Business Reengineering is on the agenda of many companies in different industries. Striving to improve business processes to better meet customer requirements, Business Reengineering initiatives also aim at revolutionizing key performance criteria, such as cost, delivery, and quality. Recently however it is being discussed whether Business Reengineering in reality is just another “management fad”, not having lived up to high expectations. Trade magazines and managers talk about failing Business Reengineering projects, consequently turning some companies away from Business Reengineering, towards other management initiatives which promise better bottom-line results. What goes wrong with Business Reengineering?
This practitioner’s report highlights that Business Reengineering is an important concept towards customer orientation, and concentrates on the obstacles to Business Reengineering project success. It defines hard and soft (people) barriers and traces these to their underlying causes.
The available vast literature on change management is consulted to identify intervention methods and techniques which help to treat causes of people barriers. A framework is presented which helps to manage barriers during the course of a Business Reengineering project. The framework is applied to a real project the author oversaw as a change agent. It turns out that organizational cultural aspects play a pivotal role in project success. Reviewing the implications of barriers to Business Reengineering success, this report proposes to turn away from a control-oriented culture towards a collaboration culture, which not only yields less resistance to change but also helps to focus all members of an organization towards its future. A short discussion of the instruments search conference and participative design concludes this report.
Detailed Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Objectives and Assumptions
1.2. Report Structure
Chapter 2: Business Reengineering Projects
2.1. Definitions
2.2. The Development of Business Reengineering
2.3. The Principles of Business Reengineering
2.4. Business Reengineering Project Management
2.4.1. The Hammer/Champy Methodology
2.4.2. The Davenport Methodology
2.4.3. The Manganelli/Klein Methodology
2.4.4. The Kodak Methodology
2.5. Conclusion
Chapter 3: Barriers to Business Reengineering Implementation Success
3.1. Potential Project Implementation Success
3.2. Risks Associated With Business Reengineering Projects
3.3. Business Reengineering Implementation Barriers
3.3.1. Hard Implementation Barriers
3.3.2. Soft Implementation Barriers
3.3.3. Relationships Betweeen Hard and Soft Barriers
3.4. Areas Generating Barriers to Business Reengineering Implementation
3.4.1. Project Related Causes
3.4.2. People Related Causes
3.4.3. Organization Related Causes
3.4.4. Environment Related Causes
3.5. Examples for Root Causes to Implementation Barriers
3.5.1. Root Causes to Information Technology Barriers
3.5.2. Some Root Causes of Internal Individual Resistance
3.6. Conclusion
Chapter 4: Change Management Intervention Models
4.1. Change Management Interventions
4.2. Change Management Literature Review
4.2.1. Psychology of the Individual Change Approaches
4.2.2. Social Psychological Change Approaches
4.2.3. Cultural Change Approaches
4.2.4. Innovation Approaches
4.2.5. Global Change Approaches
4.2.6. Practitioner Approaches to Change
4.3. Selected Intervention Models
4.3.1. Selected Individual Change Interventions
4.3.2. Selected Social Psychological Change Interventions
4.3.3. Selected Cultural Change Interventions
4.3.4. Selected Innovation Interventions
4.3.5. Selected Global Change Interventions
4.3.6. Selected Practitioner Interventions
4.4. Conclusion
Chapter 5: A Framework for the Identification and Removal of Barriers to Business Reengineering Success
5.1. The Framework
5.1.1. Project Management
5.1.2. Barrier Management
5.2. Search for and Identify Barriers
5.3. Identify Root Causes
5.4. Intervene at Root Cause Level
5.5. Control Intervention Success
5.6. Conclusion
Chapter 6: Case Study
6.1. About IPN Corp.
6.2. The Triggers for Change
6.3. The Project Plan
6.4. Project Responsibilities
6.5. Design Step 1.1.: Assessment of the Current Situation
6.5.1. Executing Step 1.1.
6.5.2. Presentation of the Results to Management
6.5.3. Barriers Identified, Root Causes, and Interventions
6.5.4. Intervention Success
6.6. Design Step 1.2.: Redesign
6.6.1. Executing Step 1.2.
6.6.2. Criteria for the Process Redesign
6.6.3. Preliminary Design
6.6.4. Dialogue about the Proposed Design
6.6.5. Barriers Identified, Root Causes, and Interventions
6.6.6. Intervention Success
6.7. Design Step 1.3.: Broad Agreement to the Change
6.7.1. Executing Step 1.3.
6.7.2. Sample Questions and Answers
6.7.3. Barriers Identified, Root Causes, and Interventions
6.7.4. Intervention Success
6.8. Implementation Step 2.1.: Adapt Technically
6.8.1. Executing Step 2.1.
6.8.2. Noted Implementation Events
6.8.3. Barriers Identified, Root Causes, and Interventions
6.8.4. Intervention Success
6.9. Implementation Step 2.2.: Adapt Socially
6.9.1. Executing Step 2.2.
6.9.2. Barriers Identified, Root Causes, and Interventions
6.9.3. Intervention Success
6.10. Conclusion
Chapter 7: Summary and Implications
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This report addresses the high failure rates of Business Reengineering projects by shifting the focus from purely technical implementations to a comprehensive barrier management framework that accounts for organizational culture and human factors.
