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The initial objective of the research presented in this paper was to investigate human resource management (HRM) practices from a business process perspective. The paper first demonstrates the level of inconsistency in the field with respect to HRM models. The paper then develops the need for a more formal systems engineering‐based approach for modelling HRM practices from a business process viewpoint. The paper then goes on to describe the model developed for the HRM business process together with the methodology used to validate the model. The paper concludes with a discussion on the validity of the model, which further demonstrates the differing points of view in this complex and multidisciplinary field.

In the 1990s, companies focused on the design and implementation of their internal business processes to overcome functional barriers. The 2000s are about the integration between enterprises and inter‐enterprise processes, particularly the improvement of supply chain management and customer relationship processes, The major enabler is the Internet, which has resulted in entire networks of e‐business processes across various organizations. To design and implement those processes efficiently and effectively, more and more organizations use available industry standards in the form of reference models, e.g. the supply chain reference model (SCOR), the RosettaNet Standards, or software reference models. Unclear for many enterprises is how to use those standards. This article describes a comprehensive methodology for the use of reference models, to design and implement inter‐enterprise collaborations within value chain networks. The methodology leads to fast and reliable results in value chain improvement. It increases the performance of the implementation procedure and the resulting business processes.

Previous research suggests that developing dynamic models of business processes prior to their radical change could increase the success of BPR projects. Identifies barriers encountered in existing business processes and presents an overview of business process modelling methods that can be used to identify ways of eliminating these barriers. A case study is used to demonstrate how simulation modelling can be used to effectively re‐engineer manufacturing processes. The developed model is then manipulated, with results being generated to discover the possibilities of increasing the through‐put of the system. The usability of simulation modelling for evaluating alternative business process strategies is then investigated. Guidelines for achieving more widespread use of business process simulation are then proposed.

The techniques for representing and analyzing business processes are referred to as business process modeling. Many business process modeling methods and their associated tools have been used to capture the characteristics of business processes. However, most methods view business processes from different perspectives and have different features and capabilities. Thus, an important research question is how process designers should select appropriate modeling methods for their BPR initiatives. In this paper, we propose a framework for selecting business process modeling methods based on modeling objectives. This framework can serve as the basis for evaluating modeling methods and generating selection procedures. A general selection procedure is also described. We use an expense claim process as an example to illustrate the application of the selection procedure.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a flexible framework through which business processes can be modelled, simulated and reengineered in a cost‐effective way.

This paper is mainly based on a review of the literature and the methodology is discussed in the context of a typical call centre business.

Reengineering business processes involve changes in people, processes and technology over time. In this paper, a flexible business process modelling, simulation and reengineering (BPMSR) approach is presented. Modelling starts with precisely defining model objectives and boundaries, and carrying extensive data analysis. Simulation modelling allows testing and analysis of different scenarios to understand their impact on a broader “system” and evaluate feedback before moving forward with reengineering implementation plans. The need for a flexible and adaptive methodology is stressed to augment efficiency and effectiveness of reengineering cycle.

Flexibility and adaptability in the reengineering cycle are effective to identify early modelling incompatibility and simulation defects. It adds intelligence to BPMSR and accommodates for any technical or process changes that may subsequently arise. This approach is reliable for future process improvement or reengineering endeavours due to its flexible configuration, which can be adapted to both radical or incremental change.

This paper seeks to offer a step‐by‐step methodology to extract and model business processes with a focus on business process decomposition. The main motivation is the lack of repeatable measurable methods and techniques for extracting business process decomposition.

A step‐by‐step methodology for extracting business process models is provided. This methodology is called “the V methodology” because of its approach to break down the enterprise through a functional hierarchy and then collecting it up again via its process decomposition. Porter's value chain model is noticed as a powerful tool to complete the roadmap. The paper is designed using sections: benefits and necessities of having such a methodology, terminology, the V methodology, learned lessons and further work.

Success stories using the V methodology expressing its impact on quality business process models are mentioned. Experts find it useful to gain unified process models as well as helping them to discover gaps, bottlenecks and redundancies amongst business processes.

It is too hard to receive reliable information about previous experiences from the working companies in the area.

The main implications found when using the V methodology are: practiced analysts feel it dangerous to their position, younger analysts use it as the only source of modeling and people find it difficult to apply Porter's model in practice.

Almost all of the previous papers refer to modeling notations when using the term “methodology”. This paper instead describes the process of business process modeling. Another original value of the paper would be using Porter's model to classify the processes within their right process groups.

Sustaining business performance in an ever changing economic and technical environment is a challenge to be addressed with relevant management implements. This goal can be achieved by using business modelling by processes allowing for costing deliverables, controlling operations and designing information sytems aligned with business procedures and organisation. It has to be stressed that the same process model can fulfill the three purposes above mentioned so that coherent views are secured for the various business stakeholders. In addition, adequate descriptions of business processes can “scavenge” the features of business assets such as organisation, personnel qualification, information systems to be taken into account in strategic decisions.

