The transfer of culturally-grounded management techniques: the case of business reengineering in Germany

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management technique developed for the US business market, however, it is questionable whether the technique can be transferred effectively to countries which are culturally very different, such as Germany. BPR views employees as a means of production rather than people, and managers are there to maximize profits. German managers are cautious about change, and any changes are democratically decided by managers and employees. This has contributed to the success of German industry, but is not in keeping with the principles of BPR.