Institutions, Processes and the Work Between Them

Organizations are governed twice: by the institutions they declare, and by the processes through which work actually happens.

The declared organization

Policies, structures and responsibilities describe the intended order. They matter, but they do not show how decisions move when time, incentives and incomplete information enter the room.

The operational organization

Processes reveal the institution in motion. A process model is not merely a diagram. Properly built, it is an account of obligations, judgment, handovers and exceptions.

A useful discipline

The task is to make these two versions of the organization legible to one another. This is where process engineering becomes institutional work.