BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING DBM 632

TOPIC 1: Introduction to Business Processes

What is business process reengineering (BPR)?
Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management practice in which the
related tasks required to obtain a specific business outcome are radically
redesigned. A major aim of BPR is to analyze workflows within and between
business functions in order to optimize the end-to-end business process and
eliminate tasks that do not improve performance or provide the customer with
value. The use of IT to automate and integrate steps in the process is central to
BPR initiatives.
Objectives of BPR
The main objectives of BPR include the following factors:
• Customer focus -The main objective of BPR is to increase the level of customer
satisfaction.
• Speed – With the use of advanced technologies, the processing speed is expected
to be improved as most of the tasks are automated.
• Compression – It explains the ways of reducing the cost and capital invested in
primary activities, throughout the value chain.It can be done by combining the
interrelated activities or by performing parallel activities in a particular process.
• Flexibility – It is ab out the adaptive processes and structures used to changing
conditions and competition. By being closer to the customer, the company would
be able to develop the awareness mechanisms to tackle the areas that require
improvements .
• Quality – The level of quality can always be maintained with the expected levels
of standards and can be monitored by the processes.
• Innovation – Leadership through innovation provides changes in the organization
to achieve competitive advantage.
• Productivity-It can be improved drastically with effectiveness and efficiency.

Definition of key terms

Business Process Improvement
Business Process Improvement is defined as a management practice used to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes by discovering,
mapping, documenting, analyzing, and redesigning processes. We will learn more
about why you should invest in improving your business processes further in this
article.
Business Process Mapping
Business process mapping is defined as the activity of creating a workflow diagram
of a process to gain a clear understanding of the process and how it overlaps with
other processes. It is a business process documentation tool that uses visual aids to
document and communicate the details of a process across the company.
Business Process Documentation
Business process documentation is the process of outlining a detailed description
of how a process needs to be executed. It is a technique undertaken by businesses

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to make their processes learnable, viewable, and improvable. It primarily focuses
on answering the question - 'how is the process implemented?.
Business Process Discovery
Business process discovery is defined as a set of techniques that build a
representation of an organization's current business processes, which include their
workflows, structures, and elements.

Business Process Automation

Business process automation is defined as the practice of using technology to
automate complex and redundant business processes and workflows. It helps
businesses save manual efforts, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and optimize
process performance.
Business Process Handoffs
Business process handoffs are defined as the transfer of information,
responsibilities, or people in your business from one entity to another. They are
critical to the smooth running of your business operations in case of employee
resignations, team restructures, etc.

Dimensions of Business processes

1. Strategy
2. Operations
3. Marketing
4. Finances

1. Strategy and Development

Who does your business serve? What are its core competencies and how will you
leverage them? What are your business’s goals for the year? What is your
business’s vision and mission? What offers are you going to develop this year? How
are you going to position, differentiate, and develop your brand?

Questions like these all fall within the dimensions of strategy. It serves as the
foundation and hub for all of the other dimensions, and having a weak strategy
core often causes many businesses to put the cart before the horse.

For instance, I’ve run across quite a few businesses that can’t tie their marketing
activities to any strategy besides selling something to make money. We also sense
weak strategy at play when we see someone create something that has no real
connection to their core business foundation.

2. Operations
How will we execute the plan? Who should work on which project? Which of these
projects should we work on this week? Where are we with our new infrastructure
migration? Is everyone trained to do the critical tasks of our business?
The dimension of operations is the realm of execution and productivity. In short, it
covers getting stuff done.

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Many businesses have a decent sense of strategy and struggle with operations.
That CEO’s vision just never seems to manifest. Or perhaps the marketing plan
becomes just another document that wasted more resources to develop than it was
worth. The perennial problem here is one that creatives understand all too well –
our imaginative reach always exceeds our operational grasp.
On the other hand, some businesses shine in operations and struggle in the other
dimensions. What tends to occur in these businesses is a lot of overworking and
pushing and very little actual progress being made when it comes to the three ends
of business. Another symptom here is the constantly shifting new initiative that
forces everyone to be in a continual state of overwhelm; it’s common for business
teams to have their priorities shift to a new project before the last one is done just
because a decision was made to go in a different direction.
Short-range planning often falls within the operational dimension, as well. In a
well-run business, the CEO and COO are jointly creating the mid- and long-term
plans in consultation with the CMO and CFO because every perspective is needed
to make a solid plan. Short-range planning falls within the operations domain
because much of the strategic direction and the financial parameters have already
been set from the longer-range plans; the COO has the unenviable responsibility of
making a lot happen with too little. (Yes, this happens in organizations at every
scale and size.)
What separates a lot of good businesses from great ones is their
execution. Businesses that get the right stuff done grow faster and more
consistently than businesses that struggle with execution.
3. Marketing
There’s a reason that so many of the gurus in business are marketers or
salespeople: good marketing equals more money. We all know that cash-flow is the
pulse of any business, and marketing is what gets you cash-flow.
At least, that’s the story we buy.
This particular dimension is the one that often brings the quickest results in a
business. Converting bad promotional materials to much better ones generally
brings more customers and leads into a business, thereby building enough
financial margin that a business can make other choices. A successful promotion of
current products and services can happen in days, whereas returning to strategy,
research, and development might take months, and the revenue that comes in in
the short term can solve this problem nicely.
Though we often talk about increased revenue when we speak of marketing, it’s
also just as true that effective marketing ensures that a business’s resources are
leveraged in the best way possible, thus making it a great way to keep money in
your business as well as to make more. Many businesses work hard at crafting a
wonderful offer, only to have a weak marketing campaign offset the return they
might have gotten from their efforts. Spending a quarter developing an offer only
to make a month’s worth of revenue is a much less effective use of resources than
is spending a quarter developing an offer and making a quarter’s revenue from it.
While effective marketing is a challenge for most businesses, it’s especially
challenging for creative microbusinesses. For a variety of reasons, creative people
have a hard time coming to grips with marketing and self-promotion. The Field of

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Dreams is itself a dream – just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come. You
have to go to them and build it there to have any hope of selling your wares.
4. Finances
How much revenue did you make last month? Of that, how much was profit? What
are your overheads? How much do you need to make in the next quarter to
increase your revenue by 10%? How much of your revenue do you need to save for
taxes?
Most of us can’t answer those questions off the top of our heads. Many of us can’t
answer them at all because a) we haven’t been doing our own accounting, and b)
we don’t understand the terms at play. These questions – and the perspective they
represent – fall in the dimension of finances.
What’s striking is that the more grounded you get in your financial reality, the
more clarity you have about what your business has done and can do. Many people
are continually scared because they have no idea what they made last month and
this month, nor do they have any idea what’s coming in in the future. This makes
everyday feel like a hustle, and every win, a temporary stalling of the inevitable
crash of not having enough money to pay the bills.
A challenge with this particular dimension is understanding what level of
granularity you need for effective decision-making. Most people don’t need to have
a daily sales report, but a monthly sales report may not give you enough time to
react or plan. Additionally, a gross sales report may not show you which income
stream is the breadwinner and which is the lead weight you need to drop. Since
each business is put together a little differently, the insights that you can get from
the financial dimension need to be tailored to meet the way your business works.
It’s absolutely true that you can get lost in the financial data and questions in your
business. What’s also true is that you’re absolutely lost without them.

Common Business processes in organizations

1. Human resource processes
Establishing business processes for hiring new employees can help companies
attract and retain qualified professionals. Following a defined set of protocols
during the hiring process can help companies hire candidates who can make a
difference to their bottom line. Automated hiring tools like the applicant tracking
system (ATS) can speed up the hiring process and save a lot of time HR
professionals would spend on screening candidates. These hiring tools can search
for keywords in each application that help shortlist suitable candidates for a job
role. Automating the human resources processes can ensure faster and cost-
efficient hiring.
2. Project management
Many companies use project management systems to streamline the project
workflow and keep track of the project's timeline. Companies can opt for a
proprietary process or they may use project management software. Most of the
project management software can automate the workflow. Most of these
automation tools provide a dashboard that displays the activities and tasks of every
project member. From initiation and project planning to execution, monitoring and

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completion, a project management software can streamline the project workflow.
This can help a complete business project effectively and efficiently.
3. Social media management
Having a dedicated business account on social media platforms is imperative for
growing a business. While operating social media accounts on different platforms
is challenging, it's essential for companies to frequently post new updates to grow
consumer awareness. Using various social media management software,
companies can schedule posts and keep track of the important metrics. Bringing
automation can streamline social media presence and ensure companies can grow
a loyal base of followers.
4. Customer service
Customer service instigates customers' feedback and addresses their concerns.
The customer service process determines whether a company owes compensation
to the customer for the complaint lodged. Having a business process for customer
service can ensure all customers receive consistent and responsive support. Using
software like live chat to live broadcasting, businesses can automate their
customer service processes.
5. Marketing
A marketing process includes designing, developing and launching a new product
to market. As a result, companies use marketing tools to streamline their
processes. By automating a marketing process, companies can align their goals
and efforts. Enabling a business process in the marketing department can help in
generating more leads and increasing sales. As automation enables a company to
increase its conversion rate, it helps manage leads more efficiently.
6. Product development
Successful companies often develop products and this is a business process in
itself. Having a business process, especially for product development, can help a
company deliver high-quality intangible, tangible and service-based products. The
process of product development includes generating an idea, screening and
selecting the idea, developing the concept, developing the product, conducting
marketing research and finally launching the final product.
7. Deliver management systems
Businesses that ship products to their customers require a business process to
manage the delivery system. Streamlining the delivery management system is
essential for ensuring the timely delivery of products. The delivery management
process includes route optimisation, automated dispatch, vehicle tracking, proof of
delivery and safe delivery of products. Companies can get insightful business
analytics, ensure better communication and enhance customer satisfaction using
delivery management software.
8. Onboarding process
The complete process of hiring and onboarding new employees in a company is a
business process that requires automation. Developing a structured method for
welcoming new employees can help keep the brand image consistent and guide
new employees to understand the company's values and virtues. A streamlined
onboarding process can retain valuable employees.
9. Sales process

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A cohesive sale process decides the bottom line of the company. Usually,
companies prefer their own sales process structure or can use automated software
to streamline the entire sales process. A sales automation software can streamline
quotes, orders, delivery, billing and proposals.
10. Budgeting
Many companies use a structured process for financial planning and budgeting. A
structured process in budgeting is necessary to ensure projects receive optimal
budgets and ensure transparency in financial matters. Having a documented
process makes important financial aspects, like auditing and taxes, easier. Using
software for managing the budgeting process can help companies manage their
financial processes on time and without errors.
11. Procurement process
A procurement business process involves selecting vendors, establishing payment
terms with them, negotiating and purchasing required supplies. A comprehensive
procurement process can result in many advantages. For instance, a strong vendor
relationship can ensure companies reap the benefits of year-over-year price
reduction, quality improvement and discounts. A well-documented procurement
process can help a business evaluate opportunities for a cost-effective strategy. It
allows companies to foresee the potential shortcomings that can slow production.
Many companies use a purchase order workflow for creating purchase requests,
receiving approvals and confirming delivery details.
12. Business process improvement
Managing and improving the efficiency of an existing business process can be
another business process. It helps a company refine and fine-tune its existing
processes and adapt to the latest technology. Having a structured system for
implementing business improvement helps a company identify areas that require
immediate improvement.
13. Content promotion
Creating a process to manage content promotion can allow companies to promote
their content as they want. The content promotion process involves finding
websites to post content, qualifying the site by checking their domain authority,
identifying the contact person, emailing and following up. It can also involve
inserting deep links in the content, sharing the content on social media,
repurposing the existing content to maximise reach. Automating the content
promotion process can ensure customers see the content at the right time and this
helps a company reach a larger customer base.
14. Client onboarding
Welcoming new clients to a business is an essential business process. Having a
clear and defined client onboarding process displays professionalism, courtesy and
expertise. A comprehensive and documented process reduces scope creep,
enhances efficiency, ensures compliance and results in happier clients. A client
onboarding process can build strong relationships, address any queries and outline
business strategy in the future.
15. Asset management
Planning and controlling the operation, maintenance, renewal and disposition of
organisational assets is a business process. Streamlining the asset management

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process helps in improving the delivery potential of assets. It minimises the risks
and costs involved. Maintaining the assets of an organisation can enhance the
asset lifecycle. An asset management process enables a firm to account for all its
assets, identify and manage risks and remove ghost assets in the companies.
16. Managing accounts
Similar to budgeting and financial planning, managing a company's account is an
essential business process. A streamlined and effective business process helps an
accounting team prepare accurate records and ensures a company complies with
necessary regulations. A documented account process can help consultants and
external professionals understand the company's accounts and ensure all accounts
are in line with legal regulations. Creating a documented accounting process
ensures that all liabilities and assets are on the balance sheet.

Overview of Business process Reengineering

Business Process Reengineering is the radical redesign of business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times, quality, and employee
and customer satisfaction. Companies start by assessing what work needs to be
done to deliver customer value. Techniques such as process mining (the analysis of
information systems event logs) can help discover, monitor, and improve
processes. Then they decide how to do the work—or if it should be done at all.
Rethinking the roles of third parties or outsourcing is also a crucial component of
Business Process Reengineering.

How Is Business Process Reengineering Implemented?

