Business process modelling. Ways and methods for the management of change

The globalization of markets, the temporary set-up of virtual companies and flexible manu-facturing networks change markets and competitive conditions. These resulting changes are: (I.) customized products and services (short time to customer benefit) and the shareholder value, (II.) the necessity for cost reductions and (III.) shorter innovation cycles. The changes force people on all levels of a company to rethink their activities and overcome the established taylorism in thinking and working that still prevail in most enterprises. Proc-esses must be leaner and faster. Time traps and waste of resources must be localized and eliminated quickly. One of the decisive factors of success will be to control and increase the value added by a company, either by focusing on core business areas, by increasing the efficiency of the organization, or by qualified and motivated teams of employees. If medium-sized companies wish to retain their competitive position in a changing environ-ment they m ust be able to provide an immediate use to customers at competitive prices and services. This, however, requires new ways of thinking, efficient organizational structures, and quality respectively environmental management systems that are used efficiently in daily business and are updated frequently. In addition, the processes and costs should be transparent, the processes should, on top of that, be set-up market-consciously and be documented understandably, and when introducing data processing systems, grown structures should be overcome