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The airline sector, hotels, theme parks, theatres, trains, and other perishable goods industry are severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Several intriguing questions have emerged to manage their businesses during such pandemic situations. Some of them are: how do such organizations cope with the sudden drop in demand, what are the changes they can expect, and what is the new normal? This perspective article brings out potential models of using Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to steer out of the crisis. By harnessing the power of BPR, organizations can revamp and improve operational flexibility, in turn supporting growth and success. Organizations can be de-linked from their existing domain to a decentralized model of managing their own businesses and building its own ecosystem. Tactical alliances with competitors or suppliers as partners and logical extensions can be explored, while communicating with customers can give rise to capturing renewed voice of customers (VoCs) and building new reward and sacrifice matrix for dynamic pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most construction industries (CIs) from less-developed countries (LDC) have been overwhelmed with many construction project's challenges. The challenges have always been leading to prolonged unimproved performance of small and medium firms (SMFs). This study aimed to develop a prioritization model of strategies for performance improvement of SMF. Business process re-engineering (BPR) is adopted to facilitate the identification of the re-engineering core process as value activities and develop a conceptual framework for the study. The study used the questionnaire and interview survey to collect data from 253 respondents sampled through purposive sampling. Respondents were obtained from twenty-eight firms obtained through a systematic approach that helped to get firms practicing BPR. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24-AMOS to create structural equation modelling. Findings have revealed twelve (12) weakness indicators, seven (7) performance measure indicators, eleven (11) construction core process strategies, and sixteen (16) organizational strategies. Strategies were clustered into the seven-cluster matrix, namely: resources, capacity building, operational, government policy, design, procurement, and construction management, having a positively significant correlation on SMF's performance improvement. The study findings revealed that the BPR technique has globally become a useful tool for many organizations seeking to attain an improved performance since it provides a chance to re-engineer the organization process. Thus, for the firm(s) to enhance performance improvement, it is recommended for LDC's construction firm(s) to adopt re-engineering process management techniques to identify and prioritize the construction core process and organizational strategies to attain improved performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing the behavior of processes through risk management and the assessment of value indicators (KPI), which stands for 'Key Performance Indicators', is something of paramount importance for institutions. One of the purposes of the continuous PDCA improvement cycle (Plan - Do - Check - Act) is to determine the state of the indicators and carry out processes reengineering to achieve the ideal goal. Risk management comes from the deviation of the indicators with respect to the proposed goals. In order to determine the relevant variables of a process, monitoring and control mechanisms must be set as an efficient way to obtain the knowledge based on the use of data mining techniques (MD). These concepts articulate in a model that was developed to achieve the ideal condition of the KPIs within an institution, and it is evidenced through a case study applied to a missional process in an institution of higher education. The establishment of data mining, business process management (BPM), PDCA continuous improvement cycle (Plan - Do - Check - Act), and risk management characteristics was used to define the components of the model. The aforementioned allowed to create an effective model, capable of meeting the needs of this research in particular, and able to be used as a model for future research. The proposed model was applied to a specific case, which allowed to describe the success of the theory, as well as the analysis stated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology is most likely to change the next decade of business. It enables transfer of digital property from one Internet user to another in a secure way without any intermediaries. The consequences of this breakthrough technology have a vast potential in all areas of business. Information Technology (IT) provides ready to use, end-to-end solutions and allow small businesses to focus on their core business. Recent innovations in IT have positively impacted businesses. With the emergence of blockchain technology, the convergence of telecom and computing is finally reaching maturity in a unified platform for doing business in the 21st century. In this paper, we study the various ways in which blockchain technology can help small businesses and propose a framework that helps in choosing the appropriate blockchain application in the context of business process reengineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of managerial redesign of businesses, there are terms, methods, and strategies being used both from American management practice, being a part of the reengineering concept (redesign of business process) as well as from Japanese management, being a part of the uninterrupted betterment philosophy from Kaizen. Generally speaking, business redesign refers to business changes made in radical terms and with profound thoughts given to this aforementioned