Workflows are a useful tool in SharePoint. Workflow help to automate actions, which otherwise have to be done manually. Microsoft describes workflows as:
A series of tasks that produce an outcome. In the context of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, workflow is defined more narrowly as the automated movement of documents or items through a sequence of actions or tasks that are related to a business process. Workflows can be used to consistently manage common business processes within an organization by enabling the organization to attach business logic to documents or items in a SharePoint list or library. Business logic is basically a set of instructions that specifies and controls the actions that happen to a document or item.
If you want to know more about how to improve your SharePoint 2007 environment through workflows, you can read more about about it at Microsoft Office’s blog.
Source:
Microsoft, http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/introduction-to-workflows-HA010154424.aspx (Accessed: 06.07.2011).