What is work flow ?

WORK FLOW

Work flow relationships are where work is done by different departments in a fixed sequence. That means that one department needs to finish its job before the work can be continued by another department. The development and maintenance of these work flow relationships is very important for managers because they are dependant on the preceding areas for his of her own work and is responsible to the managers and workers in the further stages of the chain.

This work flow sequence can be shown in charts and graphs. This is very useful so that "bottle-necks" (areas where work could be slowed down or even stopped) can be seen and avoided and the system understood.

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There are three areas where problems can occur in work flow relationships:

Information - Poor communication can lead to many problems. Managers need to know of any delays etc. so that they can more effectively organise their areas. This means that there must be frequent and accurate information conveyed between areas. If this does not happen it can cause difficulties which may have been avoided and also may cause ill will between departments affecting their ability to work as an efficient team.

Timing - The timing in this sort of work flow is very important. If the work schedule in one area is changed then it may affect all or some of the other areas in the chain (which may prove to be quite difficult) This can also lead to ill will between departments.

Ways of Working - The manager needs to monitor all of the work flow areas in order to ensure that the way in which the work is carried out is compatible between all areas. Each area must cooperate with the other areas so that no area is disadvantaged.