action, so that in the shortest of time spectacular results will appear when considering: costs, quality, speed and services. Change in business appears to be more present and profound in current days. A lot of business's management departments are incapable of handling these changes (meaning that they severely lack the necessary financial, human and material resources) on top of not knowing where to start and how to take action in set circumstances. Under these conditions it is of upmost utility to elaborate some fundamental principles that can be applied and adapted in business remodelling processes. Throughout this paper I will present a series of business redesign principles, which can be cumulated with other practices of this form in order to create a set of good redesign implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of logistics processes to meet requirements of Industrie 4.0. Design/methodology/approach: The authors follow the principles of action design research to conduct a single-case study investigating four logistics processes at a leading German car manufacturer. For the development of artifacts, the authors used Method Engineering. Findings: The case study reveals a set of Industrie 4.0 process design principles, providing guidelines for the design and management of Industrie 4.0 compliant processes. In the second step, the authors use these process design principles for the development of a first version of a method for Industrie 4.0 process transformation. Research limitations/implications: In the light of limited scientific knowledge about Industrie 4.0 process transformation, the paper uses a single-case study design. This is adequate considering the research goal at hand and the richness of empirical insight the authors had access to. However, a single-case design is limited regarding generalizability and demand for future qualitative and quantitative research. Practical implications: The Industrie 4.0 process design principles support practitioners in the design and management of Industrie 4.0 compliant processes. In addition, the method developed by the authors supports enterprises in the transformation of their current processes toward Industrie 4.0. Originality/value: The paper describes the first attempt – as far as the authors are aware – to derive guidelines for the design and management of Industrie 4.0 processes from the analysis of a real-world industrial setting. Likewise, the method for Industrie 4.0 process transformation presented in this paper is presumed to be the first such method developed in full accordance with the principles of Method Engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The subject of interest of this article is reengineering and restructuring. The purpose of the article is to answer the question: is remedial restructuring carried out using reengineering methods more efficient, i.e. is a greater percentage of the assumed restructuring goals achieved in a given unit of time than in a project carried out without using this method? Design/methodology/approach: The process of restructuring management described in the article is supported by a case study of a company dealing with production of pumps. The case study shows how effective the reengineering method is for managing corrective change. The restructuring project described in the article was aimed at eliminating unproductive processes in the company, and then leading to the development of the company by conducting organizational changes and radical rebuilding of the company's business processes. Findings: Conclusions from the case study analysis provide clear evidence that remedial restructuring using reengineering is much more efficient than in a traditional project. Originality/value: The article supplements knowledge in the field of change management. The conclusions presented in it regarding the usefulness of the reengineering method when conducting remedial processes in enterprises can be used by change managers as an indication to successfully carry out restructuring implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automation in auditing is driven by the principles of business process reengineering (BPR), whose default position is to eliminate labor. BPR assumes that assurance arising from human and technological inputs are substitutes and not complements. Until that hypothesis is validated, human auditors should not be perceived as expendable artifacts to be removed as quickly as possible. What is needed is a systematic exploration of what is the minimum human involvement for auditing to retain the trust of its stakeholders. In this paper, I propose that business process reengineering in auditing is complemented with what I call business process "de-engineering" (BPD). Whereas BPR asks how to remove workers from a predominantly manual process, BPD asks when adding a human would add value to a predominantly automated process. BPD in auditing focuses attention on the human/machine interactions in the audit process and will help determine their relative strengths and weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the need of a reengineering of the software development process in a Mexican technology services company. In general, the main risk faced by small- and medium-sized software developers (SMEs) is the inability to meet delivery times or to adjust to project requirements, whether through lack of follow-up on the critical activities of the development process or through an inadequate distribution of workloads among members of the project team. