Abstract
How can we improve business performance? What tool scan we use? How do we catch what a current situation is about? How do we find out how to improve such a situation? How can we ensure intended effects of improvement work?
This chapter explores freedom of action when improving business performance. The idea behind it is to make use of the options that exits. The proposed strategy advocates work with alternative actions and consequences, alternative process levels and alternative perspectives. Together processes, process levels and perspectives represent three central dimensions when describing situations related to business-process improvement. Process tools as well as process-level tools to support such work are introduced.
A key success factor in improving business performance is to have a good match between information and reality, i.e. between our perceptions of a situation and the situation itself. Descriptions of situations or processes are central in this connection. Utilizing freedom of action and exploring alternatives contribute both to perceiving a situation and to finding out how to improve it.