BUSINESS PROCESS INCONSISTENCIES IN POLISH SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Effective implementation of the process approach in an enterprise requires identification and comprehension of the occurring problems and constraints. This should determine the scope and purpose of the undertaken improvements, as well as facilitate the selection of appropriate methods and techniques. While in Western-European companies, the process approach and process-based methodologies are firmly established, in transition economies, including Poland, they are not commonly known or implemented. Passive transfer and adaptation of Western ideas, failing to take account of the specific conditions of transition economies, such as Poland, may contribute to the emergence of certain inconsistencies of the re-organized processes. In acknowledgement of the significance of these issues, the main purpose of the paper is to identify inconsistencies of business processes in Polish small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper presents the results of empirical surveys which enabled the author to identify business process inconsistencies and to analyse them in the context of the companies' level of process orientation maturity. The surveys were conducted among Polish managers from the SMEs. The performed analysis revealed that in enterprises with higher levels of maturity, process inconsistencies primarily stemmed from failure to understand the ideas of strategic alignment and process governance. Meanwhile, the inconsistencies observed in firms which were just beginning to implement the process approach were rooted in human resources and a lack of process culture. A comparison of the obtained outcomes with those of similar studies conducted in Western companies indicates a certain diversity in terms of the types of process inconsistencies occurring in enterprises at higher maturity levels.