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used to carry out the reengineering of the software development process is Hammer and Champy, which consists of six stages: introduction to the current situation of the company and the need for change; identification of the business processes; selection of the business process to be redesigned; understanding of the process selected; proposal for reengineering the business process selected; and the results of the comparison between the current situation of the process and the proposed reengineering of the process through the use of Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN 2.0). Findings: Based on the results, the paper shows the importance of the analysis and implementation of the reengineering in a software development company. It describes step-by-step how to apply the methodology of Hammer and Champy in a business process through simulated scenarios, using BPMN 2.0. By carrying out the implementation of the proposed reengineering, the company would therefore save 45.12 percent of costs, 41.17 percent of time, and a better distribution of resources, at the same time guaranteeing the satisfaction of its clients. Originality/value: The study addresses the current needs of small- and medium-sized software developers, providing a step-by-step guide to the implementation of a process reengineering methodology, performing an analysis and modeling of processes in BPMN 2.0 and providing results through a simulation of the critical process, with the aim to observe the flow of activities and the significant improvements that would be achieved by implementing the reengineering proposal. This simulation schema allows business owners to observe the potential of the changes and to verify the positive impact they would have on the company before beginning to make operational changes in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Business process (BP) reengineering is defined as reinventing BPs either structurally or technically to achieve dramatic improvements in performance. In any business process reengineering (BPR) project, process modeling is used to reason about problems found in existing (as-is) process and helps to design target (to-be) process. BP model notation is a widely accepted standard for process modeling. "Expressiveness" and "missing formal semantics" are two problems reported to its modeling practices. In existing studies, solutions to these problems are also proposed but still have certain limitations. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: In proposed methodology, a meta-model is formally defined that is composed of commonly used modeling elements and their well-formedness rules to check for syntactic and structural correctness of process models. Proposed solution also check semantics of process models and allows to compare as-is and to-be process models for gap identification which is another important aspect of BPR. To achieve the first goal, Z specification is used to provide formal specifications of modeling constructs and their rules and Z3 (an SMT solver) is used for comparisons and verifying properties. Findings: Proposed method addresses both "expressiveness" and "missing formal semantics" of BPR models. The results of its evaluation clearly indicate that using formally specified meta-model, BPR model is syntactically and structurally correct. Moreover, formal modeling of BPs in Z3 helped to compare processes and to check control flow properties. Research limitations/implications: Although the proposed method is tested on an example that is widely used in BPR literature, the example is only covering modeling elements which are part of the proposed subset and are reported in literature as frequently used modeling elements. A separate detailed study is required to test it on more complex systems. Practical implications: Specifying process models using Z specification and Z3 solver requires certain expertise. Originality/value: The proposed method adds value to BPR body of knowledge as it proposes a method to ensure structural and syntactic correctness of models, highlighting the importance of verifying run time properties and providing a direction toward comparing process models for gap analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main organizational factors that contribute to the successful implementation of business process reengineering (BPR) in the Egyptian banking sector. These factors include management commitment, information technology (IT) infrastructure, people management, change readiness, centralization and formalization. Design/methodology/approach: The key organizational enablers were identified through an extensive literature review. Then, statistical analysis was carried out based on data collected, using a questionnaire instrument, from 184 managers employed in 38 banks operating in Egypt. Findings: The results of the study indicate that management commitment, IT infrastructure, people management, change readiness and organizational structure with a low degree of formalization are critical enablers for implementing a successful BPR program within the Egyptian banking sector. Practical implications: The results may support managers of banks in identifying and assessing the influence of integrating organizational factors that facilitate or hinder the successful implementation of BPR. Originality/value: Since 2004, the Egyptian banking system has involved in major reform programs and many BPR efforts. Much research effort is required to investigate the BPR projects within the Egyptian banks in order to develop a concrete base of knowledge and understanding of the nature of BPR and factors that support its successful implementation. Moreover, there is an insufficiency of empirical studies regarding the implementation of BPR within the Egyptian service sector. The current study fills this gap by exploring and examining the main organizational factors affecting BPR implementation in a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific search for intra-University potential to improve the quality of training of student is based on the improvement of the quality management system of vocational training. Further development is based not on private