Essay on business process reengineering

Submitted By kingysly
Words: 9262
Pages: 38

ABSTRACT
This academic report tackles the concept of business process reengineering and how it affects the improvement of organizations processes. The Literatures available on the topic and its history was extensively covered. In addition, the benefits accrued such as improved customer service, reduction in cycle time and reduction of operational cost was highlighted. Furthermore, tools and techniques used in BPR with the role of information technology in its implementation such as sequencing of task plus analyzing of tasks and processes were examined.
Furthermore, the role of participative BPR in the success of process redesign and user requirements needed were also analyzed. The development stage of business process reengineering and what contributes to the success and failure of the approach were evaluated. Lastly, a fictitious case study of business process reengineering using Hyperia technology was carried out using the integrated BPR methodology; the preparation, mapping and analysis, designing and implementation of the BPR. Consequently, the impact of the business process reengineering was clearly evident.

Table of Contents

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The three C’s of customer, competition and change have become imperative in the way business organization functions. Man’s quest for continuous improvement has led him over the years to modify or change his managerial processes so as to perform favorably and effectively in terms of quality customer services, quality productive delivery and above all to increase output and decrease the operational cost.
Due to customer’s continual demand for better quality of goods and services and increasing completion, business organizations have been challenged to improve the efficiency of their business processes. For these numerous reasons, solutions and theories have been postulated to bridge these glaring gaps; and business organizations have adopted these frameworks and solutions. Nevertheless, one of the most predominantly adopted strategies is the business process reengineering process.
Business process reengineering is a management technique that aims for improvements in organization’s performance by radically redesigning the processes that abounds within and across the business organization (Johansson et al 1993). However, there exists misunderstanding on the accepted methodology of business process reengineering and how it should be integrated with other change management strategies such as bench marking and total quality management (TQM).

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW OF BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING

Figure 1. Characteristics of BPR Adopted from nghsr 2012
According to Hammer and Champy (1993), “reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed”. Organizations can only attain radical performance improvements by starting from a clean slate on how it is organized and run and that reengineering cannot be achieved in small guarded steps but rather should be seen a winner takes all plan (Hammer, 1990).
Davenport (1993) agreed, stating that “today firms must seek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of improvements 10x rather than 10%”, he added innovative approaches should be employed when implementing change through IT, organizational and human scopes.
In the same vein, Atkins (1993) stated a reengineering approach that is based more on IT by stating that BPR is the new phrase for exploring an organization’s business process and proffering ways of improving it to accomplish its strategic aim by automation. Similarly, Gant(1992) agreed, stating that a business reengineering process should take advantage of the opportunities offered by Information technology.
On the contrary, Harrington(1991) proposed that business process reengineering approach should be more incremental and