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 | When Should a Process Be Art, Not Science? |
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Harvard Business Review Heft 03, Jahrgang: 2009 58 - 65 Joseph M. Hall / M. Eric Johnson |
| Schlagworte: |
| Operations, Prozessmanagement, Standardisierung |
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When Should a Process Be Art, Not Science? Process standardization has been pushed strongly across all industries over the past thirty years with ever more detailed methodologies and with great success. The authors contend however that there is an obsession with standardization that has seen it pushed too far. They maintain there are processes that resist standardization and the aim of the article is to show what processes should not be standardized and how these processes should be managed in parallel with those that can be standardized. Those processes that defy standardization they call artistic processes. They give a three step approach to identifying and integrating these processes into any business. How do you decide if a process is ’scientific’ or ’artistic’? The common aspect shared by artistic processes is the variability in the process, its inputs and its outputs. Two other aspects point to an artistic process - their environment is changeable and the customers value distictive or unique outputs. An example given is the Ritz-Carlton decision to recognise that how each hotel guest is treated is an artistic process, not a scientific one. Hence in 2006 the old method of a 20-point list of customer service basics was dropped. In its place came the more general 12-point value system based on the precept “I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests for life“. This allowed employees the leeway to tailor their service to suit each guest’s expectations – even to the point of having up to $2,000 in discretionary expenses to satisfy a guest who has a complaint/problem. Once a process is identified it must be supported by an infrastructure that ensures freedom and creates maximum customer value. This requires constant exposure to customer feedback. It will be necessary to separate artistic processes from the scientific processes that often support them so both are done properly. Points of intersection need careful management. If demand for one or the other type of process does not make segregation economical the authors suggest exiting one or other of the processes from the business. The ’artists’ that oversee the artistic processes need training and support - E.G. a mentor, storytelling of past examples of effective processes and the use of failures as learning experiences. An interesting take on the possible overuse of standardisation of everything done in business. While many processes can successfully be standardized, there are some that can’t and the article gives some clues on how best to handle them. |
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(Laurie 23.03.2009) |
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