technical solutions, but on the reengineering of the management system aimed at activating the psychological and pedagogical resources of the University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insurance industry can leverage re-engineering to advance new opportunities within emerging markets. Innovation in emerging markets is providing a new set of risks for insurance companies to transfer. Insurance products can provide risk mitigation in emerging and high risk markets through the packaging of services and the downside speculative risk transfer re-engineered policies. Adding immediate value added through expertise in risks assessment, better innovative project decision making, protecting critical infrastructure, risk transfer solutions, and a consortium for pure research may facilitate innovation in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manuscript type: Research paper. Research aims: This longitudinal case study aims to analyse the process of change involving the institutionalisation of the 'high performance culture' (HPC) in one subsidiary of a Malaysian government-linked company (GLC) which had recently undertaken a business re-engineering exercise to improve its financial performance. Specifically, this study analyses the institutionalisation of the HPC by relating to the role of performance measures in influencing the process of change. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study draws on institutional theory and institutional analysis to examine the process of institutionalising the HPC in the subsidiary. It also looks at the unfolding organisational responses towards sustaining legitimacy in view of the subsidiary's hierarchical complexity. Research findings: The business re-engineering exercise undertaken by the subsidiary is aimed at promoting the HPC in relation to improving its financial performance. It appears to have legitimised institutional relationships with various stakeholders. While this promotion appears to correspond well with the commercial and technical objectives that drove its aviation-based business financially, there seemed to be more discourses related to its past role in rendering public services. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study contributes to the understanding of legitimacy at the organisational level. It highlights the importance of preventing the legitimacy from being challenged by any single source of pressure which appears to be competing with other pressures. Practitioner/Policy implication: Although the HPC has shifted the orientation of the subsidiary from being largely concerned with technical operations to commercial activities, emphasis on the importance of financial performance (measures) has not fully shifted. Thus, there is a need for business managers (including accountants) to appreciate business complexities when making informed decisions, by leveraging on appropriate performance measures that would consequently impact on organisational performance. Research limitation/Implications: This study has only analysed one subsidiary of a GLC, hence the findings of this study cannot be generalised to other subsidiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a sceptical look at the possibility of advanced computer technology replacing judges. Looking first at the example of alternative dispute resolution, where considerable progress has been made in developing tools to assist parties to come to agreement, attention then shifts to evaluating a number of other algorithmic instruments in a criminal justice context. The possibility of human judges being fully replaced within the courtroom strictu sensu is examined, and the various elements of the judicial role that need to be reproduced are considered. Drawing upon understandings of the legal process as an essentially socially determined activity, the paper sounds a note of caution about the capacity of algorithmic approaches to ever fully penetrate this socio-legal milieu and reproduce the activity of judging, properly understood. Finally, the possibilities and dangers of semi-automated justice are reviewed. The risks of seeing this approach as avoiding the recognised problems of fully automated decision-making are highlighted, and attention is directed towards the problems that remain when an algorithmic frame of reference is admitted into the human process of judging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every executive has heard about the importance of Lean as a means of eliminating waste and "fat." However, when operations are novel and complex--as in product development, research, information technology, and many other kinds of projects--cutting out the "fat" turns out to be much more challenging. To understand Lean in an environment characterized by extreme novelty and complexity, we drew on our experiences with a number of processes, and in particular Lockheed Martin's Lean implementation for the F-22 fighter aircraft. Our findings lead to a path that executives and managers can follow to become Lean without compromising innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost modelling is used to support business decisions, especially, when the objective is to remain competitive on price and be able to realise outputs at low cost. Many researchers and industrialists have proposed and experimented with different cost-modelling techniques with a view to influencing design and production decisions at an early stage of the development process. This has led to cost-modelling methods which have been broadly classified in this paper as qualitative and quantitative. The paper identifies current best practice cost-modelling techniques and their performance in complex and dynamic manufacturing environments. The review served as a platform to support the recommendation for an integrated cost-modelling methodology. The integrated methodology is based on the strengths of cost engineering, enterprise modelling, system dynamics and discrete event simulation modelling techniques. The method can help in the redesign and re-engineering of products and processes for better cost and value indications; support investment decision analysis; help determine appropriate business and manufacturing paradigms; influence ‘make, buy or outsourcing’ decisions and serve as a key process improvement tool. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article deals with a re-balancing problem which is the object of an industrial collaboration with a French automotive firm. The constraints of the problem are composed of basic constraints from line balancing problems and of specific constraints such as working height and storage area length constraints. To solve the problem, we propose three heuristics based on operation transfers in order to obtain a feasible balancing or to improve it. The considered objectives are the minimisation of the number of stations, then the load smoothing while transfering a minimum number of operations. The objectives are independently considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To implement successful business process re-engineering (BPR) initiatives, several capabilities have been identified. Required capabilities before and during implementing of BPR projects have been introduced for achieving success. The literature has suggested various approaches to assessing readiness and implementation of BPR projects. However, lack of a practical measurement method is evident. Therefore, in this paper, a practical measurement tool for requiring capabilities is proposed to enhance the chances for successful implementation of BPR by mapping these capabilities on steps of BPR projects. In addition, the relations between these capabilities and BPR success barriers are identified. This tool includes a generic questionnaire that can be helpful for self-assessment of readiness based on the desired organisational capabilities (DOCs) in BPR efforts. In the questionnaire proposed in this paper, various indicators have been identified for assessing readiness in BPR implementation. These indicators include 21 categories based on DOCs. This report indicates the importance of each DOC in various steps and the influence of DOCs on different barriers of success. We report the results of a survey based on the questionnaire, which was conducted in four Iranian organisations. Based on the results gathered from this examination, the study offers several guidelines for increasing the points of success and decreasing the points of failure and, hence, increasing the rate of success before and during implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Taylorism was discarded long ago, job enrichment emerged as a good alternative. Recent research, however, has pointed out the ineffectiveness of job enrichment. This study suggests that both approaches could be effective and looks at job nature as the moderator that can affect how the two approaches are applied. The authors' longitudinal quasi-experimental field study in China found a significant interaction between worker type (knowledge workers [KWs] versus manual workers [MWs]) and job characteristics on employee outcomes. After enrichment, KWs experienced higher satisfaction and task performance, whereas for MWs, satisfaction and performance declined. This pattern of results suggests that both job enrichment and Taylorism are applicable depending on the job nature. In addition to contributing to job design theory, the present study also explored the unique attributes of KWs and provides practical suggestions as to how human resource managers can better motivate KWs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We empirically investigate whether business process reengineering (BPR), which requires substantial investment in information technology to integrate separate tasks into complete cross-functional processes, is associated with enhanced firm productivity and performance. We analyze firm-level panel data covering the period 1987–2008 using fixed effects and first differencing, standard methods that account for unobservable firm-level effects. We find that return on assets drops significantly during the project initiation year. According to fixed effects results, the performance and productivity measures improve in a decreasing manner after project initiation, suggesting that BPR indeed positively affects firm performance on average. We also find that enterprise-wide BPR projects are associated with more negative returns during project initiation than functionally focused projects. However, there is no clear evidence regarding their superiority over functionally focused BPR projects in terms of performance improvements after project initiation, perhaps because grand projects are risky and sometimes lead to grand failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As supply chains continue to replace individual companies as the management arena for value-adding from the beginning of the twenty first century, understanding the supply chain management practices in a globalisation context becomes increasingly important. The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model, which was developed by the experts and practitioners of the Supply Chain Council, is a major framework for supply chain planning that features supply chain management practices and business process reengineering. Despite being an integrative guide with many merits, it only provides a 'top-down' approach that requires the comparative analyses of post- and pro-performance indices as a basis of business process modification. This study discusses the limitations of current SCOR analysis and provides a mapping technique—Causes/Effects, the SCOR Standard, and Mutual Solution (CESM)—for gap mapping, problem prioritisation, and business process modification