An issue of managing a business (unit) as a whole successfully is perceived to belong to the fundamental issues within strategic management. This paper proposes that a business unit can be managed successfully in short and longer term in its focal contexts as a set of three recursive, competence-based, and process-based systems. Many elements of Stafford Beer's (1985) viable system model along the key competence-based theoretical bases are applied to this system design task. The outcome is an ideal, recursive template for advancing competence-based business management (CBBM) and its conceptual modeling. It is assumed that it is possible to design a business unit as a viable system that is capable of sustaining a separate existence at only three levels of hierarchy, as part of single or multi-business firms. Business-process models and their redesign processes are chosen as the 2nd-order, focal system which produces a business unit's competitiveness and solves longitudinal CBBM problems. One level of recursion down includes a unit's value creating, capturing, releveraging, and respective processes that enable to solve cross-sectional problems. One level of recursion up includes a unit's existential foresights and their crafting processes that solve existential problems. Recursivity is designed inside each system in terms of three kinds of subsystems for (a) primary value releveraging, process-model redesign, and business-foresight crafting, (b) the management of varieties in releveraging, modeling, and foreseeing, and (c) the monitoring and probing of all three systems. Systemic competences are incorporated inside respective systems. Such competences possess three flexibilities of absorption, attenuation, and amplification. At each level of recursion, a competence-based process is a unit of conceptual modeling of CBBM. A business unit is defined as a set of its purposeful processes. No thing or one is left outside them. Viability is ensured by real-time interaction and the 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-order feedback loops between three systems. Overall, the suggested, recursive, 3-system template is intended to serve future, compatible modeling efforts among interested, pioneering firms, professional CBBM modelers, scholars, and alike. Its novelty is produced by choosing and designing the CBBM modeling as the 2nd-order system-in-focus with its two recursions, by designing and using systemic, competence-based processes as the units of conceptualization, and by choosing and drawing the figures to illustrate the 3-system template in the ways that allow also business managers comprehend and apply the suggested template in practice.

The aim of this study is to provide a holistic analysis of all possible maritime business logistics processes related to import and export shipments in a fuzzy environment through a case study of a maritime logistics company based on the as-is and to-be models within business process management (BPM).

The analyses considered the following perspectives: (i) in the stage of the process identification, the definition of the problem was carried out; (ii) in the stage of the process discovery, ocean department was divided into ocean export/import operation departments; ocean export/import operation were divided into freight collect/prepaid operation processes; ocean export/import logistics activity groups were broken down into sub-activities for freight collect/prepaid operation; the logistics activity groups and their sub-activities were defined; each sub-activity as either operation or documentation process group was classified; the durations of sub-activities were evaluated by decision-makers (DMs) as fuzzy sets (FSs); the monthly total jobs activities were estimated by DMs as FSs; the applied to monthly jobs activities of total shipments were estimated by DMs as FSs; the durations of each sub-activities were aggregated; the duration of the logistics activity groups and the sub-activities for per job were calculated; the cumulative workload of logistics activity groups and sub-activities were calculated; the duration of sub-activities for per job as operation or documentation departments were calculated, (iii) in the stage of the process analysis, cumulative ocean export/import workload as operation or documentation for freight collect/prepaid were calculated; duration of activity groups and sub-activities for per job as operation or documentation were calculated; cumulative workload activity groups and sub-activities as operation or documentation were calculated, (iv) in the stage of the process redesign, cumulative workload, process cycle time as operation and documentation group and required labor force were calculated; the process cycle time of the theoretical, the as-is model and the to-be model were calculated: (i) the theoretical minimum process cycle time without resource were calculated by the critical path method (CPM), (ii) the process cycle time of the as-is model perspective with the 1 person resource constraint and (iii) the process cycle time of the to-be model perspective with the 2-person resource constraint were calculated by the resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) method.

The methodology for analyzing the ocean department operation process was successfully implemented in a real-life case study. It is observed that the results of the to-be model can be applicable for the company. The BPM-proposed methodology is applicable for the maritime logistics industry in the present study; however, it can be applied to other companies in maritime logistics as well as other industries.

This study contributes to research using BPM methodology in maritime logistics. This is the first study the logistics process analyses were carried out in terms of including all operation processes for a company. All processes were analyzed by using BPM methodology in maritime logistics. This study demonstrated the application of the BPM as-is and to-be models to maritime logistics. The as-is and the to-be models of the BPM methodology were applied in maritime logistics.

This methodology applied in this study can enable organizations operating in the time-urgent maritime logistics sector to manage their logistics processes more efficiently, increase customer satisfaction, reduce the risks of customer loss due to poor operational performance and increase profits in the long term. Through the use of these methodologies utilizing FSs, the CPM and the RCPSP methods, this study is expected to make contributions to the BPM literature and provide original insights into the field. Furthermore, this study will undertake a comprehensive analysis of maritime logistics with respect to BPM to deliver noteworthy contributions to the maritime logistics literature and provide original perspectives into the field.

Business process modeling faces a difficult balance: on the one hand, organizations seek to enact, control and automate business processes through formal structures (procedures and rules). On the other hand, organizations also seek to embrace flexibility, change, innovation, value orientation, and dynamic capabilities, which require informal structures (unique user experiences). Addressing this difficulty, the authors propose the composite approach, which integrates formal and informal process structures. The composite approach adopts a socio-material conceptual lens, where both material and human agencies are supported.

The study follows a design science research methodology. An innovative artifact – the composite approach – is introduced. The composite approach is evaluated in an empirical experiment.

The experimental results show that the composite approach improves model understandability and situation understandability.

This research explores the challenges and opportunities brought by adopting a socio-material conceptual lens to represent business processes.

The study contributes an innovative hybrid approach for modeling business processes, articulating coordination and contextual knowledge. The proposed approach can be used to improve model understandability and situation understandability. The study also extends the socio-material conceptual lens over process modeling with a theoretical framework integrating coordination and contextual knowledge.