To manage the BPBLA process, SMEs would need to go through six learning and change stages. The stages described below represent the general treatment approach and individual variations may exist with different management/business functions, and different internal and external operating environment.
 
Stage One: Choosing and Knowing Best Practice
It is essential to choose the most critical management/business function that SME would like to improve and the choice can be based broadly on "control functions" and "developmental functions". Secondary data can be a good source to get to know the Best Practice adopted by leading companies and to this end, book one of this publication series is a good secondary data source of Best Practices adopted by leading Hong Kong companies.
 
Stage Two: Knowing Yourself - Critical Strategies and Tactics

Against each of the critical strategy/tactic identified by Award-winning companies of a particular Best Practice, the SME is required to conduct a self-search in four essential areas:

  1. existing process identification;
  2. effectiveness evaluation of existing process;
  3. efficiency evaluation of existing process; and
  4. competitive analysis of existing process.

Diagram (A) illustrates the work involved in this stage, with indications as to what to look for in each evaluation step.
Stage Three: Knowing Yourself - Critical Management Functions

Against each of the critical strategy/tactic identified by Award-winning companies of a particular Best Practice, the SME is required to conduct a self-search in six critical management functions:

  1. Leadership;
  2. Personnel Management;
  3. Strategic Management;
  4. Resources Management;
  5. Process Management; and
  6. Learning and Change Management.

Diagram (B) illustrates the work involved in this stage, with indications as to what to look for in each evaluation step.
Stage Four: Knowing the Gap between the Best Practice and Existing Practice

Gaps exist between the Best Practice and the SME's existing practice may be due to

  1. lacking of essential and critical knowledge;
  2. outdated, inappropriate or absence of essential and critical skill;
  3. inappropriate, incorrect or negative attitude; and
  4. other gaps arising from internal or external environment. These gaps have to be identified and bridged before the SME can change from existing practice to best practice and further continuous development to new heights.

Diagram (C) illustrates the work involved in this stage, with indications as to what to look for in each evaluation step.
Stage Five: Bridging the Gap between the Best Practice and Existing Practice
Bridging strategies should be identified and developed to close the gap between the Best Practice and SME's existing practice. Gaps can be closed through strategies enhancing knowledge, skill, attitude and other non-KSA areas of the SME concerned. Strategies identified should go through a process of evaluation, based on the test of relevancy, test of importance, and the test of urgency to ascertain whether the particular bridging strategy can be accepted and what implementation priority should be accorded to the accepted strategy. Table (A) shows the working table for identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing bridging strategies to bridge the identified gaps between the SME's existing practice and the Best Practice.
Stage Six: Practice Redesign and Adoption
Successful implementation of the bridging strategies would have equipped the SME with the capacity to redesign and adopt an improved process for the particular practice in question. Early adoption of a revised practice without enhancing the knowledge, skill and attitude for the SME would bring about a change, which either cannot capture the full benefit of the improvement, or the improvement cannot be sustained over time. Continuous learning is the key to sustaining success and recovering from failures.