(MGT812) Business process management assignment on challenges in Petrov’s accounting department

Question

Task: Critically analyse in your business process management assignment how Business Process Management (BPM) can be used to manage the challenges in Petrov’s accounting department. Identify and justify 4 datasets that could help generate insights on where to open the new store in Sydney. Explain how you would acquire the suggested data and the challenges associated with the collection of this data. Explain how each type of data analytics (descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive) could be applied to the suggested datasets to generate insights on the new showroom location. Using one of the diagrams of the system development lifecycle design phase, visualise the requirements for the accounting software. Justify the assumptions for the proposed design of the accounting software.

Answer

Usage of Business Process Management (BPM) explained in the business process management assignment
A manual data system necessitates that a data capture clerk enters transactions from source documents, job cards and other sources to subsidiary books and posts to the ledger by hand. Business project management (BPM) is all about efficiently managing the processes of business. It is found in this business process management assignmentthat there is a huge difference between business tasks and process management. A business process denotes the series of tasks controlled by any entity to be operational while task management denotes the series of work undertaken to complete the project successfully. When task management is not rationalised and is stalled it impacts the project and any issues in the business process will impact the overall entity. BPM, therefore, is the discipline of streamlining the repetitive workflows within a company. Automating routine tasks like reporting and data collection is one of the few instances of BPM. With the increasingly competitive market, the computation of costs influences the overall performance of entities in the market (Alkarawy and Kuwair, 2021). For the accounting function to be more efficient, they need to formulate a culture of value creation and continuous improvement in their methods and systems. The three chief processes in business accounting comprise transaction processing, risk and control management and decision support (Owolabi and Omoregie, 2018). There are five main steps in the BPM lifecycle: optimisation, design, modelling, execution and monitoring. In the design step business rules, stakeholders and desired outcomes will be evaluated. The model step denotes identifying, describing and formulating a representation of processes. The execution stage tests out with a tiny group of users initially and then opens it to other users. As per the business process management assignmentfindings the monitoring phase utilises KPIs to track metrics through dashboards or reports. Lastly, optimisation refers to the redesign of business processes to improve and streamline through a comprehensive strategy. BPM provides improved business agility by optimising and changing business processes. It further leads to higher revenues by reducing costs by eradicating bottlenecks. BPM enables automation while guaranteeing real-time monitoring through KPIs by enhancing transparency leading to sounder management and the capability to modify processes and structures. A comprehensive BPM also safeguards that entities comply with industry standards and abide by the law (Casey, 2020). In the given business process management assignmentcase study the accounting department of AusCars Pty Ltd must implement BPM as it will allow the entity to analyse its current scenario and identify the areas which are in dire need of immediate improvement and attention such as the inefficient accounting practices.

Datasets generating insights explained in the business process management assignment
The four identified datasets for the accomplishment of the discussion are identified in the business process management assignment and they can provide a brief view of the automotive business in the selected suburbs i.e., Esperance.

1: Numerical data sets

Figure 1: Varieties of cars in Esperance
Source: Self-developed

In analysing the data mentioned in the business process management assignmentit is necessary to identify numerical values in the particular categories since it provides a concept of the basic notion of the data. As demonstrated in the above figure some of the numerical values have been identified that are associated with varieties of car data. In these particular datasets, the findings are expressed numerical values and it is sometimes also known as quantitative data (Ali, 2021).

2: Bivariate data sets
This particular dataset mentioned in the business process management assignmentis known for involving two different variables within a dataset and the relationship that these variables shares get identified with this dataset with the help of a scatter plot. For example, the sales of cars and the buying power of the customers are evidence that these two variables share a significant relationship without which two of them are incomplete.

3: Multivariate Datasets
It is a dataset that is mostly used by business organizations to analyse the involvement of more than two variables. It helps in focusing on every aspect that is crucial to determine the significance of different variables. Adding to the above two identified variables mentioned in the business process management assignmentone additional variable is the employment rate-purchasing power-sales of the car and it demonstrates the relationship between more than two variables. The ultimate success of AusCars Pty in Esperance can be determined from the relationship that these variables share with each other as a whole.

4: Categorical Datasets

Figure 2: Different categories
Source: Self-developed

This dataset will help in finding the different categories of cars that exist in Esperance so that AusCars Pty can approach its business based on these records. For example, in the above image, there is a range of available cars within Esperance which is currently operating on a large number. This data mentioned in the business process management assignmentprovides AusCars Pty with a clear insight into which variety of cars needs to be preferred in the overall operations.

