Topic - Benefits and Challenges of BPM

The Critical Success Factors of Business Process Management
Business Process Management is a popular concept and has been in use for some time now. However the theoretical basis for BPM has been weak and inconsistent. As a result the critical success factor of BPM hasn’t been properly identified. The critical factor in establishing proper business process management is balance between the business process and business environment. The selected paper discusses these points in detail in relation to literature and a case study (Trkman, 2010).
The paper gives an excellent description of BPM defining it as “a complete, dynamically coordinated set of activities or logically related tasks that must be performed to deliver value to customers or to fulfil other strategic goals”. So BPM is something that is very vital for a company to reach its goals. The author also provides evidence on the positive correlation between business success and process management. However, there has been no theoretical framework for BPM application and hence it is difficult to establish a proper relation between the two. BPM is thus only a study material that is described and detailed without much proper application.
The paper then describes what exactly success in a BPM context means. The success of BPM efforts is described as its ability to meet predetermined goals in the long and short term. The author notes that 60 – 70 per cent of BPM endeavours remain unsuccessful and thus it is important to study the critical success factors of BPM. The author lists CSF of BPM as managerial support, communication success, user training etc. Other factors include leadership, training investment etc. In general though CSF’s of BPM are case-specific meaning they range and differ from case to case. So a consistent framework for the application of BPM is largely absent. The effect of IT on BPM is also of critical importance and is hence discussed further.
According to the paper, the lack of consistent theoretical framework for BPM has mainly been due to the complexity and diversity of BPM implications along with several other challenges. The author implies the need for further research in BPM. The author discusses and explains the BPM under the combination of three theories- dynamic capabilities theory, task technology fit theory and contingency theory.
The Critical Success Factors of BPM identified in this paper is balance between the business environment and business process followed by proper organisation and continuous improvement. There must also be a proper fit between the IT and business...