Business Process Reengineering is a dramatic change initiative that contains seven
major steps:
(a) Refocusing company values on customer needs and eliminating low-
value work
(b) Simplifying and standardizing overly complex work, and automating
repetitive work
(c) Enabling processes with modern systems and data
(d) Locating work in the most efficient and effective environment
(e) Reorganizing a business into cross-functional teams with end-to-end
responsibility for a process
(f) Rethinking basic organizational and people issues
(g) Determining appropriate roles for third parties or outsourcers,
focusing on where they truly add value
What Are the Common Uses for Business Process Reengineering?
Companies use Business Process Reengineering to improve the performance of key
processes that affect customers by:

(a) Reducing costs and cycle times by eliminating unproductive activities and
locating work in the most efficient and effective environment
(b) Reorganizing by teams to decrease the need for management layers,
accelerate information flows, and eliminate errors and rework caused by
multiple handoffs.

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 (c) Improving quality by standardizing and automating work to reduce errors
and focus workers on higher-value activities. It also reduces the
fragmentation of work and establishes clear ownership of processes.

BPR and Relevant Technologies

Differences between BPR and Process Simplification
Process Simplification
Process Simplification helps organizations identify and remove complexity from
processes across the business. As businesses grow, processes become more
complex, resulting in an increased number of process steps, tasks, and resources
required. The more complex a process becomes, the greater the likelihood of
errors, rework, long task completion times, and support needs. Additionally,
training new people on a complex process takes longer than a streamlined and
simple process.
Process Simplification involves systematically and thoroughly studying each
business process, uncovering hidden sources of complexity, and permanently
eliminating them. Wasted resources and non-value-added process activities are
identified, and process changes are implemented to optimize the process.
Process Simplification benefits materialize immediately, including greater
efficiencies, better product quality, shorter process completion times, increased
capacity, and reduced expenses. Many organizations pursue process simplification
alone, through methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, and do not initiate Product and
Organization Simplification. However, the benefits of Process Simplification are
force-multiplied when done in concert with Product and Organization
Simplification.

Business Process Simplification Techniques to Apply in Your Business

These five ideas for business process simplification are widely used in process
modeling with the help of BPMN modeling tools.

But staring blankly at a process map doesn’t show you where there’s risk or direct
contact with the customer (which must always be Wow!).

So take a look at how to identify these opportunities to improve the

organizational process.

1- Interaction between systems

When two systems or software suites interact with one another, there must be a
data exchange. Most of the time this is done manually, subject to typos and even
procrastination.
A classic way to reduce the risk of this data exchange is to create an integration
interface between the two systems.
An example of the use of this business process simplification occurs very commonly
in graphic design software.
There are several different programs on the market. And most of them have a
feature called ‘file export’.

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Therefore, software suites ‘speak to each other’. If the designer needs to import a
file from an image created in other software to use in their system, they only need
to use that command, and it will work without any problems.

2- Process automation
Automation is the control of ‘human’ and system activities.
3- Process standardization
One of the most objective ways to simplify organizational processes is to
standardize recurring and identical processes.
For example: Imagine a law firm.
It has several different processes, each with distinct tasks and activities and their
peculiarities, depending on the instance, cause, etc.
But in all of them, there will be a time when you need to collect and authenticate
signatures. If this process is standardized, you will be able to greatly simplify the
activities of the company, by merely replicating them whenever necessary.
4- Defining business rules
The primary purpose of a collection of business rules is to facilitate decision
making. They should be simple, bypassing the flow of the process without delay or
indecision.
A classic example is the definition of bank lending allocations. The business rule is
simple: Up to the amount of X thousand dollars, the agency manager can grant the
loan autonomously. Any amount above that though and they need to consult their
manager.

5- Outsourcing
Outsourcing has been widespread in the past, and today it has returned in another
context: Due to the communication and integration facilities among professionals
with the use of cloud computing technologies.

Differences between BPR and TQM

Since TQM and BPR concepts have a cross-functional relationship, it is helpful to
know the difference between TQM and BPR for a better understanding of these
concepts. TQM, an acronym of Total Quality Management, is concerned about
improving the productivity through quality improvements while BPR, an acronym
of Business Process Re-engineering, is concerned about making process
improvements through radical redesign and use of advanced technologies. Both
these concepts are related to improving the efficiency in an organization.
What is the difference between TQM and BPR?
• TQM and BPR have a cross-functional relationship. TQM is concerned about
improving productivity through quality improvements while BPR is about making
process improvements through radical redesign and use of advanced technologies.
• TQM is focusing on continuous improvements while BPR is concerned about
product innovations.

• TQM emphasis on the use of statistical process control while BPR emphasis on
the use of information technology.

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• Both top down and bottom up approaches can be used in implementing TQM, but
BPR can be implemented only through a top-down approach.
Differences bpr Continuous improvement
Continuous improvement is a cultural norm that high-functioning companies
deliberately cultivate, especially to avoid a business crisis that results in business
process reengineering. Continuous improvement is often associated with
manufacturing, where incremental improvements deliver compounding benefits
over time.
There’s a myth that companies adopt continuous improvement when they feel
pressured to cut costs. In reality, continuous improvement focuses on empowering
employees to embrace efficiency, make suggestions, and share insights. This leads
to innovations in production and service that contribute to overall growth.
When team members have sincerely internalized the continuous improvement
approach, reduced process costs are almost inevitable.

Difference between Reengineering and Redesign

Redesigning became popular in the 1990s as a way for business leaders to focus
on adapting to changing technology and other forces in their industries. This
requires a review of the company's current workflow and process structure and
overhauling it to make it more efficient. Because they require a certain degree of
expertise, some companies may require external parties to review, design, and
implement any changes.
Many companies undergo business process redesigns because of changes in the
industry that require new infrastructure to remain competitive. In some cases,
companies may be required to make radical changes by completely scrapping their
processes and adopting new ones. For example, if a more efficient way of
manufacturing a product or accessing a resource is developed, a business may be
compelled to abandon its processes and adopt new ones in order to remain abreast
of its peers.
If a redesign makes sense, it's essential for a business to consider going
through a series of steps including:

-Setting up clear goals and intentions

-Identifying core business processes
-Determining any gaps or areas that require improvement
-Designing and developing changes
-Implementing and monitoring changes
Business process Improvement
Business process improvement (BPI) is a practice in which enterprise leaders
analyze their business processes to identify areas where they can improve
accuracy, effectiveness and efficiency and then make changes within the processes
to realize these improvements.
BPI works by identifying the operations, employee skills or enabling technologies
that could be improved or added to encourage smoother procedures, more efficient
workflow and overall business growth.

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This process, also known as functional process improvement, is part of the broader
management discipline of business process management.
The purpose of business process improvement
The primary objective of BPI is to continuously improve the performance of both
the formal and informal processes within an organization. By engaging in business
process improvement, organizations can identify bottlenecks, friction,
inefficiencies and other problems within their processes and take corrective
actions,
which helps them to do the following:
-cut costs;
-eliminate redundant efforts;
-ensure continued adherence to workflows and better compliance with rules and
regulations;
-improve quality of their products or services;
-reduce errors; and
-speed output.

TOPIC 2 Introduction BPR

History of BPR
The concept of Business process Reengineering was introduced by Michael
Hammer, a professor of Computer Science In Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and a management author. He introduced the concept of
Business Process Reengineering in his article named “Reengineering Work: Don’t
automate, obliterate.”
In this article, he mentioned that the managers should eliminate the business work
that doesn’t add value to the business, rather automating them.
By this statement, he meant that the managers have been focusing on the wrong
issues and they have used technology especially Information Technology to convert
existing processes into automated processes rather than eliminating the non-value
adding work altogether.

Hammer stated that all the work that doesn’t add value for the customers should
be removed altogether from the business cycle and should not be made faster
using automation and rather they should focus on their incapability to satisfy the
needs of their customers.
The concept of Business Process Reengineering was supported by many well-
established business thinkers and was published in many business journals and
books in the following years.
However, there are many critics who criticized the concept of Business Process
Reengineering and even mentioned that it is a process of dehumanizing the
workplace.
Despite that, the idea of Business Process Reengineering was adopted by 60% of
the fortune 500 companies and have succeeded in leaving behind their
counterparts in terms of business generation and productivity.

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Business Process Reengineering Steps
Reengineering a process focuses on redesigning a process as a whole which
includes fundamentally rethinking how the organizational work should be done in
order to achieve dramatic improvement. That’s what differentiates BPR from
process improvement which only focuses on functional or incremental
improvement.

Reengineering might not be appropriate in all situations, especially if your

processes only require optimization and if your organization is not looking to
undergo dramatic change. In such a case, you can opt for a process improvement
technique.

Step 1: Set the vision and business goals

This is where the senior management needs to identify the business situation;
customer expectations, competition, opportunities, etc.

This will make it easier to understand the need for change and create a clear vision
of where the company needs to be in the future. Then clarify the objectives in both
qualitative and quantitative terms.

Step 2: Establish a competent team

The team you select needs to be cross-functional because expertise and
perceptions from all levels of the organization are necessary to minimize the
chances of failure.

It should be the responsibility of the top management to have a clear vision of the
activities that need to be carried out and provide strategic direction. You also need
to have an operational manager who knows the ins and outs of the processes. It is
equally important to have the right engineers with different expertise from various
fields to make the team complete.

At this stage, it is important to have the goals and strategies outlined properly. You
can also carry out surveys and benchmarking activities to identify customer needs
and analyze the competition.

In this step, it’s also necessary to communicate the business case for change and
the objectives of the project to the rest of the employees. This will encourage their
feedback as well and help them get ready for what’s to come.

Step 3: Understand the current process

In this step, you need to select the process(es) that you will be redesigning. Such
processes that are broken, cross-functional, value-adding, have bottlenecks or have
high-impact on the organization, etc. can be prioritized.

Once you select them, map them out using flowcharts or process maps to analyze
them thoroughly to identify the gaps, inefficiencies, blockers, etc.

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Business Process Flow Template - business process reengineering
Business Process Flow Template (Click on the template to edit it online)
Then define the right KPIs for the processes in order to monitor that the process
has gained the desired effect once you implement them.

Step 4: Redesign the process

Keeping your vision in mind, redesign a new process that effectively overcomes the
inefficiencies of the previous process. Here you will create a future-state map that
highlights the solutions you have identified for the issues of the current state
process.

Step 5: Implement the reengineered process

Once the process has been redesigned, you can run a small test to see how it
works by monitoring with the KPIs you defined earlier. This will allow you to make
necessary adjustments to the process before implementing it company-wide. If the
new process works better than the current one, you can implement it on a larger
scale.

The Need for Reengineering

Some of the symptoms that signal that it is time to start reengineering are:
(i) It takes too long for an organisation to move its products from conception to the
market place as compared to its competitors.
(ii) The budgeting process may be too complex and
(iii) The services provided by the organisation are not compatible with its
customers’ needs.
Business process reengineering is a refreshing new approach to do business. There
is plenty of evidence that it works well – perhaps with performance gains of 100 to
300 percent for some recognised processes.

Benefits of BPR
 It gives an appropriate focus to business as it revolves around customer
needs.
 BPR helps in building a strategic view of operational procedures by making
radical inquiries about how processes are improved and how things could be
done.
 It eliminates unnecessary activities and thereby helps in reducing
organizational complexity.
 It coordinates and integrates several functions immediately.
 Provides improved viability and adequacy to an organization by eliminating
the delay and unessential phases of operations and management.
 Reduced the number of checks/controls and reconciliation processes.
 It helps overcome short-sighted approaches that usually emerge from
excessive concentration on functional boundaries.

Roles of Leader and Manager

1. Coach

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As a leader in the workplace, you must also be a coach. In a coaching role, you'll
provide your employees with the support they need to succeed in their role. A
coach-leader gives their employees the opportunities to showcase their work and
have others in the workplace acknowledge their skills. A coach meets with
individual team members to give feedback and constructive criticism. They guide
employees through obstacles and celebrate their victories.
2. Networker
A leader must also be a networker, connecting with employees and other leaders
within and outside the company. Leaders may need to grow their network of
vendors and suppliers to help the business grow.
As a successful networker, you may attend seminars, conferences and corporate-
sponsored events, and may collaborate with other leaders to share knowledge.
3. Communicator
It's critical that as a leader, you're also a strong communicator. You have to be
able to effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, with employees,
other leaders, customers, clients and vendors. A successful leader will need to
communicate everything from meeting details to a new sales strategy and in a way
that inspires their team members. A leader should also be able to give
presentations to potentially large groups of people.
4. Delegator
A delegator is someone who assigns tasks or asks others to take on more
responsibilities, often based on business needs. To be an effective leader, you must
be able to determine your team members’ unique strengths and delegate
responsibilities accordingly for productivity. Leaders also delegate new
responsibilities to employees to give them opportunities to learn new skills and
prove themselves.
5. Strategist
Your role as a leader also means you should be able to strategize ways to tackle a
project or help the company succeed. As a strategist, you determine the
overarching goals of the team and develop the best processes to reach those goals.
A strategist also shares their vision with their team. When a leader is a strong
strategist, their team will look to them for guidance and the business as a whole
will benefit.
6. Role Model
A role model is someone who acts in a certain way or displays certain values that
others want to emulate. As the leader of the organization or a specific department,
you should try to model how you expect employees to behave in the workplace,
from adhering to corporate policy to interacting with customers and clients.
7. Motivator
For many leaders, being a source of motivation to the team comes naturally, as
they want to see their team succeed. As a leader, you should know how to
encourage your team, inspire them to action and help them realize their potential.
When a leader can serve as a mentor to their team, it encourages employees to
work harder, produce better work and strive for greater responsibility in the
workplace.
8. Adaptor

14
As a leader, you must be flexible. Even if you have a busy schedule, there is always
the potential for the unexpected to take place, and you must be able to adapt as
needed. For instance, a leader may need to be adaptable if an employee calls in
sick for work, if a client changes their mind on a project or if the company goes
through budget cuts. When a leader is adaptable, it also sets the tone for the rest
of the group to be flexible and change course as needed.
9. Trainer
Training associates is an important part of being a leader. A trainer-leader may
need to on-board new employees, train the team on a new department procedure
or give staff members tips for completing tasks more productively. When a leader
is also a good trainer, employees will feel confident they can get their questions
answered.
10. Innovator
An effective leader is constantly thinking of new ways to bring value to their
company and encourages team members to so as well. Strong leaders understand
that change often brings growth, and innovation allows employees to step out of
their comfort zones and improve their skills.
BPR guiding principles
1. Focus on Results Instead of Tasks
The first principle is for a business to focus more on the outcomes instead of the
operational processes.

