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Business process improvement An investigation of the editorial processes at the regional public broadcaster RTV Oost.

Heerdink, Marlies (2012) Business process improvement An investigation of the editorial processes at the regional public broadcaster RTV Oost.

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Abstract:Introduction and research design. Because of a probable cut back on subsidies from provincial government and a decrease in commercial revenues, a reduction in the cost base is insurmountable to ensure the continuity of RTV Oost. The financial department of this regional public broadcaster is assuming that trough more effective deployment of personnel, labour costs can be reduced and the broadcaster will be able to partially meet the necessary cost savings. Therefore business processes a RTV Oost are investigated and change propositions are made with the aim of improving the effectiveness and efficiency and achieve or improve a control of the labour cost. This research focuses on the editorial department of RTV Oost (see annex 1 for the organisation chart). The central research question is as follows: “How should the editorial processes of RTV Oost be changed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the editorial department of RTV Oost and achieve or improve a control of the labour costs?” In order to structure the thesis, the central research question is divided into three sub questions: 1. What are the relevant business processes and how are these executed? 2. What wastes and bottlenecks exist inside these processes? 3. How should the business processes be changed? These sub-questions are answered through three phases, namely a theoretical review, the gathering of empirical data and an analysis and description. This is displayed in the research model, figure 1 at page 19. The theoretical framework focusses on business process identification and business process analysis and improvement theories and models. Empirical data is gathered trough semi-structured interviews with the management, chefs and end editors of the editorial department. Besides observation through the computer system Newsroom, participation in the two largest productions of RTV Oost and a brainstorm session with the editorial management team took place. In the analysis and description phase, an answer to each of the sub questions is given. The main answers and corresponding recommendations are shortly given below. Effectiveness and efficiency improvement The news detachment works with a complex system of different shifts and corresponding task distribution. This leads among other to confusion, rework, defects and unnecessary transfer of information. Moreover, in the current situation an uneven distribution of workload exists and employees capabilities are not used to the fullest, which causes underutilization of people. In order to eliminate all these kind of wastes a revised shift schedule and corresponding task description is proposed for the news detachment. This proposed schedule and job description is displayed in table 14 and 15 at page 98 and 99. One important modification is the separation between a first line and second line news distribution. First line news exists from website messages and radio bulletins and second line news includes all the other things. This separation partly existed, or should partly exist, but was often not well executed. With the new task 10 distribution and shift schedule this will be more easy. This separation is important because it will fit more to the customer’s needs and thus increases effectiveness. The main change proposition regarding the informative detachment is to ensure more continuity at desk editor tasks for the program of EDNED by among other assigning the responsibility for arranging certain guests at one person. The proposed job schedule for the EDNED desk editors is displayed in table 16 at page 102. The sport detachment had very little structures and seemed therefore not efficient. The change proposition that has to be carried out first is the implementation of the computer system newsroom, which is already in use by the general news detachment. This will bring a lot more structure as it will reduce several news sources into one and makes transparent who has done what and when. The second important recommendation is to shift the task of reading the reading list (after the implementation of Newsroom), deciding from which subject to write a website message and writing sport news messages to the general news desk editors during weekdays. This is necessary because writing only sport news messages during weekdays will not provide enough tasks to fill a full time job. General news desk editors will also have to write messages for all other news items and this can be well combined with sport news messages. Labour cost control achievement or improvement The output, input and process description gives much insight in the activities that are carried out in the editorial department and in the analysis and change propositions insight is given in the effectiveness and efficiency of the current situation and improvement opportunities for the future. This solves a part of the control problem. Further control can be acquainted by a improvement of the planning of staff in the planning system Prompt. First of all, the sport employees need to be planned in prompt. Because sport employees are often on the road and it is not well known which activities are carried out by whom, an absence in prompt causes a huge lack of control. It is recommended to implement the planning of sport employees in prompt in the following sequence. First, describe the output of the sport detachment in more detail. Then estimate based on this output an expected amount of hours spend on producing that output. Finally determine based on this amount a desired occupation and plan this in prompt. The shifts and needed occupation for the sport detachment, based on secondary and empirical data collected during the study, are given in table 18 at page 105. This can be used as a base for the planning in prompt
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
RTV Oost
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/62110
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