The Failure Of Business Process Reengineering Commerce Essay

The Failure Of Business Process Reengineering Commerce Essay Let us start with a little history. In 1990, Business Process re-engineering emerged as a concept for integrating information technology into business processes with a cross functional perspective (Childe, Maull Bennett, 1994, pp.22). Hammer and Champy(2001, p.35) on the other hand according to their famous book defined business process reengineering (BPR) as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measure of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed. BPR take in the methodologies, techniques from Information systems analysis, management, behaviour of the organisation and communication (Al-Hudhaif, 2009, pp.184). The pressure to meet expectations of customer is growing at a fast rate and Ronald tell us that the need for complete change is the way we work (as cited in Magutu, Nyamwange Kaptoge, 2010).The total quality management (TQM) is found to be used to manage system cost according to quality requirements and a discrete event simulation is used to perform process reengineering and process improvement (Borgianni, Cascini Rotini, 2008, 305-306). Hypothesis: For this essay, we have developed the below hypothesis Hypothesis 1: Resistant to change will is one of the top failure factors that lead to the failure of implementing of BPR since BPR is all about implementing dramatic changes. Business Process Reengineering Research: Various essay and studies estimated that about 70% failed to achieve the remarkable result that was intended (Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.221; Chamberlin, 2010, pp.14). It is due to the high failure rate that we need to investigate on it failure factors to identify why it failed. Elmuti and Kathawala (2000, pp.34) came out with the list of 10 failure factors that lead to BPR failure from a survey conducted. This survey was derived from the 24 organisations which were mentioned that they failed in BPR implementation out of the 146 questionnaires returned from the 500 questionaries sent out to organisations throughout the United States. The 10 failure factors are shown in figure 1. Figure 1: Failure factors that may contribute to business reengineering (Elmuti Kathawala, 2000). I would be discussing on the first 3 failure factors on the above figure 1 as Hammer and Champy(2001) on the other hand have another set of failure factors which in my opinions are more interesting to share. BPR failure factors: Inadequate understanding of business reengineering ( Elmuti Kathawala, 2000, pp.34) : You can understand something but you dont have to lead but you cant lead something you dont understand. Of the 24 organisations, 78 percentages of them saw business reengineering as a mass chaos where there were no clear directions or clear solutions to many of the organisation problems. Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.229) further supported that by stated that in order to succeed un BPR, only one who is capable of thinking about the entire value added chain from production to sales and service can take the lead in the reengineering attempt and not just any senior management who has no clue on what is BPR. Lack of an successful methodology to take on the reengineering plan( Elmuti Kathawala, 2000, pp.34) Having a detailed methodology allow the organisation to know how it is suppose to start implementing BPR (Elmuti Kathawala, 2000, pp.34). Carr and Johansson (1995, pp.86) stated that two third of the companies that surveyed used a structured framework or what they termed it as methodology. Carr and Johansson(1995, pp.86) informed that a methodoloy is 60 percent designed by a outside consultant, 20 percent developed in house and 20 percent a combination of consultant and in house. The advantage of an in house methodology is that it will present ideas that the employees are familiar with and easier to follow. An example of an methodology with regard to Aetna(Carr Johansson, 1995, pp.87) includes methods for below: Project Selection Project planning which needs requirements for: Defining a mission Defining critical success factors Internal and external scans Defining gaps today and predicting gaps to be filled in the future Objectives on what will be delivered , to whom and why Steps to be taken Team formation Project management done by a reengineering team A successful methodologies as stated by Carr and Johansson(1995, pp.87) is shown as below: A Successful BPR Framework Incorporates change management Provides for organisation communications Allow for radical change Prescribes clearly defined goal/ targets Provides a variety of tools to be used throughout processes as necessary Plans for customer/supplier input Integrates IT Is flexible enough to be tailored to the organisation needs. Lack of leadership support and low participation( Elmuti Kathawala, 2000, pp.34) Farina Group was one such organisation that has lack of higher management support that the business reengineering was abandoned (Newman Zhao, 2008, p.413). The top management from Farina apparently didnt want to change the business processes that are current existing when BPR is being implemented. Try to renovate a process instead of altering it (Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.222): Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.222) stated that the most conspicuous way to fail is to not reengineer at all but conducting process changes and called it reengineering. The IBM Credit Corporation is such example that used to do it this way and failed before they finally change for the better. They first tried to automate their existing process which enabled them to commit to computer software instead of the previous offline system. This did not balance the work load to minimise wait times which they intend to. After changing the whole process by using queuing theory and linear programming techniques, they finally were able to solve the