Abstract
M. Comm.
The turbulence in the business environment, and the era of global competition, are making it very difficult for organisations to remain profitable. The organisations also still work according to old outdated rules and practices. The demands on businesses in the present climate have changed drastically over the last ten to fifteen years, and businesses have to change their processes in order to stay competitive and remain profitable. The way in which most businesses change their processes is called Business Process Reengineering. The organisation determines whether the business they are in, is in fact the business they should be in. It is starting all over or from scratch, according to the current demands of the customer and the environment, redesigning their business processes. Reengineering promises radical improvements in cost, quality, speed, and service levels, thereby drastically improving its performance. This sometimes involves the redesign of an entire business or business process. Business processes consist of various elements, and one of the elements present, is the culture of an organisation. When business processes are changed, the culture of an organisation, mostly, also has to change. The careful matching of a new business process with the appropriate culture is very difficult, but when this match is achieved, it leads to those drastic improvements in performance that reengineering promises. The leader is the most important person in the reengineering effort. Leaders likewise determine the organisational culture in an organisation. However, it is often with the advent of a new leader that a reengineering effort is tackled. With this effort, often a new culture has to be implemented, and it could prove to be very difficult, especially in cases where an organisation has a very strong culture. Leaders, therefore, have to be acutely aware of the dangers that exist, especially if the match between culture and the correct reengineering strategy, is a
mismatch. In cases where the culture and the strategy do not match perfectly, (and they seldom do), the measure of success will be determined by how well the two are adjusted in order to match as perfectly as possible. It must be borne in mind that the reengineering process as such originated in the USA, the process is now applied in Southern Africa, without any adjustments for the difference in culture that exist between the western and the african cultures. It must be stressed that there are differences between the western and African cultures, in as far as the western culture is very individualistic, versus the communal type of culture in Africa. In chapter two, the main concept constituting this study, namely Business Process Reengineering, is established and several concepts thereoff are examined and defined. Clarity is given to reengineering and the main differences between reengineering and other programmes are pointed out. The recurring characteristics that typify reengineered processes, from the research that Hammer & Champy (1994: 51 - 64) did, are discussed, as well as some reengineering trends that occurred. The different roles and responsibilities pertaining to reengineering have been highlighted. The chapter ends with some analytical and intuitive techniques which could be utilised to stimulate creativity in the reengineering team, as well as a five stage model which the team leader could use in order to enhance the creative problem solving process. In chapter three an attempt is made to highlight the importance of organisational culture on the process of reengineering.