Abstract
M.Comm. (Business Management)
A lot of work has been done to implement a shared services model in various
corporations as means to improve productivity, reduce operational costs and improve
customer satisfaction. By combining services that are performed by different units
within an organisation into a single business unit that allows each business unit to
access those services, companies have been able to attain some of the benefits
mentioned above. Process design is one of the critical activities that have to be
performed to implement a shared services unit. Some companies, however, have not
been able to optimally design processes in a way that adds value to the performance
of a shared services unit. This study is a case study that explored how business
process design could be utilised as an enabler to improve the performance of the
Eskom Finance and Procurement Unit at Eskom Megawatt Park, in Johannesburg.
Through an explorative study of the shared services process design project, the
researcher studied how the processes were designed and implemented for the
Eskom Finance and Procurement Shared Services. The study was able to identify
important process design structures and principles, tools, and techniques that can be
utilised to optimally design processes for a shared services unit. It also evaluated
process design activities and processes to identify the gaps in process design as well
to understand the impact of process design on Eskom.