Business process management: implications for productivity in multi‐stage service networks

Business process management is coming into the lexicon through the concepts associated with business process re‐engineering (BPR) and total quality management (TQM). TQM and BPR have been adopted by service organizations. Two questions are considered. What are the implications of this focus on processes for service productivity? In particular, how does the adoption of a process view affect an organization’s perspective on productivity and the way it is managed? Considers the nature of BPR and the development of approaches to business process management, based on the literature; and presents the development of a case study of the Royal Mail.