying customer orders and managing all the accounts.
Jett’s business strategy has always centred on differentiating from potential competitors such as
watch makers, wrist accessory manufacturers and mobile phone producers, through the appearance
of, and the functionality provided by, the Hexband. He underpins this strategy with a focus on quality
and customer responsiveness. He realises though that most of his competitive advantage comes
from innovation – no other firm has been able to match the Hexband’s looks and features in a single
unit. He also realises that, given a recent rise in customer complaints about delays in receiving
orders, his firm’s customer responsiveness is waning and needs redress. Jett wishes to maintain his
strategic stance but knows that organisational change must occur urgently if it is to work as
intended.
Jett decided to hold a meeting with his directors. They assembled during the morning around the
board room table where Jett asked “What happens when a customer places an order for a
Hexband?” (Jett’s question assumed that the group would understand that a customer might be a
wholesale or retail customer or an individual purchasing directly from the company either online (via
eBay) or via phone or fax. Hexband Pty Ltd does not have a retail store front).
Dave spoke up and said, “well, we write up a sales order form and send it to production.” Harvey
said, “when we get to the sales order form, usually within three days, we physically check to see if
there is a Hexband (or number of Hexbands) in stock that suits the configuration required – black
silver or dark grey finger attachments), and if there is, we pack it, label it and write stock details onto
the sales form and send it over to John’s guys to ship it out and we also send a duplicate copy to
Lewis so he can organise the accounts. We keep a triplicate in a box in my office – I guess I should get
a filing cabinet one of these days, last week Alf tripped over the box and I had papers all over the
place, half of which ended up in the bin! Ah well, we shoved most of them all back into the box in
about two minutes, not a problem! I also keep ‘post it’ notes of sales orders on my office whiteboard
– these usually match the triplicates in the box so I don’t need to fiddle with the papers in the box.”
When the box is full, we send it to Lewis in Accounting.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

4

Then John said, “well, when we get the sales order from Dave, we sign it and make notations of the
date and time, then, when we pack the order onto one of the trucks for local delivery or get Fedex to
collect it for interstate or international delivery, we forward the sales order along with a shipping
note to Lewis in accounting. We don’t know what he does with it but we’ve always done this. We
keep a photocopy of the shipping note in a ring binder in the warehouse office.
When the photocopier is broken we just slap a ‘post it’ note on the order in the folder. This seems to
work well because we don’t lose the details for many orders.
Then Lewis spoke up and said, “when we receive the sales order from Dave we file it and wait for the
shipping order to come in from John. We usually cross check all sales orders and shipping orders that
are sitting on our desks every day to ascertain whether an invoice action can be taken. When we see
a sales order and a shipping order for the same sale (which we ascertain by looking at the name of
the customer on the order), we send the customer an invoice to the customer’s address, either their
shipping or head office address – it doesn’t really matter, we just choose whichever address appears
first on the order. Payment terms are net 14 days and the majority of our customers pay within this
time which means that there is very little action required in following up debtors.”
Jett sighed quietly to himself and then asked, “well, what happens if we haven’t got any suitable
Hexbands in stock?” Harvey said, “well, when we get the sales order from Dave and check for
suitable stock, if we find that we’ve run out, we organise a purchase request and send it to Dana so
that we can get the necessary materials to make more. It only takes us a few days to get the
purchase request organised and sent.” Dana then spoke up and said, “when we get the purchase
request from Harvey, we file it for action so that purchase requests are tended to in order of date
received. That’s how we prioritise things in my department! When we finally find time to get to the
request, we study it and then organise purchase order forms which we complete and send to our
respective suppliers. We send these in the surface mail. It usually takes about four and a half weeks
before we receive dispatch confirmations and invoices from our suppliers indicating that our orders
have been filled and sent. Then we send the original invoices from our suppliers, with a payment
order, to Lewis so that he can organise payment for the materials. Our job is done!”
Lewis then said, “when we receive the invoices and payment orders from Dana, we pay these
immediately. We’d hate to ruin our relationships with our suppliers.”
Jett sensed tensions between members of the group. He particularly noticed a strong three way
tension between Harvey, Dana and Lewis. Dave seemed to be the most positive member of the
group, even though sales were down, and whenever he spoke, Jett noticed that all other members of
the group became anxious.
Jett was beginning to see the consequences of his neglect of the firm’s business processes and
sensed that if all of this were to continue, he could be out of business within a couple of years or
even sooner. He is confident that the Hexband can adapt to changing times and will remain very
popular for many years to come but he knows that he must match this fantastic product with
excellent business processes.
Jett calls you in as his BPM Consultant to help make sense of the current organisational approach and
to provide some preliminary advice about redesigning processes so that the current downward trend
in performance can be reversed. He gives you the transcript of his meeting with his directors (as
seen above). He also provides you with some other basic information that he quickly gathered
together for you including some Balance Sheet items (to help you to form a view of the firm’s
position to invest in change) and some other miscellaneous information which might help you to
determine the extent of change necessary. No other information is available to you to develop a
solution. Jett states that he has at least been conscious of accumulating some cash reserves for the
firm’s development and that it seems the day has come to use some (or possibly all) of these! All of
this is revealed in the tables shown below.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

