Business Process Re-Design
Description
BPR is a rationalisation of all operating processes across an organisation in order to produce the leanest possible arrangement for continued operation. It seeks out common processes in several departments and combines them to provide economies of scale and smoothes out process flow to provide an ergonomic solution. The aim of BPR is to provide the same outcome with new processes that requires fewer people, less time, reduced material, improved quality or any combination of these.
BPR is invariably conducted by an outside organisation, which constructs a complete model of existing processes, which is then reduced to provide a new solution. Inevitably this takes a long time and requires considerable attention to detail in order to achieve success.
The Benefits
BPR shows that there is 'more than one way to skin a cat' and enables a fresh view without ingrained prejudice affecting judgement. It can produce huge initial savings where a business is struggling and often has the affect of turning around an unprofitable operation. Also, it leaves the business with a fully documented model of the operation, which is invaluable if embarking on a quality programme.
BPR is something that can be carried out 'off line' and reviewed prior to implementation by those responsible for the business.
The Drawbacks
The list of drawbacks for BPR is a long one and should be carefully considered.
Full analysis of a business takes a long time and considerable effort that is not cheap. By the time the analysis and reduction is complete, the business has often evolved to cope with the ever-changing requirements of the customer; the re-design may be already out of date.
BPR is akin to a sledgehammer in the home and will certainly create a period of turbulence. There may be interruptions to business and there will always be resistance from the workforce to some degree. There will also be a considerable learning curve for those retained in the organisation to operate the new processes.
The changing nature of business, the initial turbulence and the almost guaranteed lack of true data prior to re-design make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of BPR changes against other management initiatives.
BPR will inevitably restructure departments and take people out of the control of certain managers, often centralising particular functions. This has the effect of reducing management freedom at lower levels.
Tips for Implementation
Prepare for change – the idea that change is inevitable must be in people's minds long before it happens and wherever possible, the workforce should be involved in finding the solution.
Keep it simple – There is no reason why BPR should be applied at all levels within an organisation. If you are looking at an organisation with a workforce of 500 and are considering how a single manual worker in one department goes about his business, you may be making the task too complicated.
Do it quickly – When conducting the initial research for BPR, you are taking a snapshot of the organisation which will change from that moment onwards. To be useful, BPR should be conducted in as short a time as possible so that the analysis and reduction is still relevant to the business. Keeping it simple assists this.
Use your staff – Those who are to manage the new processes must understand and be committed to them. Having taken some management decisions away from them, you must be quick to re-establish their delegated authority and hand back control.
Follow up with a quality programme – BPR will have caused some resentment and will never be 100% correct first time. It is essential to have a quality programme of some sort to use feedback from the change process and ensure that benefits accrue.
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Adelard Steel Limited
