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The way that these factors they come together to make change happen is critical and that is the reason why most organization have been working or Rearranging the whole process instead of just working on minor part of the organization and these factors are connected. For example changing the mission without changing the system without will slow down the proc-ess and also changing the system without changing the structure will affect the flow of work. (Stock & Lambert 2001, 582-583).
4 RESEARCH AND FINDINGS
4.1 Procedure and targets
The approach in this thesis project was to first understand the internal process before getting the perspective of the company owners so that the findings would be compared to the owners’ perspective of the business processes.
The research procedures included interviewing customers and owners of the company, also analyzing the work environment to see if it had any im-pact on the output of the business. There was also a need to look into the resources that were available and also to look into the company’s proce-dures.
The first step was to see how the operations were linked to each other and how information flowed as well as how the information was stored and managed. The work involved listing the activities and the people who car-ried them out, in order to map out all the functions. The goal was to draw a process map on handling orders and the information flow to get the inter-nal business perspective of the balanced scorecard.
After having drawn the process map as explained by the owners, the next step was to analyze the process. Here the author compared the actual ac-tivities that took place on a daily basis and then asked the customers about how they saw the services just to get the customer perspective of the bal-anced score card.
Another aim of the process map was also to show the functionality of the finance department. This helps managers to measure the input and output to see how effective their operations are. Managers can then make plans to either increase sales or cut costs depending on how they view the com-pany’s financial situation.
For the learning and development of the organization, this thesis would broaden the owners’ perspective and shed light on the effectiveness and efficiency of processes to indicate which areas needed improvement. The project would also reveal if there was waste in the process and how quality can be imprinted in a way that will be visible to the customers.
23 4.2 Interview methods
For the interviewing of the owners of the company the author entered the office premises to ask questions and to observe some of the processes. The arising issues were analyzed with the help of the company owners the situations and discussions were conducted through email messages.
There were some questions that had to be made to the customers by email. It was positive that the customers were willing to take part in the survey. The customers were open and honest about their views on the services that they received, the value that they saw in the services and what it was they did not like.
Names of customers:
To get the customer perspective manifested, the following questions were asked:
1) How often do you use our services 2) how do you like our customer service
a. Very good b. Satisfactory
c. Could be done better? If yes, please give a suggestion how it would be changed.
3) Give your opinion on our service management not only on the travelling but also before and after travelling.
4) Were you satisfied with the last services we gave you?
5) What would make your journey with us more pleasant?
24 4.3 Findings
After drawing the process the first time it was lacking some essential parts but after a close analysis those missing parts were realized and included in the final process blue-print.
Below are the findings from the interviews conducted by email. These are responses from all the regular customers.
Customer 1
They used the company’s services almost every month, sometimes even more often
Excellent service, fast response to inquiries and reliable
Always satisfied
Nothing to add ,customers were always happy and pleased Customer 2
Was a regular customer earlier but not anymore
Described the customer services as very good
They explained that the customer service provided was always available 24 / 7 to customers
They pointed out Hatusen liikenne had taught their taxi and bus drivers to provide services with the same good attitude as the owners
They said Hatusen’s immediate response to calls and customer requests made the service easy and reliable.
Customer 3
They used the services monthly, 1-5 times a month
They described the service as very good
They used other local bus companies and by far Hatusen liikenne had the best customer services in every possible field.
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They get answers to their emails very fast and if they had to wait longer, they were sure an email was to be received
They said they were very satisfied with no exceptions.
Customer 4
They used Hatusen liikenne services once a month
Customer services were very good and their expectations were met
They described the service management as very good and in addition they pointed out that the staff members were helpful and understood the customer needs
They stated that the vehicles are very good and modern
They expressed their satisfaction with the last services they had received and said that they will be booking many trips in the future.
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5 CONCLUSION
This research project has revealed a couple of facts when it comes to the logistic process analysis. It showed that companies may have goals, but it is impossible to achieve them if the managers do not understand the kind of environment they have and the kind of process they are running. The way operations are run determines whether the goals will be achieved or not a well as how long this will take.
Human resource management is vital to the effectiveness of a service business. Management can be good at planning the processes but making sure that the ones who deliver the service are being professional, will ei-ther give a good or bad image of the whole organization.
Process analysis when properly conducted will lead to the improvement of an organization and will also create new realistic goals that will move the business forward.
A balanced score card can be an indicator that can point out areas from which the companies can see which part is lacking in their operations.
This is different with every organization there is no telling which is the perfect way to measure the operations. All four perspectives are connected to each other. Every organization can come up with their own way to bal-ance their scorecard.
If companies are unable to measure quality in their operations they will not know what aspects of their business they can brand and use as a com-petitive advantage on the comcom-petitive market front.
When results from the customer perspective are very good it is time to make plans for service excellence, which will results from the company’s work towards continuous improvement. Management should also be plan-ning on how to make their services better.
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Appendix 1 SIPOC TABLE
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Appendix 2 First process map
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Appendix 3 Final blueprint