Balance Sheet Items (summarised as at June 2014)
Cash at Bank (based on latest statement found on floor)
Debtors (estimated)
Percentage of debtors outstanding more than 2 months
Creditors
Stock on Hand (based on rough estimate count in warehouse)
Other Assets (including land, buildings, equipment and vehicles (straight line
depreciation), investments, patents, trademarks and goodwill.
Other Liabilities (including bank loans, venture capital)
Loan expiry and review date

5

$
1,200,000
400,000
26%
226,000
74,600
1,526,000
476,000
30 June, 2016

Other information (based on Jett’s investigations only; no other information is available)
Item
Units/Info
Organisational Personal Computers (Quad Core, basic peripherals)
Laser Printers (Hewlett Packard, 4 years old)
Local Area Network
Internet Access
Software – Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Vista
Telecommunication Networks – Cable available to whole business
Telecommunications provider
Some client data are currently held on spreadsheets
Three MS Access databases hold some data on employees
A Filemaker Pro database on a standalone PC holds some data on the
Hexband configurations and stock holdings; it is out of date
Managers are equipped with Hexbands
A company intranet has not been established
Computer literate staff (basic and intermediate levels; no power users)
Total product lines
Suppliers (one in Mexico, one in China, both have Internet access
Customers (i.e. retail stores and some distributors)
Retail Price for a Hexband
Cost of producing a Hexband unit
Individual Directors’ salaries p.a.
Staff average annual income
Production time for one Hexband

11
3
6 PCs connected
7 PCs connected
12 Licences only
Cable
Telstra
Excel and Open Office
Name, Address, Employee
Number and Title only.
Product names, Stock Keeping
Unit number, number
available

22
3 approx.
2 approx.
27 approx.
$1200
$327
$180,000
$52,250
8.5 hours

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

6

Task: Preliminary Business Report (40 marks)
This assignment must be completed by teams of 3 individuals.
Your task is to prepare a preliminary business report for Jett. Jett has an in-house style which he
expects for business reports, so the main body of your report must be structured using the following
headings. An brief about what each section of the report must address is also provided.

BPM and Strategy
?

Advise Jett why a BPM approach should now become part of the way ‘Hexband’ does
business.

?

Introduce Jett to Business Process Management by stating in plain terms what it actually is
and how it can help his business

?

In describing the benefits of BPM to Jett, ensure that you briefly highlight how BPM connects
to business strategy (internal and external perspectives), positioning, structure and value
propositions. Briefly describe the meaning of value chains and how using BPM, in conjunction
with this concept, can assist Jett to improve the business.

Problem Analysis
?

Jett is aware that there are a number of problems within his company and whilst he is happy
for you to briefly describe these, he would like you to concentrate your efforts on the
problem which you determine to be the most urgent. In relation to this problem, Jett would
like you to identify the causes of the problem, the problem and the consequences of the
problem; refer to the capabilities gap and the performance gap here if relevant

?

Show the current ‘As Is’ process using Bizagi Modeler software

?

Identify any process flow problems and/or day to day management problems; output and
input problems; and problems with controls and enablers; develop a project scoping diagram
to illustrate the problem which you have identified

Proposed Solution
?

Advise Jett what it means to develop a ‘business process architecture’ and, particularly, how
valuable this can be to him and the success of the business

?

Bridge the identified gap, revealed in the previous section, by describing a ‘To Be’ process;
what will the ‘To Be’ process do, or not do, when the change project is rolled out

?

Support your ‘To Be’ process with a BPMN process flow diagram using Bizagi Modeler
software

?

Are there any key aspects in your proposed solution that you should clearly describe to Jett,
for example: SOA; ERP; Master Data; Core, Support and Management processes; alignment
issues; etc?

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

7

Solution Considerations
Large BPM driven organisational changes can be extremely valuable, they are also complex
undertakings impacting the organisation, its people and its use of modern technologies.
?

Identify and briefly describe significant considerations that might impact ‘Hexband Pty Ltd’,
both during the redesign development stage and upon the implementation of your proposed
solution. Some considerations might pertain to the costs of bridging the gap (time, effort,
money, etc.), risks, opportunity costs, politics, etc.

Recommendations
?

