Service Oriented Management (SOM) refers to processes or activites in the organization that are managed on the service basis.
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Adapting to the new situation
Recently, a number of significant changes in the markets have led companies to rethink their organizational model.
The globalization and liberation of markets have placed the customer at the center of the enterprise competitive universe. The value that a company provides to its customers becomes essential.
On the other hand, technology has acquired a clear role in supporting operational processes, making them more efficient, and generating competitive advantages in organizations. Technology becomes a strategic element.
Organizational models
Management by functions
Function: unit specialized in the performance of a particular activity, being responsible for its result. The functions incorporate all the resources and capacities needed for the correct accomplishment of the tasks that they perform.
The traditional organizational model is management by functions, that is to say, structuring in specialized groups (departments) in charge of performing a specific function: commercial, administration, production, etc.
This model provides high specialization, and provides excellence in the accomplishment of concrete tasks, but presents the following main disadvantages: it does not use the value chain, the execution of the activities occurs in a fractional way, it makes is difficult the flow of information and ultimately the departmental interests dominate over the organization’s.
Management by processes
Process: set of coordinated tasks carried out to achieve a defined result.
Subsequently, the management model based on processes was introduced. Process management focuses on the production of results, regardless of the functional unit involved.
Process management promotes that the different functional groups of the company work and communicate as an organizational system with a common goal and allows to apply the principles of continuous improvement, progressively increasing its quality and efficiency. It introduces he concept of the value chain.
Management by services
Service: a set of activities developed by an organization, or a part of it, that bring value to the customer.
Nowadays, the customer is at the center of the competitive universe of companies. Customer retention is a strategic goal and the expansion of the portfolio is a priority objective.
A Service-Orientated Organization Management (SOM), whose raison d’être is the value provided to the client, brings us closer to achieving the above.
Service management groups those functions and processes that, generating particular results, interact to achieve a common goal: providing value to the client. This integration of functions and processes allows to manage globally what really matters: the value contributed to the client, be it external or internal.
