An Analysis and Evaluation of Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Author

Annie R. Purnell, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1993

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

TQM, AVA, CPR, work, organization, management

Abstract

For many years now America’s businesses have been in search of and implementing business and/or quality improvement programs in order to remain competitive, regain the substantial market share lost to foreign competitors or simply striving for a competitive advantage. Whatever the reason(s), such programs have gone under the headings of quality improvements, Total Quality Management (TQM), Activity Value Analysis (AVA), Core Process Redesign (CPR) and most recently Business Process Reengineering.

Business Process Reengineering advocates argue that reengineering, an extension of TQM and the quality improvement programs, is not just another quality improvement program, but a tool. It is the total “rethinking” of how work is organized.

Reengineering differs because unlike other improvement programs, it does not fix or improve what is currently being done. It seeks radical changes while TQM, for example, concentrates on “getting it right the first time”. TQM also seeks to instill a continuous improvement mindset. The concept of reengineering says forget everything you know about the business--start over.

The history of work since the Industrial Revolution has been the story of increasing specialization and division of labor. But what made sense in the industrial age is increasingly being thought to be obsolete and counterproductive in today’s post-industrial business age.

Reengineering challenges Adam Smith’s principle set forth in the book, The Wealth of Nations published in 1776. Since Adam Smith’s day, it is a new business world in which we live, one in which every aspect has changed, namely, the customer, cost, competition, technology, etc.

My thesis shall show that if America’s businesses are to restore competitive vigor and survive in today’s global marketplace, they must rethink their business processes to compete in the nineties and beyond.

To increase my knowledge of Business Process Reengineering, a desire to become knowledgeable of what is occurring around me daily as it relates to being process oriented, as a team leader of a multi-discipline team, and a need for personal development,, all these factors have been germane in inspiring me to explore this most-relevant area.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Purnell, Annie R., "An Analysis and Evaluation of Business Process Reengineering (BPR)" (1993). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 294.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/294