This means that companies should pay more attention to their desired results
instead of how they will achieve them, and create the best strategies that will
guarantee these expected outcomes.
Essentially, they should aim to achieve their business goals and organize the
needed processes around said desired goals.
2. Allow Individuals Already Involved to Become Part of the Process
The second principle is about involving people who are already participating in one
way or another in specific processes to become active contributors to the entire
process.
This principle can often be seen in customer-facing companies that allow their
customers to be part of the solution when they face an issue with the company’s
product or service through.
This principle promotes the participation of the party that is most directly involved
or benefits from the process.
3. Combine Data Collection With Processing Work
This principle suggests that the task of gathering information should be completed
by the same individual or department responsible for completing the actual work.
In a more contemporary context, this could be interpreted as the use of process
automation through advanced information technology that merges several
processes into a single, more efficient one.
The combination and automation of tasks previously completed by employees or
other business departments have proven to prevent the frequent mistakes that are
generated due to human error.
4. Share Resources Between Usually Disparate Departments

15
Interconnectivity is at the core of this principle. It suggests that sharing resources
connects separate departments of a company and produces a centralized type of
operation that can be very productive.
5. Join Parallel Processes Instead of Linking Their End Results
The fifth principle indicates that it is more efficient to bridge a few different but
equivalent processes than to combine their outcomes.
If said processes run parallel to each other, and you aim to use their results in
tandem, it would be more beneficial to coordinate the processes during each step
to ensure that there won’t be any delays in the overall process.
6. Integrate Decision-Making Throughout the Steps of Each Process
It is a fact that a lot of delays in certain work activities are due to approval
requirements from supervisors. According to the sixth principle, decision-making
should be implemented throughout each activity to accelerate processing times.
This can be done by either having supervisors entrust their employees to make
certain decisions themselves or, in a more contemporary context, by using
decision-making technology that extracts the human component out of the process
in certain stages.

7. Accurate Data Collection Should Be Captured Once and Directly from

the Source
The more people involved in collecting data, the more errors can happen. This last
principle suggests that data should only be captured once, which is the first time,
and be directly from the source.
This allows the data collection process to be more efficient, not requiring multiple
reentries that lead to more errors. It ensures the data is valid as it originates from
the source.

Myths about BPR

1) BPR doesn’t need to happen on ERP projects: This could be regarded as the
most misguided of all the BPR myths. Every enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system (software that integrates your core business processes and can be used to
collect, store, manage and interpret data) will most likely affect your business
processes. While most of these changes will be positive improvements, some effort
will still be required to adapt to the new environment.
2) Simply implementing a new ERP system will drive process
improvements: This may as well be regarded as the most myth in the industry
regarding business process reengineering. ERP systems nowadays are extremely
robust and flexible.
3) ERP project teams should focus on “to-be” rather than “as-is”
processes: If you are a business or organization making the changes or the
employees doing the work every day, then the current processes absolutely do
matter. Therefore, it is important that you examine the current status of your
processes.
4) Business process improvements can be done without organizational
change management: Many executives think that they can implement business
processes without changing management. This is, however, a very misguided view

16
because the most effective business process reengineering efforts succeed largely
because of the way the organization changes and not due to the optimized
processes.
5) You can’t reengineer business processes before knowing which software
you are going to implement: The how, what and when of what your business
does is not tied to your software. Though a new ERP greatly improves the business
process, the general nature of your business operations won’t change much. Thus,
it is better to evaluate and improve your business processes before you select or
implement any new system.
6) All business processes need to be overhauled before selecting and
implementing a new ERP system: Some executives believe that they need to
totally reengineer their business before selecting and implementing a new ERP
system. This is not true. Rather, what most successful businesses focus on is
improving their major areas of competitive advantage as part of their ERP
implementations.
7) Business process reengineering will cause my ERP implementation to
take more time and money to implement: The undoing of many failed ERP
implementations is to assume that “doing things right” will cost more time and
money than cutting corners along the way. It may look good on paper to exempt
the tedious aspects of business processes, but the reality is that your project will
most likely take longer to implement and likely fail if you toe that line.

What BPR isn’t

 It doesn’t suit every business need as it depends on factors like size and
availability of resources. It usually benefits large organizations.
 In some cases, the efficiency of one department was improved at the
expense of the overall process.
 This BPR approach does not provide an immediate resolution. It
concentrates significantly upon long haul income collaborations of a
business which not only takes some effort to take shape but are hard to
gauge as well
 It might require a substantial investment in IT along with proper planning,
fantastic teamwork, and exceptional implementation.
 It can replace humans when it comes to getting the job done error-free
hence posing as a real threat to jobs.

TOPIC 3: BPR in the Manufacturing Industry

Enablers of BPR in Manufacturing

1. Agile Manufacturing

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Agile manufacturing is a manufacturing methodology that places an emphasis on
being able to quickly meet changing customer demands, needs or wishes, creating
a competitive advantage from speed, response, and agility.

As customers expect higher standards with regard to delivery times and the
customisation of products and services, agile manufacturing allows companies to
take advantage of short windows of opportunity while also delivering more
efficiently and flexibly than the competition.

This is achieved with tools, technologies, processes and training, as well as

enabled staff who can use their expertise to respond to requirements while
controlling quality and production costs.

How does it Work?

Agile manufacturing works by using product design methods, technologies, close
cooperation with the supply chain and corporate partners, employee training, and
the involvement of the entire company to respond rapidly to changes in the market
or customer needs.

Each of these factors are important to creating an agile manufacturing

environment, as follows:

1. Product Design
As consumers demand a larger amount of personalised items and product
iterations all delivered rapidly, an agile organisation is able to design production
processes so that production schedules can meet any market demand variables.

2. Technologies
Responding to market demands requires technological support to allow an
accurate, real-time flow of information between departments. The sales teams,
customer services agents, production line staff and warehousing all need to be
aligned and informed of the latest changes or market information. With a common
database of parts, products, production capacities and any problems, staff at any
level are kept informed and are able to fix problems higher up in the production
process, when they are likely to be less costly.

3. Supply Chain / Partner Cooperation

Having good working relationships with your suppliers and partners is vital for an
agile manufacturing operation. Suppliers will need to be kept informed of
production flow information just as your internal staff do, so they can respond to
the needs of end users too. Your network of suppliers and related companies must
be strong enough to react should there be a need to negotiate new agreements,
arrange material deliveries, retool facilities and take other steps in line with
customer demand. This cooperation means that the agile manufacturer can
quickly increase the production of items with high consumer demand and address
redesigns speedily to resolve issues or improve products.

18
4. Employee Training
Employees working in an agile manufacturing environment may need to learn new
production processes to align with a customer-driven outlook. Staff need to
understand the reason for changes to production schedules, designs and products
as well as attain the skills to work in teams to solve problems or unexpected
challenges as they occur.

5. Company Involvement
To be truly agile, a company needs buy-in and involvement at all levels, which
often requires a shift in organisational structures too. The company structure
needs to support and empower teams to work autonomously to adapt to demands,
enabling staff to work together and use their expertise with a ‘bottom-up’
approach. Allowing staff on the shop floor to directly report any challenges or
innovations as well as enabling them to make decisions based on wider company
information and production schedules may require a change in culture from a ‘top-
down’ approach. There may be other wider shifts in the culture of your company,
such as moving towards a more localised manufacturing approach in order to
better adapt to shifts in the market and deliver personalised products and services
quickly.

2. Lean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is a production process based on an ideology of maximising
productivity while simultaneously minimising waste within a manufacturing
operation. The lean principle sees waste is anything that doesn’t add value that the
customers are willing to pay for.
The 8 Wastes of Lean Manufacturing
The Toyota Production System originally detailed seven wastes that don’t provide
value to the customer. These wastes were:
 Unnecessary transportation
 Excess inventory
 Unnecessary movement of people, equipment or machinery
 Waiting – either people or idle equipment
 Over-production of a product
 Over processing or adding unnecessary features to a product
 Defects that require costly correction
there are four key benefits to lean manufacture:

19
  Eliminate Waste: Waste is a negative factor for cost, deadlines and
resources. It provides no value to products or services
 Improve Quality: Improved quality allows companies to stay competitive
and meet the changing needs and wants of customers. Designing processes
to meet these expectations and desires keep you ahead of the competition,
keeping quality improvement at the forefront
 Reducing Costs: Overproduction or having more materials than is required
creates storage costs, which can be reduced through better processes and
materials management
 Reducing Time: Wasting time with inefficient working practices is a waste
of money too, while more efficient practices create shorter lead times and
allow for goods and services to be delivered faster

3. Just in Time (JIT)

It originally referred to the production of goods to meet customer demand exactly, in time,
quality and quantity, whether the `customer' is the final purchaser of the product or another
process further along the production line.

It has now come to mean producing with minimum waste. "Waste" is taken in its most general
sense and includes time and resources as well as materials.

Elements of JIT include:

 Continuous improvement.
o Attacking fundamental problems - anything that does not add value to the product.
o Devising systems to identify problems.
o Striving for simplicity - simpler systems may be easier to understand, easier to
manage and less likely to go wrong.
o A product oriented layout - produces less time spent moving of materials and parts.
o Quality control at source - each worker is responsible for the quality of their own
output.
o Poka-yoke - `foolproof' tools, methods, jigs etc. prevent mistakes
o Preventative maintenance, Total productive maintenance - ensuring machinery and
equipment functions perfectly when it is required, and continually improving it.
 Eliminating waste. There are seven types of waste:
o waste from overproduction.
o waste of waiting time.
o transportation waste.
o processing waste.
o inventory waste.
o waste of motion.
o waste from product defects.

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  Good housekeeping - workplace cleanliness and organisation.
 Set-up time reduction - increases flexibility and allows smaller batches. Ideal batch size
is 1item. Multi-process handling - a multi-skilled workforce has greater productivity,
flexibility and job satisfaction.
 Levelled / mixed production - means producing each part type required by the customer
in a time interval equal to customer demand to smooth the flow of products through the
factory.
 Kanbans - Kanban is a popular framework used to implement real-time communication of
capacity and full transparency of work. Work items are represented visually on a kanban
board, allowing team members to see the state of every piece of work at any time.
 Jidoka (Autonomation) - These days, machines are built with the capacity to identify
problems and stop when something goes wrong. We have Jidoka to thank for that. This
concept originated with an automatic loom invented by Sakichi Toyoda in the late 19th
century. Toyoda’s machine would stop when a thread broke. When the machine stopped,
a person would step in and work to find the root cause of the problem before any other
defective products were made. providing machines with the autonomous capability to use
judgement, so workers can do more useful things than standing watching them work.
 Andon (trouble lights) - The color flashing on the Andon tower light represents the
condition of the system and the action that needs to be taken. For example, if the Andon
is:

o Green: Condition is normal; operations continue

o Yellow: A problem has appeared; the problem needs to be investigated and identified
o Red: Production has stopped; a supervisor or manager is needed
o Electronic Andons can display the state of current processes on a screen, and images or
text can change color. Some Andons can even have audio elements that play coded tones
with different tunes used for different alerts.

4. Collaborative manufacturing
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a change towards collaborative
manufacturing partnerships and joint ventures to keep up with the fast
developments and to remain at the forefront of the industry. Flexible multi-party
contracts and co-manufacturers are increasing in popularity. This allows
organizations to reallocate their money to other business areas and scale up
rapidly instead of having it bound to production. They also gain access to new
talent pools, new insights, greater networks and increased global reach.
Key points:
-Collaboration is essential in the new era of manufacturing.
-A collaboration hub can improve efficiency, reduce risk, and support users.
-Manufacturers need to be flexible and focus on mutual benefit agreements and
partnerships.