- Identification of hard and soft barriers to reengineering success.
- Integration of change management intervention models into reengineering projects.
- Root cause analysis of project failures within organizational, social, and individual domains.
- Application of the proposed barrier management framework through a practical case study.
Excerpt from the Book
Example of a Failed Business Reengineering Project
The CEO of a 2000+ people company, long a leader in its market, initiated Business Reengineering as a method to rejuvinate key business processes. While the people chosen to start the effort, were high level, they were not regarded by many people in the organization as innovative enough. They had little practical experience in organization or process change. So much so, that getting involved with the project began to seen as as filler by people, who were dislocated or between assignments. Worse yet, the company spent money only on new computer equipment and software, but not on broad employee education and motivation. The initiative failed.
The lesson is, that the right people have to be leading the project. Such people will insist on Business Reengineering being a learning experience for the whole organization. Information Technology is an important enabler for Business Reengineering, but will not by itself take the project to success (Cody, 1996).
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1: Introduction: This chapter outlines the motivation for addressing reengineering barriers and sets the objectives for creating an enhanced, practitioner-focused approach.
Chapter 2: Business Reengineering Projects: This chapter defines key concepts, principles, and common project management methodologies currently used in business reengineering.
Chapter 3: Barriers to Business Reengineering Implementation Success: This chapter analyzes various risk factors and categorizes barriers into hard and soft types, tracing them to organizational and individual root causes.
Chapter 4: Change Management Intervention Models: This chapter reviews academic literature on intervention techniques to address human resistance and organizational culture shifts.
Chapter 5: A Framework for the Identification and Removal of Barriers to Business Reengineering Success: This chapter introduces a supplemental barrier management framework designed to be integrated into standard project management workflows.
Chapter 6: Case Study: This chapter details a practical application of the barrier management framework within a German manufacturing company undergoing significant organizational change.
Chapter 7: Summary and Implications: This final chapter synthesizes the findings and provides guidance for consultants and managers on navigating the human side of organizational transformation.
Key Terms
Business Reengineering, Barrier Management, Change Management, Process Orientation, Root Cause Analysis, Organizational Culture, Resistance, Information Technology, Intervention Models, Work-Out, Learning Organization, Implementation Barriers, Soft Barriers, Hard Barriers, Teamwork
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core purpose of this report?
The report aims to help practitioners steer their business reengineering projects away from common pitfalls by focusing on the prevention and management of human and organizational barriers.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The study covers process reengineering definitions, change management intervention techniques, barrier classification (hard vs. soft), and practical frameworks for root cause analysis.
What is the main research question of the work?
It investigates why business reengineering projects often fail due to human and cultural factors and how these obstacles can be proactively managed during project execution.
Which methodology is employed in this research?
The author uses a descriptive, practitioner-oriented approach, synthesizing existing literature on change management with a specific case study of a German manufacturing company.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the report?
The main sections cover reengineering definitions, risk factors, root cause identification, specific intervention models like the "Work-Out" or "Learning Organization" concepts, and a detailed case study.
Which keywords best describe this publication?
Key terms include Business Reengineering, Barrier Management, Change Management, Process Orientation, Root Cause Analysis, and Organizational Culture.
How does the author define "soft barriers" in the context of reengineering?
Soft barriers refer to human-centric problems, such as individual or group resistance, fear of change, and existing organizational culture conflicts that hinder technical project success.
What role does the case study at IPN Corp play in the report?
The case study serves as a real-world validation of the proposed Barrier Management framework, illustrating how to identify and intervene at the root cause level during specific project steps.
Why does the author differentiate between "Theory X" and "Theory Y" management styles?
These theories explain the underlying managerial assumptions that influence organizational behavior; the author argues that reengineering requires moving away from command-and-control "Theory X" toward collaborative "Theory Y" approaches.
What distinguishes the author's proposed framework from traditional project management?
Unlike standard project management which focuses on timelines and technical deliverables, this framework treats "Barrier Management" as a parallel, continuous task to address human and environmental resistance.
- Quote paper
- Wolf Schumacher (Author), 1997, Barriers to Business Reengineering Success, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/417911