in a supply chain setting. As such, it is one of the early empirical studies combining BPR and SCM disciplines. The research results can facilitate the implementation processes of multinational supply chain projects by identifying the gaps and linking them to the channel entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid methodology for continuous performance improvement (CPI) is presented, based on the joint recourse to business process re-engineering (BPR) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles and tools. The methodology (named HY-CHANGE) is conceived as a logical and technical support to the decision maker. It results in a number of recursive phases, where the rational and synchronous use of several tools and techniques, borrowed from the two methodologies mentioned above, is structured into a unique approach. HY-CHANGE thus offers a structured guide for performance improvement processes more suited to the enterprise reality and its dynamical evolution. The value of the methodology is to provide a structured frame to use several methodologies and tools (here referred to as 'decisional tool-kit') with the scope of effectively managing change processes at any level within the enterprise. The practical implications of the idea are discussed based on a case study conducted in an Italian SME producing sofas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study establishes and examines desired organisational capabilities (DOCs) that affect the readiness and implementation of business process reengineering (BPR). This research uses a case study and review methodology (second hand material) to extract events and actions about how DOCs are caused by these events and actions. Preliminary organisational capabilities were established from a review of BPR projects' reports. Twenty-one preliminary capabilities were refined and validated through interviews with BPR executives and experts. In this way, this study presented 21 DOCs, with their influence (strength) on the success of BPR initiatives and implementation. Additionally, these DOCs are ranked according to the value of creating each, before and during BPR efforts. So, a graphical aid is provided to enable decision makers to concentrate their efforts on the most influential (strongest), considering before and during implementation. Finally, the refined organisational capabilities formed the basis of a self-assessment framework that can be used by firms to analyse their readiness to undertake a reengineering project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's digital economy, web-based integration of the enterprises to form an e-supply chain is a critical weapon for orchestrating the whole supply chain towards competitiveness. This paper intends to discuss the requirements for forming an e-supply chain from different perspectives, such as integration with the legacy systems, timing and prior presence of ERP (enterprise resources planning) systems, BPR (business process re-engineering) needs of internal and external business processes and business intelligence/decision support needs. A look at technical knowledge and structure to construct an e-supply chain is provided. Challenges involved in forming an e-supply chain are also briefly mentioned as a separate section in this paper. During the study, requirements are gathered by making a review of recent literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process analysis is recognized as a major stage in business process reengineering that has developed over the last two decades. Manufacturing process analysis (MPA) is defined as performance analysis of the production process. A manufacturing process analysis framework is outlined with emphasis on linking a company's strategy to operational process. Two issues, namely process modelling and simulation based analysis, are investigated. A compound workflow model (CWM) is proposed to provide graphic presentation of the production process that can be easily understood. Also it can be used directly by simulation to study the impacts of scheduling policy and analyse the process performance. A two-stage simulation analysis method is provided to quantitatively and efficiently define cause-and-effect relations to identify drivers for improvement. The manufacturing environment, PSC (production planning, scheduling and control) factors and the process structure are three main concerns considered in the simulation. An example is discussed in the final part of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, business process re-engineering (BPR) and organizational restructuring (OR) have been two of the most popular approaches to improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of an organization. However, a review of the relevant literature reveals that the two approaches have been studied in isolation. The theoretical gap in academic research is also reflected in practice. The present paper therefore proposes a customer-oriented and process-focused two-stage framework, entitled the 'process re-engineering-oriented organizational change exploratory simulation system' ('PROCESS'), to address these theoretical deficiencies. Two key concepts are introduced in this two-stage framework. The first is the 'process module' (PM), which indicates a set of common sequential activities that can be grouped as a subunit of a business process. The second is the 'macro-process' (MP), which indicates that a set of business processes have similar characteristics or functions. The two concepts serve as 'stepping stones' between BPR and OR. Based on these two concepts, the decision rules and the mathematical/simulation model can be developed under this two-stage framework. The paper then presents a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 'PROCESS'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling and analysis of business processes is critical