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-Improved data sharing is essential, and a collaboration hub can help reduce IP
loss or theft.
5. Intelligent manufacturing
“Intelligent manufacturing” (IM) means using the combined intelligence of people,
processes and machines, to impact the overall economics of manufacturing. Its
purpose is to optimize manufacturing resources, improve business value and
safety, and reduce waste – both on the floor and in back office operations, all while
meeting customer demands for delivery and quality. Manufacturers achieve this
with the latest manufacturing execution system (MES), intelligent devices,
machine-to-machine communication, and data analysis for its production lines and
facilities.
Manufacturers today face a lot of challenges. Customers are demanding more and
more customizations which results in having smaller production batches, frequent
changes, and more waste. Supply lines are also decreasing and there is increased
outsourcing. To compete, manufacturers need to optimize the productivity of their
expensive equipment, reduce waste, maximize yields, and reduce cycle times. New
capabilities for processing sensor data, along with big data, machine learning and
artificial intelligence, cloud and edge technologies are enabling a shift from
reactive problem solving towards increasingly proactive management of
equipment, processes, product and factories.
6. Production Planning
Production planning is a broad discipline that involves much more than a focus on
manufacturing process efficiency. It is intertwined with nearly every other aspect
of the business, including finance, sales, inventory and human resources.
Production planning activities include demand forecasting to determine the right
mix of products to meet customer needs, as well as selecting the optimal approach
to building those products. Production planning also assesses the resources
needed to meet production goals and lays out in detail all the operations in the
production process. Production plans must include the flexibility to make
operational adjustments when problems occur — such as machine breakdowns,
staffing shortages and supply-chain problems.
benefits of production planning include:

Knowledge. A production plan provides a framework for understanding the

resources and production steps required to meet customer needs. It also helps
companies understand the potential problems that may occur during production
and how to mitigate them.
Efficiency. Detailed production planning reduces bottlenecks and helps minimize
costs. It also helps ensure the high quality of a product, and it keeps expenses on
budget.

22
Customer satisfaction. Production planning helps ensure that the company can
make and deliver products to customers on time, leading to higher customer
satisfaction and a greater likelihood of repeat business.
7. Product Design and Development
The product design and development process is creating a new product or
improving an existing one. It involves research, market analysis, concept creation,
prototyping, and testing. The goal is to create a product that meets the needs of
the customer and is profitable for the company.
8. Supply Chain Management

At the most fundamental level, supply chain management (SCM) is management of the flow of goods,
data, and finances related to a product or service, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery
of the product at its final destination.

TOPIC 4: Lean Manufacturing and the Environment

Definition of lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste within
manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity.

History of lean Manufacturing

In order to understand the history of Lean, we must go back to the start of modern
manufacturing. Henry Ford was the first to truly integrate a production system
called ‘mass-production’, which manufactures large quantities of standardized
products. Ford created what he called a flow production, which involves
continuous movement of elements through the production process. Ford used mass
production to fabricate and assemble the components of his vehicles within a few
minutes rather than hours or days. Unlike craft production, the mass production
system delivered perfectly fitted components that are interchangeable. This
process was very successful and allowed the Ford Motor Company to produce over
15 million Model T cars between 1908 and 1927. During World War II, the US
military adopted Ford’s mass production system.

In 1926, Sakichi Toyoda founded the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. Several years
later, the company changed its name to Toyota when it began producing
automobiles. In 1950, Eiji Toyoda, the nephew of Sakichi, participated in a three-
month visit to the Rouge plant of Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. At the time, the
Dearborn facility was Ford’s most complex and largest manufacturing facility. It
produced nearly 8000 cars per day while Toyota only produced 2500 cars each
year.

After studying Ford’s production system, Eiji Toyoda understood that the mass

23
production system employed by Ford cannot be used by Toyota. The Japanese
market was too small and diverse for mass production. The customer’s
requirements ranged from compact cars to the most luxurious vehicles. Ford’s
mass-production system focused on the amount of production instead of the
customer’s voice. Toyota collaborated with Taiichi Ohno to develop a new means of
production. They concluded that through right-sizing machines for the actual
required volume and introducing self-monitoring machines, they can make
products faster, lower in cost, higher in quality, and most importantly higher in
variety! Ohno faced the challenge of trading off between productivity and quality.
His experiments led to developing several novel ideas that became known as the
‘Toyota Production System’.

The Toyota Production System

The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two concepts: The
first is called "Jidoka" (can loosely be translated as "automation with a human
touch") which means that when a problem occurs, the equipment stops
immediately, preventing defective products from being produced. The second is
the concept of "Just-in-Time," in which each process produces only what is needed
by the next process in a continuous flow.

24
Toyota Production System (Lexicon, 2008)

With Jidoka, the equipment stops when a problem arises. This allows a single
worker to visually monitor and efficiently control many machines. As problems
arose, the workers must solve them right away otherwise the whole production line
stops. This brings problems to the surface and promotes identifying and resolving
problems at their root causes.

The idea behind “Just-in-Time” is simple - make only “what is needed, when it is
needed, and in the amount needed”. Using Just-in-Time, Toyota is able to produce
high quality products efficiently through the elimination of waste. Based on the
basic philosophies of Jidoka and Just-in-Time, the TPS can efficiently and quickly
produce products of sound quality, one at a time, that fully satisfy customer
requirements.

The Principles of Lean

The principles of Lean were first introduced in the book The Machine That
Changed the World (1991) by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones and Daniel Roos.
The authors studied several manufacturing systems and wrote the book based on
their observations at Toyota. The Lean Enterprise Institute summarized these
principles to the following:
1. Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family.
2. Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating
whenever possible those steps that do not create value.
3. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow
smoothly towards the customer.
4. As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.
5. As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed,
and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a
state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste.

Womack and Jones recommend that managers and executives embarked on

lean transformations think about three things:
 Purpose: What customer problems will the enterprise solve to achieve its
own purpose of prospering?

 Process: How will the organization assess each major value stream to make
sure each step is valuable, capable, available, adequate, flexible, and that all
the steps are linked by flow, pull, and leveling?

25
  People: How can the organization ensure that every important process has
someone responsible for continually evaluating that value stream in terms of
business purpose and lean process? How can everyone touching the value
stream be actively engaged in operating it correctly and continually
improving it?
It is important to align the purpose, process, and people when developing a Lean
organization. In a Lean organization, problems are seen as opportunities for
meaningful learning rather than errors to be swept under the rug. Managers act as
coaches and help others get comfortable with identifying problems and practice
continuous improvement on a daily basis. Lean leaders also create an environment
that is engaging and conducive to learning. They are hands-on and work with their
team on the factory floor to truly understand problems.

Lean was previously seen as a collection of tools and techniques, but it is now
widely recognized as a fundamental business philosophy. According to Diekmann,
“Lean cannot be reduced to a set of rules or tools. It must be approached as a
system of thinking and behavior that is shared throughout the value stream”. Lean
thinking is no longer limited to the manufacturing industry. It has been modified
and applied to several other industries, such as the construction industry,
healthcare, software, and many more. It has been shown that organizations that
consistently practice Lean are more innovative and competitive, which in turn
allows them to be more profitable and sustainable.

Importance of lean Manufacturing

1. Quality Improvements
Improved processes and efficiency naturally lead to higher quality products.
2. Improved Productivity
More efficiency means higher productivity and better allocation of human
resources.
3. Saves Resources
Beyond the obvious of reducing waste, lean manufacturing saves valuable time and
money, allowing manufacturers to allocate resources elsewhere.
4. Better Lead Times
More efficient production means quicker turnaround and/or lead times.
5. Improved Customer Service and Satisfaction
Happy customers translate to higher customer retention and a stronger brand
reputation.
6. Improved Employee Satisfaction
Employees who are satisfied in their roles are more likely to do good work and
better contribute to the productivity of the company.
7. Better Sustainability
Lean manufacturing can lead to better sustainability in an economy rife with stiff
competition, barriers, and challenges
Above all, as a result of all of the above-mentioned benefits, manufacturers will see
increased profits and more business opportunities.

26
Tools and methods used in Lean Implementation
1. Kaizen rapid improvement process
The Rapid Improvement Event (RIE) is a standard approach to team-based problem
solving. The RIE helps teams focus on process problems that are beyond the day-
to-day work. The Rapid Improvement Event is a fundamental and popular
Operational Excellence technique.
Rapid Improvement Event Approach
RIEs are highly facilitated sessions that bring a team together, usually 5 to 9
individuals who work within the process along with representatives from upstream
(suppliers) and downstream (customers). The standard sequence of events is:
o Define the scope and form the team
o Kick off the event and train the team in the basics (Lean, waste, problem
solving, teamwork, etc.)
o Map the process and collect data
o Dissect the problem into its elements
o Develop and prioritize solutions
o Report results
o Close action items according to plan

2. Total productive Maintenance

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a holistic approach to equipment
maintenance that strives to achieve perfect production: No Breakdowns. No Small
Stops or Slow Running.

The Eight TPM Pillars

The eight pillars of TPM are mostly focused on proactive and preventative techniques for
improving equipment reliability .
Pillar What Is It? How Does It Help?

Autonomous Places  Gives operators greater

Maintenance responsibility
“ownership” of their
for routine
equipment.
maintenance,
such as  Increases operators’
cleaning, knowledge of their
lubricating, and equipment.
inspection, in
 Ensures equipment is well-
the hands of

27
Pillar What Is It? How Does It Help?

operators. cleaned and lubricated.

 Identifies emergent issues
before they become failures.
 Frees maintenance personnel
for higher-level tasks.

Planned Schedules  Significantly reduces

Maintenance maintenance
instances of unplanned stop
tasks based on
time.
predicted
and/or  Enables most maintenance to
measured be planned for times when
failure rates. equipment is not scheduled
for production.
 Reduces inventory through
better control of wear-prone
and failure-prone parts.

Quality Design error  Specifically targets quality

Maintenance detection and
issues with improvement
prevention into
projects focused on removing
production
processes. root sources of defects.
Apply Root  Reduces number of defects.
Cause Analysis  Reduces cost by catching
to eliminate
defects early (it is expensive
recurring
and unreliable to find defects
sources of
quality defects. through inspection).

28
Pillar What Is It? How Does It Help?

Focused Have small  Recurring problems are

Improvement groups of
identified and resolved by
employees
cross-functional teams.
work together
proactively to  Combines the collective
achieve talents of a company to
regular, create an engine for
incremental
continuous improvement.
improvements
in equipment
operation.

Early Directs  New equipment reaches

Equipment practical
planned performance levels
Management knowledge and
much faster due to fewer
understanding
of startup issues.
manufacturing  Maintenance is simpler and
equipment more robust due to practical
gained through
review and employee
TPM towards
involvement prior to
improving the
design of new installation.
equipment.

Training and Fill in  Operators develop skills to

Education knowledge gaps
routinely maintain equipment
necessary to
and identify emerging
achieve TPM
goals. Applies problems.
to operators,  Maintenance personnel learn
maintenance techniques for proactive and
personnel and
preventative maintenance.

29
 Pillar What Is It? How Does It Help?

managers.  Managers are trained on TPM

principles as well as on
employee coaching and
development.

Safety, Maintain a safe  Eliminates potential health

Health, and healthy
and safety risks, resulting in
Environment working
a safer workplace.
environment.
 Specifically targets the goal
of an accident-free
workplace.

TPM in Apply TPM  Extends TPM benefits beyond

Administratio techniques to
the plant floor by addressing
n administrative
waste in administrative
functions.
functions.
 Supports production through
improved administrative
operations (e.g., order
processing, procurement, and
scheduling).

3. Cellular Manufacturing/one piece production systems

Cellular manufacturing is a manufacturing process that arranges workstations and

equipment in a sequence to enable products to move through the manufacturing
process with maximum velocity while minimizing waste and logistical effort. A
subset of just-in-time and lean manufacturing, cellular manufacturing aims to

30
arrange equipment, machines, parts bins, tools, and workstations to accommodate
an optimized flow of continuous production from one cell to the next.

Rather than processing a batch of components in a workstation simultaneously,

cells are usually designed to pass parts through one at a time. This enables
quickly producing a wider variety of similar products as individual cells can be
adjusted independently without having to rearrange the whole assembly line every
time a variation is ordered.

Each cell is a clearly defined, self-sufficient production unit. Depending on the cell
sequence, cells can have specialized workers assigned per cell or be cross-trained
to oversee the work of adjacent cells or the whole cell sequence. While a cell may
produce finished parts from start to finish, in most cases, cells are arranged in a
flow wherein the output of a previous cell is input for the next one.
This type of batch-and-queue production typically results in:
 High amounts of work-in-process inventory
 Long manufacturing lead times
 Poor on-time delivery
 Higher rate of defects

4. Just in Time |production Systems/Kanban

The kanban system can be thought of as a signal and response system. When an
item is running low at an operational station, there will be a visual cue specifying
how much to order from the supply. The person using the parts makes the order
for the quantity indicated by the kanban and the supplier provides the exact
amount requested.
key takeaways
 Kanban (Japanese for sign) is an inventory control system used in just-in-
time (JIT) manufacturing to track production and order new shipments of
parts and materials.
 Kanban was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota,
and uses visual cues to prompt the action needed to keep a process flowing.
 One of the main goals of kanban is to limit the buildup of excess inventory at
any point on the production line.
 Kanban also strives to limit bottlenecks by promoting communication and
information sharing between individuals and departments.
 Successful implementation of kanban may lead to reduced expenses, greater
customer satisfaction, more efficient processes, and minimized risk due to
unforeseen problems.

5. Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a set of methodologies and tools used to improve business processes
by reducing defects and errors, minimizing variation, and increasing quality and
efficiency. The goal of Six Sigma is to achieve a level of quality that is nearly
perfect, with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This is achieved by using a

31
structured approach called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)
to identify and eliminate causes of variation and improve processes.

The Six Sigma Process of the DMAIC method has five phases:

Each of the above phases of business transformation has several steps:

define
The Six Sigma process begins with a customer-centric approach.

Step 1: The business problem is defined from the customer perspective.

Step 2: Goals are set. What do you want to achieve? What are the resources you
will use to achieve the goals?
Step 3: Map the process. Verify with the stakeholders that you are on the right
track.
measure
The second phase is focused on the metrics of the project and the tools used in the
measurement. How can you improve? How can you quantify this?

Step 1: Measure your problem in numbers or with supporting data.

Step 2: Define performance yardstick. Fix the limits for "Y."
Step 3: Evaluate the measurement system to be used. Can it help you achieve your
outcome?
analyze
The third phase analyzes the process to discover the influencing variables.

Step 1: Determine if your process is efficient and effective. Does the process help
achieve what you need?
Step 2: Quantify your goals in numbers. For instance, reduce defective goods by
20%.
Step 3: Identify variations using historical data.
improve
This process investigates how the changes in "X" impact "Y." This phase is where
you identify how you can improve the process implementation.

Step 1: Identify possible reasons. Test to identify which of the "X" variables
identified in Process III influence "Y."
Step 2: Discover relationships between the variables.
Step 3: Establish process tolerance, defined as the precise values that certain
variables can have, and still fall within acceptable boundaries, for instance, the
quality of any given product. Which boundaries need X to hold Y within
specifications? What operating conditions can impact the outcome? Process
tolerances can be achieved by using tools like robust optimization and validation
set.
control

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In this final phase, you determine that the performance objective identified in the
previous phase is well implemented and that the designed improvements are
sustainable.

Step 1: Validate the measurement system to be used.

Step 2: Establish process capability. Is the goal being met? For instance, will the
goal of reducing defective goods by 20 percent be achieved?
Step 3: Once the previous step is satisfied, implement the process.

Pre-Production Planning
Pre-Production planning is “the administrative process that takes place within a
manufacturing business and that involves making sure that sufficient raw
materials, staff and other necessary items are procured and ready to create
finished products according to the schedule specified”, as defined by the Business
Dictionary.

A pre-production plan serves as a guide for your company’s production activities. It

establishes and sequences activities which must be carried out to achieve a
production target, so that all staff involved are aware of who needs to do what,
when, where and how.

A pre-production plan will help you meet product demand while minimizing
production time and cost by improving process flow, reducing the waiting time
between operations, and optimizing use of plant, equipment and inventory. In
order to do this, you must align your production plan to your business strategy and
business plan, and support production planning by coordinating with other
departments, such as procurement, finance and marketing.

the pre-production planning and control process divided in five steps:

Step 1: forecast the demand of your product

Step 2: determine potential options for production
Step 3: choose the option for production that use the combination of resources
more effectively
Step 4: monitor and control
Step 5: Adjust
STEP 1. Forecast the demand of your product
Estimate your demand, so that you know how many products you need to produce
during a specific time period. You may have already some confirmed orders for the
next couple of month, but on top of that, you need to predict how many more may
come.

Different methods exist to forecast your product demand. A traditional technique

to estimate product demand is based on historical information (e.g. orders placed
by your customers in the past). While this is a very common method, you need to
consider external and internal events in your business environment that could alter

33
past patterns. For example, new market trends, a slowdown in the economy, or a
new marketing campaign that could increase or decrease your product demand
compared to what happened in the past.

STEP 2. Determine potential options for production

Determine the different production options available to meet the forecasted

demand of your product. For example, if you want to produce 100 shirts, you need
to use a certain number of machines, human resources, materials, and time.
Different combinations of these inputs can lead to different production times and
costs.

a. Start by mapping all the steps of your production process. When doing so, take
into account if tasks are sequenced or dependent on other tasks, or if they happen
simultaneously or independently. Below is an example of how a simple process-
mapping flowchart could look. Each box represents a task of your production
process. The map of the production process will be different and unique to each
company. Think about how to improve process flow by eliminating bottlenecks.

b. Determine the resources needed to complete each task involved in your

production process.

Look at how different combination of resources lead to different production times

and costs:

Human Resources. Determine the number of staff that will be involved in each
phase of the production process, their availability, and the cost. Make sure their
time is well utilized.
Machinery and Equipment. Identify the machines needed and their availability,
including any maintenance or replacement that may be needed.
Materials. Make a list of all the materials needed for production and how you
obtain them. Assess the reliability of your suppliers, including delivery time.
Having materials available when needed is crucial for the production process.
Inventory. It is important that you consider how to optimize your inventory.
Keeping a large inventory is expensive, but keeping a low inventory is risky if
demand fluctuates on a regular basis. Having a good inventory control system in
place can help your firm accommodate variations in demand and mitigate possible
problems or delays that may occur during the production process. For more
information about how to manage your inventory, check out the video.

STEP 3. Choose the option for production that uses the combination of
resources more effectively
Compare the cost and time of each potential production option and choose the
option that uses the most efficient combination of resources and that allows you to

34
meet product demand. The chosen option should maximize the operational
capacity of your firm.
Always make sure you can cover the costs involved in the production process
(purchase of materials, office rent, payment of staff salary, leasing, etc.)
You need to share your production plan with all the departments and staff that
contribute or interact with the production process, including human resources,
procurement, finances, marketing, etc. If everybody knows what to do, and what
materials and equipment should be used for each task of the production process,
operations will be smoother.
STEP 4. Monitor and control
You want to ensure that your plan is working in the way it is intended. Monitoring
and controlling is about comparing what is happening with what should be
happening. Having a control system in place helps you detect problems as soon as
they occur, allowing you more time to correct before it is too late.
STEP 5. Adjust
Be prepared to adjust the plan if needed. The production plan needs to be flexible
to accommodate changes in customers’ demand (e.g. an important order that gets
cancelled). Also, you need to take into account possible risks that may arise during
the production process (e.g. a machine breaks, a worker gets sick or a supplier
does not deliver on time) and have a risk mitigation plan.

TOPIC 6 BPR Implementation Methodology

Reasons for Implementation of BPR
 BPR may not suit all types of businesses because it depends on factors like
size and availability of resources. It is most beneficial to large-sized
organizations. Moreover, BPR may not work for all types of business
processes.
 There are chances of a BPR implementation improving the efficiency of a
department or team at the cost of overall process efficiency.
 BPR does not provide instant resolution of business outcomes, it contributes
more towards the long-term business benefits. Long-term collaborations
require more effort and time.
 Requires significant investment of IT resources along with proper planning,
exceptional execution, and strong teamwork.

Key concepts of BPR

 Work change — For BPR to work, serious alterations must be made within
the work environment. These changes affect the way the organization works
and affect the social structure. For BPR to work, changes to the work
environment must be understood to be continuous so that BPR will be a
perfect fit for the workplace it aims to improve.
 Technology change — Technology is a major part of business for
communication, security, and automation. For BPR to work, certain

35
 redundant technologies must be identified and then marked for
improvement or elimination.
 Planned versus reactive change — For BPR to work, the type of change to
each process must be identified as some may need to be planned well in
advance while others may need to be reactional concerning events or
emergencies.
 Utilize the KISS principle — Keep it simple, stupid (KISS) is a design
principle which states that designs and/or systems should be as simple as
possible. Wherever possible, complexity should be avoided in a system—as
simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction.
This means using the assertion that the best functioning systems are simple
rather than complicated.
 Changing focus to the customer — This change is necessary as it is geared
towards results instead of activities. It ensures an effective turnaround that
can be measured by external performance.
 Focus on the future rather than maintaining the status quo — This means
that the business must return to core operations and ensure its future
instead of merely maintaining its status in the business world.

Steps of process Reengineering

1. Define Business Processes. Map the current state (work activities,

workflows, roles and reporting relationships, supporting technology,
business rules, etc.). See my whitepaper, “10 Perilous Misconceptions of
Censuring Current State Mapping & Analysis” for additional insight.
2. Analyze Business Processes. Identify gaps, root causes, strategic
disconnects, etc. in the context of improving organizational effectiveness,
operational efficiency and in achieving organizational strategic objectives.
3. Identify and Analyze Improvement Opportunities. Identify, analyze and
validate opportunities to address the gaps and root causes identified during
analysis. This step also includes identifying and validating improvement
opportunities that are forward facing – often strategic transformational
opportunities that are not tethered to current state process.
4. Design Future State Processes. Select the improvement opportunities
identified above that have the most impact on organizational effectiveness,
operational efficiency, and that will achieve organizational strategic
objectives. Make sure to select opportunities for which the organization has
the budget, time, talent, etc. to implement in the project timeframe. Create a
forward-facing future-state map that comprehends the selected
opportunities.
5. Develop Future State Changes. Frequently overlooked (and a key root
cause in failed BPR initiatives), this is where the above opportunities are
operationalized before implementation. New workflows and procedures need
to be designed and communicated, new/enhanced functionality is developed

36
 and tested, etc. Changes and opportunities cannot be implemented until
they are operationalized.
6. Implement Future State Changes. Classic implementation based on
dependencies among changes/opportunities, change management, project
management, performance monitoring, etc.

Different Phases of BPR

Phase One: Planning Phase:
A close look is taken at the process to be reengineered. The requirements for the
“new” process are forecasted by focusing on the current and future needs of
customers, analysing what is currently accomplished by the old process, creating a
vision of what is to be achieved by the reengineered process and zeroing in on the
differences between the two. At the end of this phase, the reengineering team
should have a good grip on reality. If the planning results in a great desire to
change, the reengineering team will process to the next phase.

Phase Two: Design Phase:

This phase involves designing a reengineered process which starts with actual
mapping of the new process and moves to the development of a change
management plan. In between these two steps, the jobs are redefined and
redesigned, taking a careful look at the technology available and considering the
organisation’s resources.

Phase Three: Implementation Phase:

This phase involves implementing a reengineered process. The new process is
tested and its success is gauged. An atmosphere of continuous process
improvement is promoted in which employees strive to make improvements that
make a difference to the customer.

Implementation of BPR
BPR implementation is a series of waves that can wash over the organization for
years, leaving a system for continuous improvement. It must be undertaken with a
clean slate approach to process design. Only then can companies avoid a classic
reengineering pitfall of focusing on fixing the status quo.

Implementation of the Business Process Reengineering requires that new

infrastructures are planned and built to support this Business Transformation. The
full commitment of senior executives on its redesign and implementation must also
be present to ensure the success of the reengineering project.

It is essential that organizations have a good understanding of the success factors,

as well as root causes of failure. While reengineering projects can succeed, it can
also fail. There are 4 practices that are the most damaging.

BPR Model

37
BPR Characteristics

1. Several jobs are combined into one: The feature of re-engineered process is
absence of an assembly line. The formerly distinct tasks/ jobs are combined and
compressed into one. The jobs are combined mostly based on the needs and
preference of the customer.
2. When jobs are integrated, the chances of errors are reduced, eliminates
misunderstandings, delays and reworking are minimized.
3. Workers make decisions as they are required to do so. Jobs are combined,
both horizontally but also vertically. In other words jobs are compressed based on
job enlargement and job enrichment. Vertical integration incorporates the tasks of
decision making in the top ladders of the hierarchy. In addition, the workers in the
re-engineering are empowered. The empowered workers are motivated and self
determined to make decision. Decision-making is part of the work of the workers.
4. Compressing the work both horizontally and vertically reduces delays,
overhead costs and betterment of response and satisfaction of customers.
5. The steps in the process are performed in a natural order straight-line
sequence is avoided in the re-engineering. Activities are performed not in artificial
order but in natural order. This process is termed as ‘De-linearising’ which allows
performing of many jobs simultaneously. This process reduces the process time
and thereby delay.

38
Different BPR Methodologies

1. The Hammer/Champy Methodology

Hammer/Champy popularized Business Reengineering. Hammer, a former M.I.T.

professor turned into a consultant, and Champy, president of the world-wide
consulting company CSC Index, define Business Reengineering as a fundamental
rethinking and radical redesign of mission critical business processes
(Hammer/Champy, 1993). Hammer/Champy see poor management and unclear
objectives as the main problems to Business Reengineering success. Only just
recently they acknowledge people`s resistance as a major obstacle to Business
Reengineering`s successful implementation (Davenport, 1996). Their Business
Reengineering methodology, which was fine-tuned by Champy`s consulting
company, breaks into six steps

Project Steps Objectives

1. Introduction into The CEO initiates the project. She

Business describes briefly and pragmatically the
Reengineering current business situation to start
2. actions. She introduces her vision to
the employees of the company.

 Identification of This step looks at the broad picture, of

Business Processes how processes interact within the
 company and in relation to the outside
world. One deliverable is a graphical
display of all processes.

 Selection of Business The third step serves to select such

Processes processes , which - once reengineered -
 will lead to high value for the
company's customers. Also processes,
that lend themselves to easy
reengineering are being selected.

 Understanding the This step does not dwell on a detailed

Selected Business analysis of the functioning of the
Processes selected business processes, rather
 concentrates on the performance of the
current processes as opposed to what

39
 is expected from them in the future.

