Business Process Management-Are You Ready for the Future?

Business process management is the discipline that encompasses the analysis, modelling, implementation, execution, monitoring/control and continuous improvement of business processes. Methods and models developed for this management activity offer wide‐ranging assistance to, and potential for, most organisations, yet even a general awareness of them seems to be non‐existent in many organisations. An empirical study, conducted in the German‐speaking region of Europe, gathered useful data on issues relating to current and future investment in business process management, including initiatives in the field of business process outsourcing. Analysis of that data allows for the critical interpretation of the current viewpoint of this business discipline as well as providing some interesting new insights into applications in use, level of maturity, realised benefits and outsourcing opportunities. A bright future exists for business process management as long as the most significant hurdle, the failure to link the discipline with organisational strategy, is overcome. The pathway to achieve this lies in the development of a reliable and effective performance measurement system that, for the most part, will be unique to each organisation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.