to identify current business processes and to understand the contributions of new processes to the system. The quality of the results obtained by modelling and analysis significantly influences the success of business process reengineering (BPR). Therefore, a constant development in techniques used in business process modelling (BPM) and business process analysis (BPA) is necessary. However, when these proposed techniques are analysed it becomes obvious that they repeat the same basic approach, although a few offer different visions. In BPM development studies, the use of time-activity scheduling is often considered secondary (even neglected). The reason for this is that process modelling may be considered as project management and remain under this label. Many organizations may use these techniques in managing their daily activities if the maturity level and the simplicity of project management techniques are considered. It also enables the modelling of stochastic situations, otherwise not possible to do by any BPM method. In this study an existing business process with network properties is analysed using project scheduling techniques. Thus, business processes are described as networks, modelled and timed by network properties and stochastically analysed using GERT, a project based process scheduling method. Finally the results obtained by GERT are examined using the PERT-path approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) literature is based primarily on case studies and there is a lack of rigorous wide-ranging empirical research covering all its aspects. This paper presents the results of a survey research carried out in 73 medium and large-sized Slovenian manufacturing companies. Seven crucial areas were identified based on a synthesis of BPR literature, which must be practised to achieve effective process reengineering: management commitment, education & training, team work, BPR project characteristics, employee cooperation, information technology support, and levers & results. Variables have been constructed within these areas, using Likert scales, and statistical validity and reliability analyses. These developed variables can be important both for understanding BPR and in terms of the descriptive statistics, also reported in this paper. What emerges is the crucial importance of process orientation, goal setting, and top management commitment. Furthermore, these variables can be helpful for further research aimed at investigating BPR and its linkages with other areas, such as strategy, performance measurement, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the use of information technology (IT) and firm performance has been widely researched over recent years. However, there has been no well-founded empirical research on the role of intervening variables on such a relationship. The current paper aims to present an instrument to be used in such research and to study the role of two intervening variables including organizational infrastructures and business processes reengineering in such a relationship. Data from 200 car part manufacturers were gathered in a field survey. The empirical work indicated that constructed measures demonstrate the key psychometric properties including reliability and validity. The findings also demonstrate moderating effects of organizational infrastructures and mediating role of business processes reengineering on the relationship between the use of information technology and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach to enterprise modelling is described that facilitates the reuse of multi-perspective models of Business Process networks. The approach has been designed to advance current best practice when engineering change to interdependent Business Processes of types commonly deployed within Manufacturing Enterprises. The approach is unique in the way it maintains coherence between (1) conventional enterprise models, used primarily to represent graphically (at multiple levels of abstraction) relatively enduring properties of Business Process networks; and (2) dynamic models of selected segments of a parent Business Process network, which can be computer-executed via conventional simulation modelling and workflow modelling technology. Thereby, context-dependent dynamic models can be used to replicate and analyse historical patterns of enterprise behaviour, and predict and analyse possible future patterns of enterprise behaviour, should selected elements and parameters of the modelled Business Process network be changed. The paper also considers 'needed decision support capabilities' during Business Process Reengineering and Business Process improvement projects. In so doing, it collates those decision support requirements identified into a generalized description of the life phases of such projects. This generalized description was used to help structure the design of the new enterprise modelling approach. Furthermore, it is used to help illustrate an example application of the new modelling approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use concepts from actor-network theory (ANT) to interpret the sequence of events that led to business process change (BPC) failure at a telecommunications company in the United States. Through our intensive examination of the BPC initiative, we find that a number of issues suggested by ANT, such as errors in problematization, parallel translation, betrayal, and irreversible inscription of interests, contributed significantly to the failure. We provide nine abstraction statements capturing the essence of our findings in a concrete form. The larger implication of our study is that, for sociotechnical phenomena such as BPC with significant political components, an ANT-informed understanding can enable practitioners to better anticipate and cope with emergent complexities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]