 Redesign of the The fifth step is according to

Selected Business Hammer/Champy the most creative of
Processes all. It is characterized by imagination,
 lateral thinking and some sort of
craziness.

 Implementation of The last step covers the

Redesigned Business implementation phase of the Business
Processes Reengineering project.
 Hammer/Champy do not talk about
implementation as much as about
project planning. They believe in the
success of the implementation, once
the five preliminary steps have been
properly performed.

Table 2.4.1./1 The Hammer/Champy Methodology

2. The Davenport Methodology

Davenport puts Information Technology at the heart of Business Reengineering.

For Davenport Information Technology possesses the most important role for
innovating Business Processes. Despite his emphasis on innovation and technology,
Davenport states, that organizational and human resource issues are more central,
than technology issues to the behavior issues, that must occur to within a business
process. Davenport sees culture as a constraint, when there is a poor process
innovation to cultural fit. With regard to managing the change, Davenport
emphasizes traditional management functions, like planning, directing, monitoring,
decision making and communicating (Davenport/Short, 1990 and Davenport,
1993).

Davenport is convinced, that Business Reengineering should better integrate with

the other non-revolutionary (incremental) process approaches, like Total Quality
Management (Davenport, 1996). His methodology covers six steps

Project Steps Objectives

1. Visioning and The first step is needed to focus all

subsequent actions on company visions

40
 Goalsetting and process goals. Cost reduction is
considered an important goal, yet
Davenport warns against concentrating
too much on cost-cutting, because
other goals, such as worker
satisfaction, reduction of time
requirements, and improvement of
process performance might be
discriminated against.

2.Identification of This step identifies the business

Business Processes processes, which should be
reengineered. Davenport advises
Business Reengineering teams to
concentrate on a few important, not
more than 15 core processes.

3. Understand and The third step studies the exact

Measure Processes functioning and performance of the
selected Business Processes. This
differentiates Davenport from the
Hammer/Champy approach. Davenport
in particular wants to make sure, that
during the process redesign old
practices are not being "reinvented"
and performance benchmarks for the
redesigned processes are being set up.

4. Information The fourth step serves to study the

Technology applicability of Information Technology
tools and applications for the newly
designed work processes.

5.Process Prototype This step covers the design of a

functioning prototype of the new
Business Process. People in the
company study this prototype, develop
ideas for enhancements and make
themselves comfortable with the
redesign of their work processes.

6. Implementation The last step serves to implement the

tested prototype on a company-wide
basis. Davenport considers this step
crucial to the success of the overall

41
 effort, since implementation takes
roughly double as long (minimum one
year) as the foregoing steps.

3. The Manganelli/Klein Methodology

Manganelli/Klein argue, to only concentrate on those Business Processes, that

directly support the strategic goals of the company and customer requirements.
Product development (a knowledge process) is such a preferred Business Process.
The see organizational impact, time, risk, and cost as obstacles to success. They
claim, Business Reengineering to be more successful than incremental change
initiatives, which tend to fail more often (Manganelli/Klein, 1994).

The Manganelli/Klein Business Reengineering methodology Rapid-Re (tm), which is

supplemented by the Rapid-Re Reengineering Software toolset for Microsoft
Windows (tm), breaks into five steps (Table 2.4.1./3).

Project Steps Objectives

1. Preparation The first step asks all directly involved

persons to define goals and to prepare
for the Business Reengineering project.

2.Identification This step defines a customer oriented

process model of the organisation, as
well as select key business processes
for redesign.

3. Vision The third step serves to define at which

performance level the processes
currently delivers, and which higher
level is required for the future.

4. Re-Design This step breaks into two parallel sub-

 Technical Design steps The Technical Design deals with
Social Design Information Technology Design to
support the new processes. The Social
Design step serves to design new work
environments for the people, including
organizational and personnel

42
 development plans.

5.ransformation The fifth step is meant to implement

the redesigned processes and work
environments within the organization.

4. The Kodak Methodology

The international Kodak organization developed a Business Reengineering

methodology that is being applied to Kodak facilities around the world. Similar to
other practitioner approaches, has the Kodak methodology been influenced by
Hammer/Champy. The Kodak methodology breaks into five steps (Kodak, 1995):

Project Steps Objectives

1. Project Initiation The first step is considered key. It

covers project planning and definition
of all project administration rules and
procedures.

2.Process This step sets the project team up,

Understanding designs a comprehensive process
model for the organization and assigns
process managers, who will be
responsible for the redesigned process
after implementation.

3.New Process Design The third step covers the redesign of

selected Business Processes, taking
into account the potentials of
Information Technology. This step ends
with the planning of a Pilot
Implementation of the redesigned
processes.

4. Business Transition The fourth step is focused towards the

implementation of the newly designed
processes within the organization. Part
of this step is the adaptation of the
organization's infrastructure to the
requirements of the newly designed

43
 processes.

5.Change Management The last step is being performed

parallel to the first four steps. The
project team handles barriers, which
crop up during the course of the
Business Reengineering project.

TOPIC 7 Organizational Redesign using BPR

Performance measures of BPR

 Efficiency Indicators
 Effectiveness Indicators
 Capacity Indicators
 Productivity Indicators
 Quality Indicators
 Profitability Indicators
 Competitiveness Indicators
 Value Indicators

Efficiency Indicators vs. Effectiveness Indicators

Effectiveness is the relationship between the expected results and the obtained results: the best
way to do that is = achieve the expected results.

Efficiency is the relationship between the results achieved, and the resources used = making
things the best way using the least amount of resources.

We can say that efficiency is to be effective using a minimum of resources. Focusing on the
process and resources applied to, for example, reduce costs. Effectiveness already focuses on the
product and the obtained results and can bring benefits, through higher profits.

Capacity Indicators: The ratio between the amount that can be produced and the time for this to
occur. For example, the automaker X is capable of producing 200 cars per month.

Productivity Indicators: The ratio between the outputs generated by a job and the resources
used to do it. Example: A worker can install 20 m2 of flooring in an hour. Another can install
only 17 m2 of flooring in an hour. Therefore, he is less productive than the first. See also How
do you increase productivity at work? Check out 5 valuable tips.

44
Quality Indicators: The relationship between total output (total produced) and the outputs
suitable and appropriate for use, i.e., without faults or deformities. Example: 980 pieces suitable
for every 1,000 produced (98% compliance).

Profitability Indicators: The percentage relationship between profit and total sales. Example: a
company that sold US$200,000.00 of goods and calculated a US$20,000.00 profit. So
profitability is 10%.

Return on Investment (ROI) Indicators: The percentage relationship between the profit and
the investment made in the company. Example: the same company from the previous example
invested US$500,000.00, with a US$20,000.00 profit. The yield was 4%.

Competitiveness Indicators: A company’s relationship with the competition. Market share can
be used for this.

Effectiveness Indicators: Effectiveness is the combination of efficacy with efficiency.

Value Indicator: The relationship between the perceived value when you get something (a
product, for example) and the amount spent to obtain it.

Threads of BPR in various Phases

 Initiation
The Initiation Phase may be triggered as a result of business process improvement
activities, changes in business functions and advances in information.
 Acquisition

 Implementation

Sustainment and continuous improvement

Sustainment and continuous improvement should focus on the following areas;

1) Focus on gradual small changes instead of major shifts

The first advice is to focus on small gradual changes rather than large changes. Small
changes can be made quickly, on a daily-basis, and are typically inexpensive. By focusing on
small changes, you can remove barriers from just starting a continuous improvement process.
This focus will allow your team to reap the benefits of their “small wins” right away. As more
and more small changes are applied, your team will see an accumulation of benefits from them.
This will give them more confidence to suggest more ideas.

2) Prioritize ideas that are inexpensive

By going after the ideas that do not require a large amount of investment, you can remove the
financial barriers of your continuous improvement efforts. This process can empower the line

45
worker to suggest and implement ideas that can improve their working process because they
know that their changes do not need upper management approval. Some ideas such as reducing
waste, eliminating unnecessary steps, and re-organizing in the work processes fall into this
category.

3) Gather ideas from the people doing the work

In a Lean and continuous improvement organization employees are your greatest asset and
should also be the source of generating new ideas for improvement. No one knows the work
better than the person who performs it everyday. No one has more “skin in the game” about the
working process than that person. As a result, the best person to suggest ideas for improvement
and to implement them is the line worker.

4) Empower employees for improvement

Although employees play a vital part in the continuous improvement process, it is management’s
role to train and empower them. Most workers are unaware of Lean principles and practices such
as 5S, the 8 wastes, value stream mapping, visual management, Kaizen, etc. As a result, they
may not realize that many of the processes that they perform everyday and the frustration that
they feel at work are due to unnecessary waste. Additionally some workers are modest and
reluctant to share ideas. It is management’s role to educate their staff on Lean tools and
techniques that can be applied to the continuous improvement process and to help their
employees overcome any personal or psychological barrier that prevents them from trying out
new ideas.

5) Use regular feedback

An effective continuous improvement program needs continuous measurement and feedback.

Before you can start, you need to understand the baselines of your organization’s performance.
Only by understanding and establishing a baseline can you evaluate new ideas for improving
upon it. One effective way of gathering feedback on your continuous improvement efforts is to
apply the Plan-Do-Check-Check (PDCA) cycle. The PDCA cycle allows you to scientifically
test your experiments. The cycle ensures continuous improvement by measuring the performance
difference between the baseline and target condition. This gives immediate feedback on the
effectiveness of the change. If the idea was effective, the next cycle of improvement will start
with the new baseline and your goal is to move towards a new target condition.

6) Measure the impacts

Measuring the impacts of your continuous improvement program is the most effective way of
sustaining it. By showing an ROI in your program, you can get more organizational support and
funding for improvement initiatives.
ome questions to ask when measuring the impacts of your improvements include:
 Did the change reduce our costs?

46
  Did the change increase our revenues?
 Did the change decrease the amount of time required?
 Did the change improve worker’s safety?
 Did the change improve worker’s satisfaction?
 Did the change improve quality?
 Did the change improve reliability?
 Did the change improve sustainability?

Not all change can be measured quantitatively via a ROI. However, there are always qualitative
ways to document the impact of the change on the organization. By capturing both quantitative
and qualitative impacts of your improvements, you can increase workers’ morale, show your
team the impact that they are making, and recognize star performers.
7) Applying Continuous Improvement
Applying continuous improvement requires participation from everyone in the organization.
Upper management needs to invest time and money in employee training and empowerment.
Managers need to foster an environment of trust, collaboration, open communication, and a
willingness to experiment. And finally, workers need to be engaged in their work and be
challenged to come up with small gradual improvements each and every day. By applying these
principles, your company will be able to start and sustain your continuous improvement efforts.
This will lead to a more economically competitive organization, more efficient work processes,
and more satisfied employees.

TOPIC 8 Success Factors of BPR

Reengineering Success Factors

1. Top Management Sponsorship

Major business process change typically affects processes, technology, job roles
and culture in the workplace. Significant changes to even one of these areas

47
requires resources, money, and leadership. Changing them simultaneously is an
extraordinary task. If top management does not provide strong and consistent
support, most likely one of these three elements (money, resources, or leadership)
will not be present over the life of the project, severely crippling your chances for
success.
It may be true that consultants and reengineering managers give this topic a lot of
attention. Mostly because current models of re-designing business processes use
staff functions and consultants as change agents, and often the targeted
organizations are not inviting the change. Without top management sponsorship,
implementation efforts can be strongly resisted and ineffective.
Top management support for large companies with corporate staff organizations
has another dimension. If the top management in the "line" organization and "staff"
organization do not partner and become equal stakeholders in the change, AND
you only have staff management support, you most likely are ill-prepared for a
successful reengineering project (line management in this context are the top
managers of the operation ultimately accountable for business performance -- P&L,
customer service, etc.). Projects that result in major change in an organization
rarely succeed without top management support in the line organization.
2. Strategic Alignment
You should be able to tie your reengineering project goals back to key business
objectives and the overall strategic direction for the organization. This linkage
should show the thread from the top down, so each person can easily connect the
overall business direction with your reengineering effort. You should be able to
demonstrate this alignment from the perspective of financial performance,
customer service, associate (employee) value, and the vision for the organization.
Reengineering projects not in alignment with the company's strategic direction can
be counterproductive. It is not unthinkable that an organization may make
significant investments in an area that is not a core competency for the company,
and later this capability be outsourced. Such reengineering initiatives are wasteful
and steal resources from other strategic projects.
Moreover, without strategic alignment your key stakeholders and sponsors may
find themselves unable to provide the level of support you need in terms of money
and resources, especially if there are other projects more critical to the future of
the business, and more aligned with the strategic direction.
3. Business Case for Change
In one page or less you must be able to communicate the business case for change.
Less is preferred. If it requires more than this, you either don't understand the
problem or you don't understand your customers.
You may find your first attempt at the business case is 100 pages of text, with an
associated presentation of another 50 view graphs (overhead slides). After giving
the business case 20 times you find out that you can articulate the need for change
in 2 minutes and 3 or 4 paragraphs. Stick with the shorter version.
Why is this important? First, your project is not the center of the universe. People
have other important things to do, too. Second, you must make this case over and

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over again throughout the project and during implementation - the simpler and
shorter it is, the more understandable and compelling your case will be.
Cover the few critical points. Talk to the current state, and what impact this
condition has on customers, associates and business results. State the drivers that
are causing this condition to occur. State what your going to do about it (vision and
plan), and make specific commitments. Keep focusing on the customer. Connect
this plan to specific, measurable objectives related to customers, associates,
business results, and strategic direction. Show how much time and money you
need and when you expect to get it back. Don't sell past the close. No matter how
long you talk, you will get resistance from some, and support from others, so you
might as well keep it short.
The business case for change will remain the center piece that defines your
project, and should be a living document that the reengineering team uses to
demonstrate success. Financial pay back and real customer impact from major
change initiatives are difficult to measure and more difficult to obtain; without a
rigorous business case both are unlikely.
4. Proven Methodology
The previous module presented several BPR methodologies, and it is important to
note that your methodology does matter. Seat-of-the-pants reengineering is just
too risky given the size of the investment and impact these projects have on
processes and people.
Not only should your team members understand reengineering, they should know
how to go about it. In short, you need an approach that will meet the needs of your
project and one that the team understands and supports.
5.Change Management
One of the most overlooked obstacles to successful project implementation is
resistance from those whom implementers believe will benefit the most. Most
projects underestimate the cultural impact of major process and structural change,
and as a result do not achieve the full potential of their change effort.
Change is not an event, despite our many attempts to call folks together and have
a meeting to make change happen. Change management is the discipline of
managing change as a process, with due consideration that we are people, not
programmable machines. It is about leadership with open, honest and frequent
communication.
It must be OK to show resistance, to surface issues, and to be afraid of change.
Organizations do not change. People change, one at a time. The better you manage
the change, the less pain you will have during the transition, and your impact on
work productivity will be minimized.
6. Line Ownership
Many re-design teams are the SWAT type -- senior management responding to
crisis in line operations with external consultants or their own staff. It's a rescue
operation. Unfortunately the ability of external consultants to implement
significant change in an organization is small. The chances are only slightly better
for staff groups. Ultimately the solution and results come back to those
accountable for day-to-day execution.

