Process is killing much more than the software industry. It is hacking its way through creativity everywhere. And personal initiative. And responsibility. When the process gets the responsibility, then you need corrective processes to cater for process failure. And "dynamic processes" to improve process improvement. Etc.

Although I am involved in several ITIL implementation projects, I have stopped believing in the CSI (Continual Service Improvement) and a few other processes along the way. Instead one should foster a culture that aims to improve.

It is unfortunate that Toyota's success has made processes the Universal Truth in business. It is not. There are a whole list of items much more important than processes in any company, such as

Is the business operating in the right market
Does the company deliver the right products or services?
Do they have the right personnel?'
Does the company have the right management?

I recently came home from Tanzania where I delivered a talk on ITIL to some 60 people that had never seen a PC or a white man before, and interestingly enough; Processes was not among their chief concerns in life. And I betcha that if we tried to enforce processes on that village, their spirit of play would not get nourishment.

Some food for thought:
http://isene.com/processability.pdf
http://isene.com/liquid.pdf

And there are those forming their opinions on this matter. I spent a little more than 2 years of intensive study forming my opinion - from squarely for copyrights to squarely against it and advocating copyright abolition; see The Battle for Ant Hill. "Against Intellectual Monopoly" by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine goes through much of the arguments behind abolishing copyright.