Collection of data and potential challenges mentioned in the business process management assignment
The collection of data will depend on the organisation and its management and the way they approach things and there is a vast range of data collection methods. For example, surveys, interviews, questionnaires etc, and for the particular subject, the chosen method is a market survey. According to Showkat and Parveen, (2017), the business process management assignmentsurvey allows the organisation to gather data directly from people and it comes in a structured manner and it makes easy to attain adequate information. A very large sample size can be taken into consideration in the survey and that ensures that reliable, authentic and informative data is gathered. The reason behind choosing a survey for the collection of data is because of its easy accessibility of data analysis process and analysis tools such as IBM SPSSor Microsoft Excel (Young, 2015).

Considering the challenges while conducting a survey is very crucial as it is very vulnerable to multiple aspects. For instance consideration of participants and the survey question that is supposed to be asked needs to be adequate (Wagner et al., 2019). The major problem that gets encouraged at the time of designing survey materials such as missing objectives, biased questions, measuring too many aspects, attainment of duplicate responses etc. as per the business process management assignmentfindings, it is very crucial to develop a survey questionnaire engaging and it is challenging at the same time. Therefore, all these challenges need to be considered by the organisation to avoid any issue that gets encountered while collecting data.

Data Analytics
Descriptive data analytics: The collected raw data and parses are analysed adequately by this analytics according to Frankenfield, (2019) so that insightful conclusions can be attained. A range of data that is gathered in the business process management assignmentregarding the automotive business in Esperance gets drawn by this method in an accurate manner. It can also be said that descriptive data analytics comes in a very flexible and easy format that is necessary for analysing the above-gathered data. This analysis, the strength and weaknesses of gathered data can be determined from this analysis.

Diagnostic data analytics: The main question based on which the survey was conducted and the gathered answer gets diagnosed with this analytics (NetSuite.com, 2021). It is very crucial that the gathered data for the business process management assignmentneeds to meet the objectives of the developed question that has been asked in the survey. Unless and until the criterion of the developed question is not met the probability of attaining authentic information is unpredictable. Subsequently, the relationship between conducted survey and the data obtained regarding the car and automotive business in Esperance gets accomplished.

Predictivedata analytics: The previous and future trend gets identified with the use of different algorithms and data sets (Tucci, 2021). The high probability of uncertainty or any occurrence can be determined by this analytics and it is very crucial to address the information regarding the automotive industry. It is evident from the business process management assignmentthat the automotive industry is very unpredictable and it keeps changing to stand in such a dynamic environment organisation has to come up with an adequate approach. Therefore, AusCars Pty will be able to identify any future trends within the industry with the help of collected data. Prescriptive data analytics: As discussed above the automotive industry is dynamic and it keeps changing the gathered data also denotes changing trends. With the help of prescriptive data analytics, an organisation is able to understand changing conditions according to Segal, (2019). With the use of gathered data and these analytics most favourable course of action can be attained and it is necessary while dealing with the data gathered for AusCars Pty. Further understanding of the existing industry can be identified in the business process management assignmentby analysing gathered data with the help of Prescriptive data analytics. Prescriptive data analytics can be considered a value-driven approach as it assists in making an adequate decision that is relevant for the respective organisation.

ER Diagram

Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) to visualize the requirements for the accounting software and justification of the assumptions for the proposed accounting software design:
The ER Diagram depicts the Car dealer system of the entity. This shows the visual instruments (database tables) and also the relationship between the car, booking, inventory, car model etc. The relationships between the structured data of the system of car dealership functionalities have been used in the business process management assignment. ERD is also used for troubleshooting data and aids in visualizing the database tables and also their relationships

The most basic elements of the ER Diagram are
1. Entity
2. Attributes and
3. Relationship

These are the 3 basic elements but there are also other elements in the diagram which are based on the main elements. Let us discuss the 3 basic elements

Entity

The entity in the ER Diagram is rectangular shaped and it is named in singular nouns such as place, person, things etc. In this case, Users, Customers, Car, Car owners, Car model, Permission, log-in, and Roles are the entities

Attributes
There can be many attributes in the ER Diagram as required. An attribute can be a characteristic of the entity, property, relationship or even the other attribute. Attributes also have their own specific kind of attributes. Attributes in the ER Diagram present in the business process management assignmentare represented by oval shapes. In this case, Customer_name, login_id, role_id, car_name,car_num are some of the examples of the attributes

