1. Radical Change: Business Process Re-Engineering
John Davis

2. 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

3. 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

5. The Spectrum of BPR Local & Limited Threat to Survival Risk Paradigm
Business
Re-engineering
Paradigm
Shift
Sustainable Step
Changes
Ongoing
Renewal
Transformation
Mindset
Change
Gains
Process
Re-engineering
Process
Improvement
None
Incremental
Local
Scope
Business Wide

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

12. 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

13. 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

15. 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?