New developments in organizing around markets

A closer look into the business environment shows how rapidly technological changes have been reshaping the industrial and service world. Manufacturing an automobile or a machine tool today does not use the same process as it did 20 years ago. Using electronic data interchange, a supplier can deliver the exact quantity of items needed by its customer in a very short period of time. Describes briefly a process‐focused production system and some criteria for choosing a process. Analyses successively the reasons companies organize around processes, the business processes redesign many companies have been undergoing, and the essential conditions which must surround this radical change. Redesigning business processes has to be done by people and through people who need to be trained, empowered and rewarded. To operate this change companies need to move towards decentralized small business units with an innovative environment.