Organizational structure as a determinant of business process management

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to assess the potential of the organizational structure existing in the community offices in Poland to support the implementation and development of Business Process Management in these entities. Design/methodology/approach: In order to achieve the article’s objective, a literature review was performed. Secondly, a research was carried out that aimed at assessing to what extent some special features of the organizational structure are implemented in the community offices from the Warmian-Mazurian voivodship. Findings: The conducted research provides basis for stating that the community offices in Poland, in terms of organizational structure, do not encounter significant barriers that could thwart the introduction and development of Business Process Management in these entities. The factors indicated as present by respondents from all types of surveyed offices were: appointing process owners, existence of small number of hierarchical levels in the organizational structure of the offices and the existence of efficient horizontal communication. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study may be the fact that it was conducted on the basis of a survey questionnaire. It is, therefore, an opinion survey. Practical implications: Expanding knowledge of managers of public organizations in the field of possible actions that would be aimed at increasing the probability of success in introducing and increasing the degree of use of Business Process Management. Originality/value: The added value of the article is the presentation of a topic about which there is a research gap. Keywords: Business Process Management, community office, organizational structure, BPM determinants. Category of the paper: Research paper.