Provide Jett with a succinct list of recommendations to conclude your report

Written Assignment Administrative Details
You may include a brief executive summary, table of contents and brief appendices. Do not include
extensive appendices – this is a preliminary report – extensive appendices may result in a reduction
of marks. Use the section headings above to structure the main body of your report (you should not
need sub-headings). Jett will not read the report if it does not use the above headings in the body of
your report.
Jett wants to see a reasonable use of references. While textbook references can be used, Jett would
prefer that you use industry research reports, case studies and any other industry-based evidence
which can justify why his organisation should implement your proposed BPM solution.
You do not need to specify a particular commercial solution (such as SAP or another enterprise
system), although you may specify commercial solutions to help you to clarify and support your
proposed solution recommendations.
The report must be no longer than 2,000 words (approximately 4 to 5 pages of words, but by
including diagrams and any other graphics or figures it will be considerably longer. Words in diagrams
such as the Gap Model, Project Scoping Diagram and As-Is and To-Be process diagrams will not be
included in the word count provided they are used to explain necessary steps and highlight critical
information. If paragraphs of text are included in these diagrams, they will be included in the word
count. Words in tables are included in the word count of the main body of your report.
Note that the 2,000 word count does not include your cover page, your executive summary, your
reference list or your appendices.
Note also that 10% of the total available marks for the assignment may be deducted from your final
assignment mark for every 100 words that exceed the 2000 word limit. For example, assignments of
2300 words (not including cover page, executive summary reference list or appendices) may receive
a penalty deduction of 30% of the total available marks for the assignment. Please do not exceed the
word limit for the assignment.
It is strongly recommended that the process to produce your report be an iterative one, with interim
reports and drafts produced early so that you and your partners can reflect on progress and refine
the work as necessary. You might be asked in your seminars to present a brief update about the
progress of your report. This is a major unit assignment, get started early as the trimester moves
very quickly.

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

8

Assessment
Business Report (40 marks)
Your report will be assessed using the marking criteria shown below:
Marking Criteria
BPM and Strategy
Problem Analysis
Proposed Solution
Solution Considerations
Recommendations
Overall Quality of the Report
? Presentation
? Spelling and Grammar
? Quality and use of References
Total

Mark
15
20
20
15
10
20

100 (will be converted to a mark out of 40)

It is expected that you and your partners will contribute significantly and equally to the team’s efforts
and will therefore receive 100% of the final assignment mark out of 40. However, if you do not make
a significant contribution you will receive less than 100% of the assignment mark. In particular, in the
past, some members of some teams have only made a contribution in the last few days before
submission – they are usually awarded a very low percentage of the assignment mark, sometimes
0%.
Also note that it is not sufficient to simply research aspects of the solution that your team proposes
without also contributing to the overall final report. You must normally make regular, at least weekly,
contributions to the work; if you are unable to do so you must make necessary arrangements with
your partners. Other team-working skills may be discussed in seminars and online in Cloud Deakin.
The first page of the business report must contain the names of all team members with the
proportional contribution of each team member agreed to by all team members. The total
proportion must sum to (or round up to – see below) 100%. For example:
Clint Eastwood: 33.3%
Cameron Diaz:

33.3%

Tom Cruise:

33.3%

Rounded Total

100%

In case of dispute, your seminar facilitator will be able to provide advice on determining each team
member’s contribution, and may in certain instances intervene to determine the allocations.
Individuals will be awarded a percentage of the final team mark based on the proportions reported,
with the student(s) receiving the highest proportion obtaining 100% of the team marks and all other
team members receiving a proportional allocation. For example, if the team above obtained a team
mark of 32/40, both team members would receive the full 32 marks (they contributed equally).

MPM701 Business Process Management, Written Assignment, Trimester 2, 2015

9

Online areas and getting help
A ‘Written Assignment’ link is in the ‘Unit Assessment’ area in the MPM701 Cloud Deakin site (in the
Unit Resources folder) and it accessible to all students enrolled in MPM701. The written assignment
area contains resources to support your work for this assignment.
The Written Assignment area contains a Written Assignment Discussion area for questions and
discussions of a general nature about the assignment. It is open to all students so that all students
can benefit.

Submission instructions
(Up to 5 marks may be lost if these instructions are not followed correctly)
Your work must be submitted in accordance with the instructions shown below.
1. You lodge your assignment via the ‘Drop Box’ which is accessible in the Written Assignment area
of the MPM701 Cloud Deakin site.
2. The Word document you submit must be named using the Deakin user ID of the student who is
to do the actual submission in Cloud Deakin. The format is:
MPM701WrittenAssignment-DeakinuserID
For example, if Clint Eastwood is going to submit an assignment via Cloud Deakin and his Deakin
user ID is ‘clinte’, then the Word document would be named
MPM701WrittenAssignment-clinte
3. Your names and student numbers must be at the start of the business report. Again, the front
page must also contain the proportional contribution of each team member, agreed to by you
and your partners. The total proportion must sum to (or round up to – see below) 100%. For
example:
Clint Eastwood: 33.3%
Cameron Diaz: 33.3%
Tom Cruise:

33.3%

4. Submit the Word document (preliminary business report) via the Written Assignment Submission
link. Only ONE member of the team completes this step – that is, there must be only one
submission from the group.

Notes
?

?