whole problem. Dont focus on business processes(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.223) BPR should look in on business processes and nothing else. This is due to organisations is only as efficient as it business processes (Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.223). An U.S subsidiary of major European company was one such example that failed in such a case by not defining the architecture of the work processes (Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.224). Cardarelli, Ritu Mohan(1998) also supported by saying that management must focus on the process and not event to make sure that the redesigned process affects the strategy positively now and into the future. Neglect peoples values and beliefs(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.225) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.225) stated that when radical changes occurs, there must be a form of rewarding mechanism that cultivate the employees to exhibit the right behaviours to changes. Ford and DRG are examples stated by Hammer and Champy to successfully adapt to such changes. Allow current corporate cultures and management attitudes to prevent reengineering from starting(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.228) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.228) stated that a company cultural characteristics can support or defeat a reengineering effort before it begin. They shared that companies that focus on short terms quarterly results may find it hard to be successful to reengineering longer horizons. Bias against conflict in organisation may feel uncomfortable challenging long established old rules. Make reengineering happen from bottom up: (Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.228) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.228) stated that reengineering will never happen from bottom to top. Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.229) put it to two reasons on they are frontline employees and middle managers are unable to initiate and implement a successful reengineering effort. The first reason is that the push for reengineering must come from the top of an organisation as people near the front line lack the broad perspective that reengineering demands. Their expertise is largely bound to the individual functions and departments that they stay in. The second reason is that any business process will cross organisational boundaries and no midlevel managers will have the sufficient authority to insist on a process to be transformed. Furthermore, some of the affected middle managers will fear that major changes to existing processes might kill off their own power or authority. These managers have much invested in the existing ways of doing things and the future of the company may compromise t heir own career interests. They will fear changes and if radical changes threaten to bubble up, they may resist it. Only Strong leadership from above will induce people to accept the transformation changes. Bury reengineering in the middle of the corporate agenda(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.230) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.231) stated that if organisations do not put reengineering at the top of their agenda, they will never get it done. They mentioned that without constant managerial concern, the natural tendency of doing what people pretty much want will be reverted back. This will result BPR to fail altogether. Dissipate energy across a great many reengineering projects(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.231) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.231) stated that reengineering requires companies to concentrate their efforts on small number of processes at any given time. This is for example if customer service, research and development and sales processes all need radical redesign and nothing will really happen if all of them are done simultaneously. Attempt to reengineer when the CEO is two years from retirement(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.231) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.231) stated here that the CEO is the head of the business. If any organisation attempts to reengineer when the CEO is one or two years away from retiring may take a dim and unenthusiastic view to reengineering. They stated that this is because a retiree may not want to deal with such complex issues that will constraint a successor. Another problem raised by them is that when CEO is about to retire, contenders for that post will want to focus on impressing rather than doing reengineering which could hinder their advancement such as reengineering. Pull out when people start to resist to reengineering changes making(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.233) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.233) stated that people almost would resist to change. It is in a human trait to resist major changes. When managers are face to resistant and do not press on, it is almost likely that BPR will fail. Drag the effort out(Hammer Champy, 2001, pp.234) Hammer and Champy(2001, pp.234) stated that reengineering is known to be a stressful job for everyone. Stretching it over a long period will discomfort start to surface. Normally 1 year should be enough for a company to move from articulation of a case for action to the first release of a reengineered process. Taking longer and people may become frustrated and the reengineering will fall apart. Conclusion: Based on the research on the failure factors of BPR, we could conclude that our hypothesis is not fully correct. It is found in the survey by Elmuti Kathawala(2000) that non understanding of BPR as the top factors leading to failure. Resistant to changes has become ranked as number 5. Which allow me to come to a conclusion that although BPR is about dramatic changes, it is not necessary classified as the main factor for failure in the BPR implementation.

Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria) :: essays research papers

Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria ) from an essay by Katrina Tram Duong, edited by S.N. Carson M.D. Necrotizing fasciitis, known commonly known as "flesh eating bacteria [infection]", occurs in a wide range of people 1. It occurs in the elderly, middle aged and younger patients. It occurs in athletes and debilitated individuals. It can occur in drug abusers with self inflicted wounds and healthy individuals with incidental injuries. It may occur in those with metabolic disorders such as diabetes and those with suppressed immune systems. It may occur in those with no underlying disorders and no known particular injury. It occurs under ordinary circumstances such as a seemingly harmless cut or scrape and in wounds resulting from major trauma such as an auto accident. There is no single way of contracting necrotizing fasciitis. One patient reported that he caught it while he was at the beach and may have scraped his skin. There are some cases that have been reported after bug or dog bites. We have also seen confirmed drug users who got the infection but declared they didn’t know how the bacteria could have entered their body. There have been numerous cases where injection of illicit drugs can produce infections that present with signs of a simple cutaneous abscess and yet unpredictably evolve into an extensive necrotizing soft tissue infection 1. Fig1. This is a picture of a leg with full blown necrotizing fasciitis, just prior to surgery. Note the discoloration. The skin feels crepitant and the area is extremely tender. A larger picture with detail is available by clicking this thumbnail print. Necrotizing fasciitis is a deep infection of the subcutaneous tissues that results in progressive destruction of fat and fascia. The progression is usually rapid and, as an example, this author has seen it spread throughout one leg in a little over one hour. Of course, this has an instant effect on the blood supply to these areas. Alternative names for necrotizing fasciitis are fasciitis-necrotizing; infection-necrotizing subcutaneous; subcutaneous infection-bacterial5. Untreated and unconstrained, it can destroy massive amounts of tissue and result in amputation and even death in a short period of time. Fig. 2. Another leg as above presurgical for necrotizing fasciitis. When first seen two hours prior, the discoloration was only present at the ankle. A larger picture with detail is available by clicking this thumbnail print. Necrotizing fasciitis is caused most commonly by Streptococcus pyogenes, group A streptococcus, which is the same bacteria that causes common strep throat 8.

indian history :: essays research papers

Chapter 6 Indian Removal Policy -- White settlers believed that Indians stood in the way of their progress -- 1820's Isaac McCoy, Baptist minister, believed that Indians would like to live in Kansas present idea to Sec. Of War Calhoun -- William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs negotiated treaties (agreements) with the Kansa and Osage Indians n to insure move of Indians Congress passes the Indian Removal Act of 1830 n promised the land in Oklahoma for â€Å"as long as the grass grows and the rivers run† n which was until 1906 n Trail of tears -- forced marches to insure move of Indians n Five civilized tribes n Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee, Seminole n Cherokee adopt republican form of gov’t. John Ross Cherokee leader n Have written language (Sequoya) n Take U.S. to court to keep lands n Cherokee Nation v. Georgia n Chief Justice John Marshall rule in favor of the Indians n President Andrew Jackson â€Å" He’s made his decision, now let’s see him enforce it† n First group of 3000 began in summer of 1838 n 12,000 waited in prison camps and traveled during the winter of 1838-1839 forced there by 7000 U.S. Troops n one third to one fourth died on the trail 3000 to 4000 deaths n Conducted using U.S. Troops n n between 1825 and 1850, 25 tribes of Indians were removed or forced to move by settlers, and cavalry n 70,000 Indians give up their homes Cherokee Indians of Georgia Shawnee and Delaware Indians of Missouri -- Also Ottawa, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, Miami, New York, and Quapaw -- Indians did not like the climate or environment of Kansas Settlers and Governmental officials cheated the Indians out of blankets, food, clothing, and shelter Resale to whites or pocket money -- Indians fought among themselves and took advantage of each other Missionaries from different tribes tried to "civilize" the Indians -- teach them the white mans way and to abandon their own way of life Osage Mission tried to teach Christianity to the Indians â€Å"Mission Neosho† the first Indian mission in Kansas even before Indian Removal Act 1824 1831 -- Shawnee Baptist Mission was started by Johnston Lykins Jotham Meeker brought the first printing press to Kansas Prints the first book in Kansas Ottawa Indian Laws Ottawa University develop later at mission -- Started Shawnee Sun (Siwinowe Kesibwi) a newspaper -- moved to Ottawa Indians near Franklin County Printing hymnals, scriptures, and newspaper 1832 -- Shawnee Methodist Mission in Wyandotte County (1839) moved to Johnson County Run by Thomas Johnson until it closed in 1862 Johnson County Organized in 1855. County seat, Olathe. Named for Rev. Thomas Johnson, a Methodist minister, who in 1829 established a mission among the Shawnee Indians, about eight miles southwest of Kansas City.

