Radical Change:

Business Process
Re-Engineering
John Davis
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What is it?
Reengineering is the fundamental
rethinking and redesign of business
processes to achieve dramatic
improvements in critical, contemporary
measures of performance, such as cost,
quality, service, and speed.
i.e. A rejection of incrementalism.
Proposed by Hammond 1988
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Why do it?
New focus on customer needs
Unleash creative potential of the
organisation
Recognise the increasing competitive
nature of business
Open up new markets
Downward pressure on costs
4
What makes it special?
Concentration on horizontal movements and
processes across the organisation
Identification on non-added value activities
Radical nature of approach
Concentration on outputs rather than inputs
Redefines the role of the manager
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The Spectrum of BPR


Business
Re-engineering
Ongoing
Renewal
Transformation
Process
Re-engineering
Process
Improvement
Risk
Local &
Limited
Threat to
Survival
Mindset
Change
Gains
Paradigm
Shift
None
Local Scope Business Wide
Incremental
Sustainable
Step
Changes
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Process Improvement
Adopted by most firms but is it BPR?
Function oriented
Usually aimed at reducing delays
The process itself is not challenged
Often: little critical appraisal
Very little impact on the business as a
whole
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Process Re-Engineering
Involves fundamental rethinking
Usually involves radical streamlining
Often starts with the question should
we be doing it all?
Has an effect on the bottom line
However, if only 1 or 2 processes are
redesigned, much of the business is
untouched
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Business Re-Engineering
Involves step changes across all processes
Usually greater emphasis on design and
appraisal
Involve significant to-level commitment
Needs active Involvement of management
Success seen on all processes and the
performance as a whole
9
Transformation
Where next after BPR?
Is there a need for continuous radical
change
Often the questions are:-
Why do they exist?
What are they trying to achieve?
10
Tests for transformation might
include:
The company has step change improvements
for all processes
There is a perception that the business is
dramatically better than 5 years ago
A belief amongst customers & employees that
the organisation is easier and better to work
with
There is an organisation wide clarity of
purpose
11
Ongoing Renewal
Those who go though BPR recognise
that the process once started never
stops
New mind-sets have become part of the
organisation


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BPR is not compulsory
Change may be managed in other ways
Creative thinking
Benchmarking
Culture change innovation

What makes BPR relevant is the role of IT
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Does it work?
The evidence is scanty
Can an organisation cope with
perpetual change?
Can a firm reduced in size through BPR
compete in the long run
What about those cultures which do not
easily accept criticism of authority?
14
Dangers
The word re-engineering suggests a
view of the organisation as a machine.
Is this correct?
Does BPR mean continuous short term
thinking
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Wrap-Up
Is it all a fashion?
Is it the only way to get dramatic
improvements?
Do employees really see themselves as
empowered?
Case studies of successful BPR suggest that
these companies had a culture of good
communications anyhow and so BPR was not
so difficult. Is this always true?