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That does not mean that consultants or staff are not valuable. What it does mean,
though, is that the terms of engagement and accountability must be clear. The
ownership must ultimately rest with the line operation, whether it be
manufacturing, services, logistics, sales, etc.
This is where it gets messy. Often those closest to the problem can't even see it.
They seem hardly in a position to implement radical change. They are, in a matter
of speaking, the reason you're in this fix to begin with. They lack objectivity,
external focus, technical re-design knowledge, and money.
On the other hand, they know today's processes, they know the gaps and issues,
they have front-line, in-your-face experience. They are real. The customers work
with them, not your consultants and staff personnel.
Hence your dilemma. The line operation probably cannot heal itself when it comes
to major business re-design. Staff and consultants have no lasting accountability
for the solution, and never succeed at forcing solutions on line organizations.
You need both. You need the line organization to have the awareness that they
need help, to contribute their knowledge, and to own the solution and
implementation. At the same time you need the expertise and objectivity from
outside of the organization.
Building this partnership is the responsibility of the line organization, stakeholders
and re-design team. No group is off the hook.
7. Reengineering Team Composition
The reengineering team composition should be a mixed bag. For example,
 some members who don't know the process at all,
 some members that know the process inside-out,
 include customers if you can,
 some members representing impacted organizations,
 one or two technology gurus,
 each person your best and brightest, passionate and committed, and
 some members from outside of your company.
Reasons for BPR project Success or Failure

So we all agree, a change has come and we need to employ some kind of
business management strategy; but how do we do that? where is the time?
where are the resources? and what are we really changing into? if I can be
more descriptive, what is the practicability of the proposal? And is it a quick
and sustainable win?
Unfortunately, we will not address the above questions in this piece. This
article, however, can be likened to a condition precedent clause; before an
organization undertakes a BPR project it should consider the whys and
wherefores of flopped BPR initiatives to avoid facing the same predicament.
Much has been said and done since the extraordinary disruptive entrance of
Covid-19. Many words and phrases through the voices of economic mavericks
and amateurs alike have been thrown about and are vividly as well as eerily
floating around. For example, every business must brace itself for the worst,
things will never be the same again, changes must be made, rethink and re-

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strategize, embrace (new) technological advancements, minimize &
compensate, right-size, review processes and in the words of Michael Hammer
“Do not automize, Obliterate” non-value adding activities. These are mostly to
serve as a reminder that businesses across the globe need to have a bootstrap
mentality if they want a shot at survival.
Who are the key players in this game of grit?
There is a great deal of pressure loaded on the c-suite bench not only to make
inch-perfect decisions but to also make them at the right time and find a tactful
way to communicate the same to the masses. This is kind of like when making
cake frosting from whipping cream- everything and I cannot emphasize beyond
that, that everything must be perfect, or you will be serving a disaster of a
dessert. Well, it may be unfair to compare ‘simple’ frosting to running a
business, however, the similarity in the tact required in both activities cannot
be ignored.
Employees and customers are also seated at the edge of the same bench
wondering how the aftermath of the storm will ultimately affect them as it
unremittingly batters their comfort zones.
As you would expect, BPR (Business Process Reengineering) has suddenly
gotten its limelight (which has been long overdue) in this season. Many
business theorems have been debunked and organizations have been brought to
their knees and are quickly appreciating the support that BPR can offer to their
current handicap. However, romanticizing the notion of BPR coming to
‘efficiently streamline processes and reduce costs’ without considering the
pitfalls of a mismatched relationship between the methodology and the user will
most assuredly, deliver an enormous flunk and compound the frustration
already being experienced.
Consultants and company internal process champions are often blamed for the
failure of BPR initiatives but as experience and time have taught me there is
more to it than meets the eye. I am not trying to put up a defence for my fellow
consultants but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if an organization
decides to walk the brave journey of redesigning their process in these
unprecedented times, then they should know how they directly contribute to the
success or failure of any BPR project. The consultant’s key role is to help the
organization ask the right questions, guide the thought process in finding the
answers and handhold, and when allowed to, the implementation of the
proposed changes. They are not the frontrunners!
Consultants can bring to the organization specialized skills, experience, and
know-how that the organization needs, and it is both time-consuming and
expensive for it to build internally (Shabana, 1996: Boyle, 1995).
Experienced consultants tend to have an unbiased, firm & broad-spectrum
viewpoint and can easily encourage cooperation between individuals and
departments. Because their focus is on ensuring the success of the project,
capable consultants direct all their efforts to streamline areas considered as
problem hotbeds for the organization.
If well implemented, a BPR project can guarantee improved service or product
delivery, reduce on cost and (production) time cycles, keep employees agile &
motivated which would ultimately have a positive impact on organizational

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culture. It will also ensure that the organization remains relevant to their
customers thereby increasing their competitive edge in the market. Sadly, it is
estimated that up to 70% of all BPR initiatives have not yielded the projected
results or have been a complete flop (Hammer and Champy, 1993; Al-Mashari
and Zairi, 1999).

These are some of the reasons:

1: Not Linking BPR Initiatives to Organizational Strategic Objectives
A BPR initiative typically results in many opportunities to improve and
transform the organization. Certainly more opportunities than an organization
has the time, budget and resources to accomplish. Without a strong link to
strategic objectives, the opportunities are untethered and often result in
selecting and moving forward with opportunities that do not advance strategic
objectives.
Best practice tip: View BPR opportunities through the lens of how much the
opportunity moves the needle on advancing one or more strategic objectives.
See my blog: Business Process Reengineering: 6 Key Steps + Some Secret
Sauce.
2: Insufficient Focus on the Customers' Needs
The most important objective of an organization is to provide products and
services that meet and exceed (and better yet – anticipates) the customer needs
and requirements.
Best practice tip: Focus on customer requirements. Listen to the customer.
Strengthen those things that add value to the customer and get rid of those
whose contribution is not clear. Customer needs and requirements are the
essence of everything an organization does. Design processes to add value from
a customer perspective.
3: Insufficient Focus on Change Drivers
An organization does not operate in a vacuum. There are numerous internal and
external drivers of change – changing customer requirements, competition,
regulation/legislation, product innovation, business strategy, economic
conditions, changes in technology, etc.
Best practice tip: What is driving change in and external to your organization
over the next 3-5 years? Be proactive, respond to these drivers early rather
than defer the difficult changes resulting in an ongoing reactive fire-fighting
mode.
4: A Myopic Focus on the Tactical Layer of an Organization
The tactical layer of an organization includes the workflows, work activities, the
hands-on staff performing the work activities and supporting policies,
procedures and technology. Together, these elements comprise business
processes.
Transformational BPR, however, requires engaging the business from 360° -
analyzing the people / roles, processes and technology at the tactical,
operational and strategic layers – and analyzing how the people / roles,
processes and technology engage one another across and between each layer.

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Best practice tip: Effectiveness, efficiency and agility at the tactical layer is
essential. However, fully engaging and analyzing the operational
(organizational structure and reporting relationships) layers of the organization
is equally important and essential to achieving sustainable results.
5: Superficial Analysis
Transformational change requires a deep understanding of the organizations
business processes – work activities, workflows, procedures, roles, supporting
technology, etc. My experience is that many BPR initiatives are based on high-
level superficial analysis. Superficial analysis is simply not deep enough to
identify the underlying patterns and root causes of pain points in a process.
Best practice tip: Conduct deep analysis. Perform detailed current state
analysis (see my whitepaper “10 Perilous Misconceptions of Censuring Current
State Mapping & Analysis”), broaden the scope of the analysis across functional
silos and business units, engage internal and external customers and
stakeholder in analysis.
6: Insufficient Experience in Recognizing Underlying Patterns
Tactical issues in business processes are relatively obvious (assuming deep
rather than superficial mapping and analysis is performed - see #5 above).
Strategic issues are far more abstract and complex. The underlying patterns
that need to be disrupted and reengineered cross many layers and dimensions
of an organization.
Best practice tip: Step outside a tactical mindset and look at the big picture
across the enterprise.
7: Passive Rather Than Proactive Implementation
The opportunities to improve and transform an organization must be
proactively developed, operationalized and implemented. It’s not going to
happen on its own or as a collateral duty. Far too often the big “book” of
opportunities is created but is not advanced. Looks great on paper, but it takes
a proactive team to make it happen.
Best practice tip: Implementation of BPR opportunities must have milestones,
metrics and timelines that are closely monitored. Continually adjust the plan as
necessary.
8 Lack of Change Management Considerations
Change management is the people side of BPR. Regardless of the
dysfunctionality of a process, people are typically comfortable with existing
processes, activities and procedures, and are naturally resistant to change and
leery about changing anything – roles, level of authority, reporting
relationships, methods, etc.
Best practice tip: Deeply engage staff (at all levels of the organization) in all
aspects of the initiative. Create an authentic sense of ownership. Reach out and
glean their input in current state analysis, opportunities for improvement,
operationalizing and implementing improvements. Change is not sustainable
without staff ownership and commitment.
9: Poor Communication
Many BPR initiatives lack clear, focused, consistent ongoing communications.
Staff at all levels need to know the impact of the initiative on their role in the

53
 organization, what is expected of them in connection with participating in the
initiative, what is the timeline, etc. If you do not communicate, staff will fill-in
the blanks on their own – and in my experience, the blanks are filled in with the
darkest possible scenarios.
Best practice tip: Develop sophisticated strategic multi-channel communication
plan during the planning stages of the initiative and proactively execute the
plan throughout the initiative.
10: Insufficient IT Systems and Support
Transformational BPR solutions and opportunities require increasingly
sophisticated information systems. Many BPR initiatives are performed in
parallel with or subsequent to an IT modernization initiative. A sophisticated IT
platform is essential to supporting and enabling BPR solutions and
opportunities. See my blog post: The Benefits of IT Modernization.
Best practice tip: Engage IT in the planning stages of a BPR initiative. Ensure
that your organization’s IT platform is sufficiently sophisticated and agile to
support transformative BPR. If not, incorporate IT modernization into the BPR
initiative.

TOPIC 10: Managing Barriers in BPR Success

Factors that make Potential Project Implementation Success
1. Experienced Project Managers & Professional Project Team Leaders
You can understand the theory and methods of project management, but
experience is one of the key factors of success in the end. The more experienced a
project manager, the more likely he/she will be able to overcome the daily project
challenges. To avoid misunderstandings, keep clear roles and responsibilities in
mind. Successful project managers are known not only by technical knowledge but
also by leadership.

Ensure that the team members have the necessary skills to deliver the results
required and bring a positive attitude to the project. Also, as a whole, the team
must function. So it is essential to build a team that is motivated to work towards a
common goal together.

2. Methodic Approach
For success, the choice of a suitable methodology for project management is
crucial. To ensure that your process is clear, reliable, and efficient, follow the
trends and techniques of the framework you have chosen. All stakeholders should
understand and agree on investing time to define a clear project objective.

3. Proper Planning
Many project managers hurry to the project execution stage and do not take
sufficient time for sound planning. Don’t make a mistake here. Invest sufficient
time and resources in thorough scheduling.

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4. Adhere to the Best Practices
The wheel does not need to be reinvented. Project management itself is a
challenge. Use frameworks and best practices wherever possible. Instead of
constructing everything from the ground up, draw from the experience of past
successes and adapt proven strategies to your individual case. This enables you to
concentrate your resources on your project’s really distinctive elements that will
make all the difference.

