Guest editorial

Citation

Sinha, M. (2020), "Guest editorial", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 677-678. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-06-2020-425

This Special Issue of Business Process Management Journal contains selected papers that were presented at the 10th Canadian Quality Congress held at the Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, September 24−25, 2018. The theme of the congress was: Innovation and Transformation to Embrace Change.

The special issue has nine papers. The many interesting topics presented herein are related to TQM, business process improvement and innovation that are applicable to many areas of businesses, including healthcare. A mixture of theoretical, practical case study and conceptual thought-provoking articles are presented that are all aimed at improving the culture and the bottom line of organizations. The first paper presents the concept of a web application method aimed at supporting quality managers for organizational planning tasks. The basis for the implementation builds on the product and technology-based road-mapping and quality function deployment technique. The process has followed the agile software development approaches with test-driven iteration cycles and validated through a case-based user trial. It has proved successful in field trials and shown its strength for integrated, computer-aided quality management planning. As organizational planning tasks continue to evolve on a day-to-day basis, moderated workshops that can utilize the web application methodology is proving quite promising in enabling quality managers focus on delivering information in a highly effective manner.

The second paper is about the role of quality management standards in the accounting profession. Two specific management innovations are analyzed: the strategic management accounting and the famous ISO 9000 quality management system. It is concluded that these management schemes are compatible and complementary not only from the theoretical standpoint; but also from the practical aspects to show how a combined implementation is extremely essential in helping accountants improve their overall performance and be successful in building trust with their clients.

The third paper discusses how the digital technology is getting increasingly intertwined every day with business operations enabling the convergence of disciplines of management. This techno-fusion of emerging technologies and digital strategies has generated many new opportunities, new business models and unique growth strategies for global banking and financial service organizations. This study offers a new conceptual research methodology using retrospective and critical reflection before and after the technological implementation to open-up innovation in convergence with digital integration strategies. The study shows that organizations that do fully integrate business and technology management together are more agile, more competitive and more profitable. The research surveys and discussions further elaborate on how a consultative approach produces a well-defined collaborative environment for convergent and digital integrated systems.

The next paper is a cross-sectional study to identify the barriers of near miss (NM) reporting among healthcare workers in a governmental hospital. This is a mixed methods study that is composed of a survey, followed by a set of semi-structured interviews which were conducted to get a more in-depth understanding of some of the aspects that were covered in the questionnaire. The research shows that the main barrier to reporting NM’s in the hospital is the fear of the professionals and it has departmental consequences. The research concludes that differences between employee groups in their perceptions and attitudes deserve special attention when developing a program to improve reporting system.

The fifth paper identifies how the recent phenomenal growth of India’s aviation industry is coping with the recruitment and retention of its staff and particularly the commercial pilots and how it has created a massive challenge for the industry. The study was aimed to find out effect of recruitment practices on retention of commercial pilots affecting overall quality. A total number of 225 commercial pilots along with their human resources executives of sever different Indian airlines have participated in the study. Instruments were designed to understand the practices related to recruitment and retention of commercial pilots and how these pilots perceived the recruitment practices that affected its relevance for retention strategies in different organizations. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis.

The aim of the next paper is to design a formulation for the system of directives that addresses all features of total quality management principles and provides measurable characteristics for assessing organizational effectiveness. A systemic analysis in the content of quality management principles was carried out. The factors referred to have assigned roles in the processes of shaping the organization’s resource capacity. The influence of variability components on the role of factors is discussed. It is concluded that there are eight directives for effectiveness management needed to establish trust within the organization, for organization development and improve confidence factor.

The seventh paper seeks to better understand the enterprise risk management (ERM) used as a holistic approach within the healthcare industries. The paper introduces a Bow-Tie methodology as a robust ERM prospective risk-assessment tool similar to those used in many high reliability industries. A critical review of the published literature on the topics of risk management, ERM, Bow-Tie and general governance are presented and a link between these revealed for the benefits behind their adoption. The applicability and usefulness of ERM and the Bow-Tie methodology as a proactive risk management tool are discussed beneficial in healthcare industries.

The eighth paper is about the use of lean management and value stream mapping techniques as implemented in a radiology department of a hospital. The case study uses data analyzed as a guide to identify problems related to particular cases of mammography and ultrasound and offer suggestions to improve patient’s dissatisfaction. The paper proposes value creation strategies for the aim to revisit quality management implementation in a systems perspective.

The last paper proposes a model of value creation vs cost considered to help healthcare industries on general. Managers can use this concept in examples as quality improvement microprojects to reduce cost and eliminate the patient’s satisfaction gaps. The factors that are involved in the value creation are examined and its categories for the risk analysis laid out that would cause the value-added benefits. The model describes the value creation in terms of the quality level or grade of the treatment or procedures used and its impact on the cost factor. A search for various analogous models in similar situation used in business process management in other process types are also highlighted and exemplified. The 10th Canadian Quality Congress was once again too good an opportunity to be missed. I am grateful to my team of volunteers, Editorial Review and Technical Program Committee members for their dedication and support.

Special thanks are extended to Ms Jenny Chester, Senior Content Editor of Business Process Management Journal along with her technical staff at Emerald Publishing Group and to Dr Majed Al-Mashari, Editor, without whose help and guidance it would not have been possible to publish this special issue on time.

I look forward to continuing support from everyone in future years.