Process Redesign: The Implementation Guide for Managers
Total quality management was the dominant business strategy of the 1980s and reshaped many corporations around the world. In spite of the successes achieved by some, it eluded just as many, mostly because these companies were unable to tie quality to results like increased revenues, profits, or market share. The road to total quality management became littered with the companies that gave up or got lost along the way.Similarly, reengineering, a technique for achieving quantum leaps in performance, became one of the hottest business topics of the early 1990s. But what are the results? Michael Hammer and James Champy, authors of the best-selling Reengineering the Corporation, estimated in early 1994 that well over half of the radical change programs they advocated faded into oblivion (Stewart, Thomas A. 1994. "Rate Your Readiness to Change." Fortune, February 7, 106.). Yet numerous CEOs continue to hoist the reengineering banner in campaigns to achieve radical improvement.In recognition of the difficulty of leading an effective change effort, we've written a book to help increase the chances of success in improving organization-wide performance. This book is built on our experience, first as practitioners and then as consultants. It is designed for leaders at any level who are committed to drastically improving their organization's performance through redesigning its processes. This book goes beyond "the quick-read books" on total quality management and reengineering by providing a step-by-step guide on what to do.Our principal objective is to offer specific and comprehensive guidance on how to achieve world-class performance by systematically improving processes. We set the stage with fundamental information to help you understand the concepts. We then provide details on specific techniques and share our experience with a variety of companies through extensive examples.Part I describes the organizational culture, leadership, and strategic elements that serve as the foundation for improvement. This section is organized as a brief text on the fundamental principles of process management and direction setting.Part II provides guidance on how to analyze performance. This section presents instructions and worksheets for identifying core processes and for prioritizing changes required in products, services, and processes. Tools and techniques are explained for documenting processes and measuring performance.Part III is the heart of the book. It describes how to improve processes, beginning with chartering improvement teams. This section details continuous improvement and two more aggressive approaches: benchmarking and reengineering. We build on our earlier book, Total Quality Management: Three Steps to Continuous Improvement, and explain benchmarking in accordance with that subject's leading authority and a valued associate, Robert C. Camp.The book features extensive checklists and graphics to clarify key points. Discussion questions are offered at the end of each chapter to stimulate reader's thinking about the possible application of the tools, techniques, and approaches to their own organization.0201633914P04062001