5. Monitoring & Control

Check your progress and regularly evaluate the results. To quickly understand if
the project is on track, define key performance indicators (KPI), and use reports.
You will recognize early on when things go sideways and can take
countermeasures before greater harm is done.

6. Use a Professional Software

The quality of your chosen tools has a direct effect on the quality of your
management. The role of project management software is commonly
underestimated. Professional and intuitive software minimizes the risk of errors
and miscalculations, provides the best possible overview of all relevant KPIs, and
reliably displays significant data on all necessary devices. The software promotes
safe and easy team collaboration and is the basis for providing access to the
information needed by each team member.

Invest in a professional and specific tool instead of working with Excel or other
spreadsheet programs not created for project management needs. It will simplify
your job, and it will affect the success of your project.

7. Effective Communication
With proper communication, many undesirable developments in projects could be
prevented or at least discovered earlier. Ensure that formal communication
processes (meetings, documentation), as well as informal processes, are
implemented and used. Communication between members of the team plays an
important role. Offer opportunities for your employees to come together outside
the official meetings, for example, in your offices in a coffee corner or a chat tool.

8. Work with Commited People

Any strategy and plan have the ability to fully fall apart without the right team in
place. As a result, the core project staff, specialist resources, manufacturers, and
all stakeholders should be part of the team dynamic. All those involved must be
committed to the group, share similar project visions and strive to achieve overall
success.

It is important to assign the right individuals to each aspect of the project and
make sure they work together well. In addition, to have the most successful result,
the entire team should be fully informed and involved, which means that
communication has to be on par.

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9. Careful Management of Risks
Project managers know that planned things rarely go off. It is essential to produce
a risk log with an action plan for the project’s risks during the planning process.
Ensure that your risk log is known by all key stakeholders and know where they
can find it. If something happens, with the management plan that has already been
set up, the team can quickly resolve the problem. When facing project risks, this
will give the team confidence and help the customers feel comfortable with the
project’s progress.

10. Strong Closure of Project

If there is no strong closure for a project, it can continue to consume resources.
The project team must be firm and agree with the client that it has met all critical
success factors. It is necessary to agree and sign off on confirmation of the project
delivery, testing, and release. Satisfaction surveys are good forms of
documentation for future reference to be logged and filed and valuable information
for future use.

Risks Associated with BPR projects

1. Lack of clear vision and goals
One of the first steps in any BPR project is to define the vision and goals of the new
process. This should align with the organization's strategic objectives, customer
needs, and competitive advantage. Without a clear vision and goals, the BPR team
may lose direction, focus, and motivation. The new process may also lack
relevance, value, and support from the stakeholders. To avoid this risk, the BPR
team should communicate the vision and goals clearly and frequently to all the
involved parties, and use them as a guide for decision making and evaluation.
2. Resistance to change
BPR involves radical changes to the existing processes, roles, and culture of an
organization. This can create fear, uncertainty, and resistance among the
employees, managers, and customers who are affected by the change. Resistance
to change can undermine the success of the BPR initiative by causing delays,
conflicts, and sabotage. To overcome this risk, the BPR team should involve the
stakeholders in the design and implementation of the new process, provide
adequate training and support, and address their concerns and expectations. The
BPR team should also demonstrate the benefits and value of the new process and
celebrate the achievements and milestones.
3. Insufficient resources and capabilities
BPR requires a significant amount of resources and capabilities, such as time,
money, technology, skills, and expertise. BPR projects often face resource
constraints and shortages that can hamper their progress and quality. For
example, the BPR team may not have enough time to complete the analysis,
design, testing, and deployment of the new process. Or, the BPR team may not

56
have the necessary skills or tools to perform the tasks or solve the problems. To
reduce this risk, the BPR team should conduct a thorough assessment of the
resource and capability requirements and availability before starting the BPR
project. The BPR team should also prioritize the critical activities, allocate the
resources efficiently, and seek external help or support when needed.
4. Poor communication and coordination
BPR involves multiple stakeholders, such as employees, managers, customers,
suppliers, and partners, who have different perspectives, interests, and
expectations. BPR also involves cross-functional collaboration and integration of
various processes, systems, and data. Therefore, effective communication and
coordination are essential for the success of the BPR initiative. Poor
communication and coordination can lead to misunderstandings, confusion, errors,
and conflicts that can jeopardize the BPR project. To prevent this risk, the BPR
team should establish clear and frequent communication channels and
mechanisms among the stakeholders, and use common language and terminology.
The BPR team should also define and assign the roles and responsibilities of the
stakeholders, and monitor and report the progress and performance of the BPR
project.
5. Unrealistic expectations and assumptions
BPR is a challenging and uncertain endeavor that involves many assumptions and
uncertainties. For example, the BPR team may assume that the new process will
work as intended, that the customers will accept the change, or that the benefits
will be realized immediately. However, these assumptions may not be valid or
realistic, and may lead to disappointment, frustration, and dissatisfaction. To avoid
this risk, the BPR team should validate and test the assumptions and uncertainties
as much as possible, and use data and evidence to support the decisions and
actions. The BPR team should also set realistic and achievable expectations and
goals, and communicate them clearly and transparently to the stakeholders.
6. Inadequate monitoring and evaluation
BPR is a continuous and dynamic process that requires constant monitoring and
evaluation to ensure its effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. BPR projects often
lack adequate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that can provide feedback,
learning, and improvement opportunities. Without monitoring and evaluation, the
BPR team may not be able to identify and correct the issues, risks, and gaps that
may arise during or after the implementation of the new process. To mitigate this
risk, the BPR team should establish and use appropriate metrics and indicators to
measure and track the performance and impact of the new process. The BPR team
should also collect and analyze the feedback and data from the stakeholders, and
use them to adjust and refine the new process as needed.

BPR Barriers
 Hard Implementation barriers

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  Soft Implementation barriers

Barriers to Business Reengineering can be classified as hard barriers and soft

barriers. Exhibit Hard barriers are those, which have to do with things and
regulations. Soft barriers are people problems.

Hard barriers can be broken into

(i) Information Technology problems,
Information Technology (software and hardware) which is not suited to support a
process based organisation can evolve as a barrier.

(ii) Resource problems and

One typical resource problem is non availability of space for a work team to get
together on a regular basis. Team members who are physically separated should
have easy access to electronic communication equipment such as teleconferencing.

(iii) Legal obstacles.

Legal obstacles can become severe barriers, in some countries, various federal and
state regulations hinder several Business Reengineering projects. For example, in
Germany, Siemens Corporation could not reap as much success from its
reorganisation efforts as it originally planned for because work place regulations
did not support work time flexibility.

Soft barriers

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are related to people problems. People resist organisational changes. Resistance to
Business Reengineering can be differentiated into internal individual resistance,
internal group resistance and external resistance. Resistance of type A describes
resistance against reasonable thinking and actions.
From the perspective of the initiators and the project team, affected people
demonstrate type A resistance. Four most common reasons people resist
organisational changes are

(i) a desire not to lose something of value,

(ii) a misunderstanding of the change and its implications,
(iii) a belief that the change does not make sense in the organisation and
(iv) a low tolerance for change.
Resistance of type В describes resistance against indoctrination and power usage.
Affected people don’t call themselves resisters and consider their resistance as of
type B. Resistance is an indirect way for subordinates to say ‘No’ to a change.
Resistance is viewed by initiators and project members as a necessary evil. “No
change without resistance” and “Innovations represent a history of resistance”.
People resist change most when they have not been asked to change, or have not
been told how the change is going to take place and how they personally will be
affected by the change.
Internal group resistance describes group behaviour in the organisation. These
groups may be formally or informally organised. For example, a group of electronic
engineers may resist the plan of being split up into work teams where they have to
work side by side with mechanical engineers, because they consider their status
superior to that of mechanical engineers.
External resistance is put up by people outside the organisation. Customers,
suppliers, the public may develop considerable resistance against plans which
interfere with their interests.

Common Areas generating barriers to BPR Implementation

 People related causes
 Project related causes
 Business related causes
 Environment related causes

(i) Project related causes:

The Business Reengineering project set up may lead to barriers which have to be
dealt with. Project contents and project management can cause both hard and soft
barriers. Project contents are represented by project objectives, the selected
business processes and the introduction of new Information Technology.
The project content may lead to considerable resistance and hard barriers. For
example employees of a firm may resist against the implementation of change
which they fear may lead to loss of their jobs. People who have doubt or fear, do
not take action towards attaining the project objectives. Also the attitudes, values
and methods of external consultants may cause considerable resistance on the part
of employees.

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(ii) People related causes:
People affected by the organisation change constitute the main source of potential
barriers. This is true for people on all level in an organisation. People behaviour is
based on their personality and norms of the groups to which they belong.
Managers may resist a change, which jeopardises their job; workers may fear
unemployment by being replaced by a computer system. Managers may pay lip
service to the change and behave in autocratic ways not to suffer any personal
draw lacks from the change. Workers want to be told what exactly is expected
from them.
(iii) Organisation related change:
An organisational structure which is inflexible towards a drastic change in
operations may cause barriers. Large bureaucratic organisations tend to wither
changes which potentially destroy the existing structure – Also the embedded
culture of the organisation is another cause for barriers because culture
unconsciously influences the thinking, decisions and actions of people working in a
given firm. Thus culture may dictate the inability to forget the past and the
inability to invent the future.
(iv) Environment related causes:
The environment of an organisation may yield barriers to the implementation
success of Business Reengineering project, by withstanding through the means of
laws, regulations and public resistance. The organisation’s business partners i.e.,
vendors and customers may resist the objectives and content of a Business
Reengineering project undertaken by the organisation. Also, the environment may
rapidly change in a way that makes the Business Reengineering project redundant.

Root Cause of internal individual Resistance

1. Mistrust and lack of confidence
When employees don’t trust or feel confident in the person making the change,
their resistance to it can be a huge barrier. Change advisor and author Rick
Maurer believes that lack of confidence in change-makers is the most overlooked
cause of resistance to change in organizations.
Maurers-3-levels-of-resistance-1
Maurer’s 3 Levels of Resistance to Change are: I don’t get it, I don’t like it, and I
don’t like you. That’s right — people may not resist the change itself, but rather
the person making it. Of course, “you” does not always refer to the change-maker
specifically. It could also be someone the change-maker represents, such as
corporate headquarters or a faceless CEO.

2. Emotional responses
Changing the status quo is difficult, and some people may have emotional reactions
to anything that disrupts their routine. This is a natural and inevitable response.
Brushing it off will only lead to stronger resistance.
Use change management models that focus on emotional reactions to change, such
as the Kübler-Ross Change Curve or Bridges Transition Model, to mitigate this
common cause of resistance to change. Both models recognize that change can

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lead to feelings of loss and grief. As such, change-makers must be prepared to
manage these emotions and move people towards acceptance of the change.
Start by coaching change leaders to approach resistance to change with empathy,
acknowledging that people may have a wide range of emotional reactions. Some
may even skip steps in the Kübler-Ross Change Curve, slide back into old habits, or
have negative reactions multiple times throughout the transition.

To manage these reactions, change leaders should clearly explain the need for
change while also listening attentively to the feedback from those affected by it.
People want to feel heard. Make it clear that their opinions are valuable to the
change process.
Change leaders should also check in frequently to provide support, gather
additional feedback, and nudge people towards change acceptance and adoption.

3. Fear of failure
People won’t support a change if they’re not confident in their abilities to adapt to
it. When people feel threatened by their shortcomings (real or imagined), they
protect themselves from failure by resisting the change.
The ADKAR Model has two goals that address the fear of failure: knowledge and
ability.
Knowledge is all about effective training. The goal is to give people the tools they
need to facilitate the change, including those needed to handle transitions.

Take technological change for example – if your company is integrating a new

software system, employees should know how to move existing information into it,
as well as how to make the most of the new system in the future.

Ability is more about self-confidence. After training, people need to feel

comfortable applying the knowledge they have acquired. Give employees enough
hands-on experience to develop and test their new skills before fully launching the
change.

4. Poor communication
The key to excellent change management communication is to create an active
conversation. When you talk at people as opposed to with people, you’re bound to
get pushback and resistance to change.
Start by making a change communication plan. Before you initiate change, you
should have several communication actions planned, such as the announcement of
the change, small group discussions, one-on-one meetings, and methods for
gathering feedback.

When talking with employees about change, answer the questions, “What’s in it for
me?” (WIIFM) and “What does it mean to me?” (WDIMTM). When you address
individual concerns, you increase their engagement. People want to know how the
change will impact them specifically and what they will need to do to implement
and solidify the change.

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Furthermore, providing continuous motivation throughout the change process is
essential. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Theory highlights the importance of focusing on
short-term wins in step six of the eight-step change process. When employees are
recognized for their efforts, it builds their enthusiasm and desire to support the
change

5. Unrealistic timelines
Find a balance between creating a sense of urgency and allowing time to
transition. Don’t force change too quickly – when you push too hard for a change to
happen, it’s easy to get tunnel vision and neglect important elements of your
change plan.

Start with a change implementation timeline. Map out every action and set
deadlines so you have a general idea of how long the entire transformation will
take. Often, designing the path between the current state and change adoption
helps you identify additional steps needed to facilitate the transition.
Of course, you shouldn’t be afraid to make adjustments. If your team needs more
time to understand the change or would benefit from additional training, make it
happen.

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