Student :: essays research papers

Throughout the eighteenth century until the nineteen fifties, different countries have participated in the acts of industrialization and modernization more fully then others. There were many factors that permitted these countries to industrialize and modernize at a much greater pace than their significant opponents in the world industry. While rapid urbanization in Britain and dictatorship in Argentina and Russia promoted industrialization and modernization, the imperialist policies and ideas of Britain hindered industrial development in Egypt. Rapid urbanization played a very important role in the industrialization and modernization of Britain. Industrialization was a long hard process in Britain; however they were the first group of people to undergo this long process. The reason industrialization occurred in Britain was due simply to the fact that they had an astronomical jump in population. Within a one hundred year span, Britain’s population grew from 5.5 million in 1750 to over 16 million in 1851. The large population growth caused a great deal of economic and agricultural improvements for the British people. Farming was made easier and more efficient due to England undergoing a process of agricultural improvement that enabled fewer farmers to feed more people while cultivating the same amount of land. â€Å"People also migrated at an unprecedented rate- from the Countryside to the cities† (Bulliet, page 610). This caused a great population shift from the agricultural southeast to the midlands and t he north. Due to the fact that people started to search for jobs, a large portion of the population started to migrate to the midlands and the northern parts of the country; this gave a large source of inexpensive labor for the rich business owners to profit. (Bulliet, pages 609-612) A great deal of the British Industrialization was involved in the cloth and clothing industry. Britain was importing raw material such as cotton and silk from India, mass producing it, and then selling it back to India for an enormous profit. Now that urbanization brought a huge amount of the labor force to the factory towns and cities, this made it so that Britain could now produce more and more cloth and before they even knew it they were the largest producers of cloth in the world. (Bulliet pg.610) Historians propose a number of reasons for the cause of industrialization and modernization in Britain. Among the most persuasive is the enormous increase in food production following the establishment of the enclosure laws of the

Women in Umuofian Soceity Essay -- essays research papers

Women in Umuofian Society "It is the woman whose child has been eaten by a witch who best knows the evils of witchcraft." That simple saying can best relate to the experience of women in the Umuofian society. A person cannot truly hope to understand how things work unless he or she was there to experience it. And that can apply to learning a new language, a new culture or learning history. The perspective given from the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, states the way of life without any favoritism towards any particular way of life. Achebe just affirmed that lifestyle as a native would, void of any outside influences. In this case, the male narration focuses not only of the tragedy of Okonkwo, but also how the people around are affected and how in turn the culture affects him. Women seem to play a minor role in everyday life, but their function in the community is just as important as that of the men. The main role that was given to women was that they belonged in the home and for the most part they were to bee seen and not heard. Their influence and authority do not exist much in that culture, especially for the wives of Okonkwo. A main character in the novel, Okonkwo has several wives. Okonkwo presided over all of his wives and children with a heavy hand. When Ikemefuna comes to live in Okonkwo's household, the first wife questions the length of the boy's stay. In reply he answers, " 'Do ...

