Reengineering
| Author | Nashwa George |
| Pages | 638-640 |
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The concept of reengineering traces its origins to management theories developed as early as the nineteenth century. The purpose of reengineering is to make all processes the best possible. American efficiency engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) suggested in the 1880s that managers could discover the best processes for performing work and reengineer them to optimize productivity. Business process reengineering (BPR) echoes the classical belief that there is one best way to conduct tasks. In Taylor's time, technology was not sufficient to allow large companies to design processes in a cross-functional or cross-departmental manner. Reengineering became popular in the early 1990s even though the methodology and approach were not fully understood or appreciated. In the twenty-first century, reengineering is an effective tool for organizations striving to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible. Much attention is given to "best practices" that are the outcome of reengineering strategies.
Reengineering is most commonly defined as the redesign of business processes—and the associated systems and organizational
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structures—to achieve a dramatic improvement in business performance. BPR has been described as a radical new approach to business improvement, with the potential to achieve dramatic improvement in business performance. BPR should not be considered downsizing, restructuring, reorganization, and/or new technology. It is the examination and change of five components of the business strategy, process, technology, organization, and culture. Many companies continue to experiment with reengineering, even if they have failed in previous attempts.
The motivations for reengineering are many, including to:
Reduce costs/expenses (the most cited business-driven reengineering project goal)
Improve financial performance
Reduce external competition pressure
Reverse erosion of market share
Respond to emerging market opportunities
Improve customer satisfaction
Enhance quality of products and services
A common approach for a BPR project includes the following...
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