Week 6 - Basics of BPR(2)

References:

1. The role of information technology in business process reengineering, by A. Gunasekaran & B. Nath(1997)

2. Identification of the critical factors of TQM, by Simon A.Black & Leslie J. Porter(2007)

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Week 6 – Basics of BPR(2)

Introduction

The week 6 lecture mainly focus of role of information technology in BPR, BPR evolution and introduction of BPM & TQM. In this review I will further investigate on role of IT in BPR, BPM and TQM.

What advantages do information technology brings to a company?

1.     save operational costs

2.     improve the accuracy of managing information

3.     avoid human mistakes inherent when dealing with complex and repetitive tasks

4.     save money because IT reduces errors and the time it takes to accomplish tasks

5.     integrate and coordinate of different functions

6.     improve the organizational efficiency and effectiveness by eliminating administrative intermediaries and redundant processing steps

7.     provide better access to information

Role of IT in BPR projects - A Facilitator for BPR Project

Today's business environment is demanding firms to quickly develop and offer products that will satisfy customers' needs. These changes are often very fast and frequent. Companies may not be able to do this if they keep using the old processes with

many steps and scarce collaboration. IT can help in a change of business processes to feature reduced mediation and increased collaboration.

IT is often be regarded as the enabling technology of BPR. IT promotes changes in organizations, mainly changes in the nature of the work, the integration of business functions, and the transformation of competitive forces.

IT promotes electronic data exchange and electronic funds transference. Shared computing resources make the business possible for different functions to have

access to information at any time. IT also makes collaboration easy among

different people by different communication technologies. These allow information transfer by using tools such as email, video conference, Smartphone apps and file transfer protocol.

What is Business Process Management (BPM)?

Business process management provides governance of a business's process environment to improve agility and operational performance. It is a structured approach to analyze and continually improve fundamental activities such as manufacturing, marketing, communications and other major components of a company’s operation. 

BPM focuses on customers through horizontal linkages between key activities. BPM relies on measurements to assess the performance of each individual process, set targets and deliver output levels which can meet corporate objectives. It bases on a continuous approach of optimization through problem solving and looking for extra benefits.

BPR vs BPM

BPR refers to radical changes of business processes. It aims at redesigning the existing business processes in order to gain dramatic improvement. BPM is a management technique that provides incremental changes of business processes for further improvement. Actually, one of the reasons why BPR projects’ failing rate is above 70% is that the changes are sometimes too radical. Therefore, actually, we would not try to redesign every business process. We would use BPM to improve the current condition of the business process so as to achieve continuous improvement.

What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

Total Quality Management (TQM) is management approach to long–term success. Organizations use TQM to improve their internal processes and increase customer satisfaction. When it is properly implemented, this style of management can lead to decreased costs related to corrective or preventative maintenance, better overall performance, and an increased number of happy and loyal customers. This can be achieved by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company. TQM looks at the overall quality measures used by a company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality assurance. TQM takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and involving all company employees.


Comment on Felix Hung's Week 6 review


Felix focus on discussing the Leavitt Diamond mentioned in week 6 lectures, he clearly shows the relationship between the 4 factors - structure, task, technology, people. He is also able to describe what will be changed when one of the 4 factors changes. However, he can pay more effort in investigating BPM & TQM as mentioned in the lecture. He can also compare the difference between BPR and BPM.

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