Psy: Obedience Essay

Obedience is the act of practicing obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance. Humans have an instinct to obey because of the role authority plays. Milgram’s research proves my point in his case study that involved shocks of voltage. From birth, we learn that everything has a consequence or punishment after an action. Children learn simple philosophies in their youngest age such as obeying their parent’s requests. Something as simple as eating vegetables has a consequence. A reward gives the child satisfaction to emphasize the good behavior or, in the opposite case, bad behavior. As humans get older, this simple idea enlarges when it applies to different phases in life. Scientists like Milgrim and Marta Laupa study factors that play a role in obedience using variables like electrical shocks. In the psychology department, scientists like Milgrim, studied obedience to understand human behavior. He used cruel and unusual ways to study how humans will react to authority. The punishments included electrical shocks at different voltages. This is just one of way psychologists test authority versus obedience. His experiment involved 42 participants, some of them being the enforcer and some acting as the victim. The authority role would execute the victim with electrical shocks beginning from 15 to 450. Milgrim’s blind case study took place at Harvard University where the participants agreed to take part without any kind of explanation. The authoritative volunteer requested the number of voltages from the patient. No one objected the voltage until it reached a maximum of 450. As the voltage amount rose, the participants allegedly showed signs of stress and nervousness but never refused the electricity until the last and most fatal amount of voltage. Later, Milgrim altered the study by placing the authority figure outside of the electricity room. He or she used a loudspeaker to inform the victim of the situation. Participants were all of the sudden more reluctant to obey. This unethical experiment showed researchers and fellow observers how humans obey powerful authority to almost fatal conditions. Rather than disobeying, humans will instinctively continue even when conditions are close to death. Milgrim’s results differ from Laupa. Unlike Milgrim’s results, Laupa’s were less shocking, literally. The process involved students who were appointed as conflict managers or honor patrol. The chosen ones were taught to approach students to resolve arguments such as turn-taking. Laupa required 80 children from four classes: first grade, third grade, fifth grade, and seventh grade. Subjects were then put in situations where they must chose to listen to another person. For example, the scientist listed a few such as la dy versus former peer authority. This example is fundamental to the understanding of obedience. This illustration baffles children because they are put in a situation where the lady has adult status, which shows authority but no knowledge, but the former peer authority shows knowledge but no adult status like the previous lady. Laupa’s case proves that children are a biased subject to chose for the obedience in Milgrim’s case because children have a different way of thinking compared to adults who have prior experience to the social world. Children’s naive way of thinking benefits them since they are not interested in social system that adults are in everyday. Common sense would tell us that most people believe obedience is a critical aspect in social life and plays a great role in maintaining social order. On the contrary, every human being at different ages posses different aspirations that reflect their behavior. While some people respect authority by obeying, many do not, such as criminals or the students in detention. In Milgrim’s study, it is obvious that almost everyone respected authority possibly because they were under the impression that there were greater consequences or that they were in dire need to comply. In Laupa’s study, however, it showed that children were doubtful to peer authority and even adult authority. While some children are less timid than others, children have the instinct to question others because younger people are unaware of the social status adult figures hold. When comparing the two cases studies by Milgrim and Laupa, observers would agree that from childhood, people identify authority and obey them according to their figure in society or the status they hold.

Women in Advertisements

WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS In modern societies, women and men have equal rights to law in most areas such as education and employment. Howewer, there is an unuequality as gender between male and female. Because social gender is related with power and patriarchy, a dominance of man over woman, has to do power relations. Therefore, holder of power is men and women are regarded as opressed and sex object. A social unequality between men and women is being used women and female figures in advertisements mostly.There are severeal reasons why woman or female figures are used in advertisements The fist reason to this is visuality. Visuality is important because it is the most effective way to appeal to the senses in advertisements and for this, women are used mostly. These advertisements involve beaty of women, sexuality, their body and they show that women are sex object. In addition, having a beautiful and well groomed body is important for women in advertisements. Advertisements give messag es that women improve themselves and they look beautiful and thin. Therefore, all woman want to live same life, to wear and eat same things.For example, in Doritos advertisement, Megan Fox is used and it shows that if woman is beautiful and sexy, she deserve to draw applause. Therefore, these advertisements reinforce the idea that womens are sex object. The second reason that women give informations about gender roles in advertisements. In these advertisements, women are regarded as housewife and role of women is to serve children and husband, to cook and clean. Therefore, these advertisements reinforce social gender role. In addition they have functionalist perspective because women concentrate on domestic and family responsibilities while men work outside the home.For example, ACE is a bleach advertisement and it shows that womens are a symbol of cleaning and housework. Also, in Istikbal advertisement, although woman coming from work is tired , she serves to her husband. Another p oint is that sound of authority belongs to men in advertisements because men manipulate women mostly. For example, in Kolsa, carpet detergent, advertisement, man talk with woman and help her the cleaning and it shows that men dominate over women. In conclusion, women are shown by their body or housework in advertisements.