Relationship
In the ER Diagram, relationships are represented by diamond shapes and they are named in verbs. By the name it suggests, relationship tells the way of interaction in the entity. In this diagram, Manage, and Has are the relationship element present
Thus in order to manipulate and create a database, ER Diagram constituted a very useful framework. In order to work efficiently and also effectively, ER Diagram is basically easy to understand. It does not require extensive kind of training for a person to understand this for the business process management assignment. This serves as an effective tool to communicate with all other persons involved in the process. In short, it can be said as a blueprint for the execution

A detailed description of a database of the car dealer system
• There are one-to-one and also one-to-many relationships among cars, bookings, inventory, customer
• The customers, entity car owners are linked with the car model entities with a foreign key, cars
• Indexing has been executed on each table in the above diagram
• In the above diagram primary key and unique keys are contained in each of the entities (such as car owners, booking, car, customer, and car models)

Entities and attributes of the car dealer system for the business process management assignment
Customer entity: the attributes are customer_name, customer_id, customer_address, customer_password,customer_username,customer_email,customer_mobile
Car owners entity: car_owners_address,
car-owner_password,car_owner_username,car_owner_email,car_owner_mobile,car_owner name,car_owner_id are the attributes of car owners
Booking entity:
booking_title,booking_description,booking-date,booking_type,booking_ticket,booking_id are attributes here
Inventory entity: inventory_id, inventory_number, inventory_items, inventory_description, inventory_type are the attributes involved here
Car models entity: car_model_description,
car_model_id,car_model_id,car_customer_id,car_number,car_type,car_company are the attributes of car models entity
Cars entity: the attributes involved here are car_description,car_id,car_customer_id, car_driver_id,car_company,car_number, car_type

In the past, AusCars Pty Ltd handles all the processes and documents manually such as purchase orders, invoices, sales orders, sales quotes, and financial statements. It is a good decision that Andrew has taken to implement the accounting software in the accounting department. This decision when implemented will be helpful in removing the difficulties faced while processing manually such as eliminating manual errors, duplication, manual manipulation of data, unauthorized access and changes in the data.
Here in this business process management assignmentfor example, when invoices are prepared, there is less chance of duplication and manipulation due to the proposed accounting software. Thus the requirements of the accounting software have been visualized using the ER Diagram and functionalities have been explained in this case.
When this system is implemented as per the requirements of the ER Diagram it allows integration across all the processes such as managing the data of customers, car owners, car models, user details and relevant ids etc.

References
Ali, A. (2021). (PDF) Quantitative Data Analysis. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351637670_Quantitative_Data_Analysis [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Alkarawy, H.G.W. and Kuwair, E.J.M.A. - (2021). Accounting improving the costs and business process management in transportation to a third party. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348378735_Accounting_improving_the_costs_and_business_process_management_in_transportation_to_a_third_party [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Casey, K. (2020). How to explain Business Process Management (BPM) in plain English. [online] enterprisersproject.com. Available at: https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2020/11/business-process-management-bpm-explained [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Frankenfield, J. (2019). How Descriptive Analytics Work. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/descriptive-analytics.asp [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
NetSuite.com (2021). Understanding Diagnostic Analytics. [online] Oracle NetSuite. Available at: https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/data-warehouse/diagnostic-analytics.shtml [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Owolabi, A. and Omoregie, O.K. (2018). Business Process Improvement and Accounting: Establishing and Defining the Mutual Links. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323666503_Business_Process_Improvement_and_Accounting_Establishing_and_Defining_the_Mutual_Links [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Segal, T. (2019). Prescriptive Analytics. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prescriptive-analytics.asp [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022]. Showkat, N. and Parveen, H. (2017). (PDF) Quantitative Methods: Survey. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318959206_Quantitative_Methods_Survey [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Tucci, L. (2021). What is Predictive Analytics? An Enterprise Guide. [online] SearchBusinessAnalytics. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchbusinessanalytics/definition/predictive-analytics [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Wagner, S., Fernández, D.M., Felderer, M. and Graziotin, D. (2019). Challenges in Survey Research. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335233232_Challenges_in_Survey_Research [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].
Young, T. (2015). (PDF) Questionnaires and Surveys. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316228107_Questionnaires_and_Surveys [Accessed 19 Nov. 2022].