What Kind of Organizational Assets are Business Processes?

Summary

This video explains the concept of assets, focusing on their importance to organizations. It differentiates between tangible assets (such as raw materials and infrastructure) and intangible assets (like business processes, intellectual property, and employee capabilities). The video emphasizes how business processes add value to customers by transforming inputs into outputs and how organizational capabilities, which are harder to replicate than resources, help businesses gain a competitive edge. The business process model and notation (BPMN) is introduced as a standardized way to represent business processes.

Takeaways

• 😀 An asset is any item of economic value owned by an individual or organization, especially one that can be converted into money.
• 😀 Business processes are organizational assets that create value for customers by transforming inputs into outputs.
• 😀 Organizational assets are divided into two categories: tangible assets and intangible assets.
• 😀 Tangible assets include physical items like raw materials, machines, infrastructure, or money.
• 😀 Intangible assets include non-physical items like knowledge, relationships with clients, technology, patents, trademarks, and business processes.
• 😀 The productivity of an organization depends on how well it manages its resources and capabilities.
• 😀 Resources are easier to acquire compared to capabilities, which take time to build and refine.
• 😀 Capabilities are harder to replicate by competitors, giving organizations a competitive advantage.
• 😀 Business processes, being intangible, are abstract and require representation to be understood.
• 😀 A standardized way to represent business processes is through the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN).

Q & A

What is an asset in the context of business?

An asset is any item of economic value owned by an individual or organization, especially something that could be converted into money.

What are business processes considered in terms of organizational assets?

Business processes are considered organizational assets as they create value for customers by interrelating actions that transform inputs into outputs.

How are organizational assets divided?

Organizational assets are divided into two main types: tangible assets and intangible assets.

What are tangible assets, and can you give some examples?

Tangible assets, also known as organizational resources, have a physical form. Examples include raw materials for products, machines, infrastructure, and money.

What are intangible assets, and can you give some examples?

Intangible assets, or organizational capabilities, are non-physical goods. Examples include knowledge, relationships with clients, technology, patents, trademarks, copyrights, employee innovations, and business processes.

How does the productivity of an organization depend on its assets?

The productivity of an organization depends on how well it uses and manages its resources and capabilities.

What is the main difference between resources and capabilities?

Resources are relatively easy to acquire, while capabilities take time to build. Capabilities are generally harder to replicate by competitors, giving organizations a competitive advantage.

Why are capabilities important in terms of competitive advantage?

Capabilities are important because they are harder to copy by competition. As a result, organizations can use them to gain a competitive advantage.

Why are business processes categorized as intangible assets?

Business processes are categorized as intangible assets because they are abstract, non-physical in nature, and represent actions that transform inputs into outputs.

How can business processes be represented?

Business processes can be represented using a standardized method known as the business process model and notation (BPMN).