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4.3 B USINESS P ROCESS R EENGINEERINGInspired by Cheryl Currid, Michael Hammer, James Champy, and Steven Stanton.Reengineering advocates have lauded successes including American Express “… reducing itsannual costs by $1 billion …”; AT&T turning a “… nine-figure loss to a nine-figure profit…”; afinancial firm reducing its new customer processing time from 6 to 14 days, to a few hours;and a life insurance company reducing the application process from a three-week period to lessthan one hour. On the other hand, Michael Hammer concedes that many organizations undertookreengineering efforts “… only to abandon them with little or no positive results.”However, like all the leadership tools, reengineering, in the proper circumstances, can achieveremarkable results; improperly used, it can be a very expensive failure.Some organizations use phrases like “business process design” or “process redesign” insteadof reengineering. However, the official definition of reengineering, according to MichaelHammer and James Champy, is “the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of businessprocesses to bring about dramatic improvements in performance.” (Italics are Hammer’s.) Thenext section highlights core processes that leaders need to consider if they intend to undertakebusiness process reengineering.T HE CORE PROCESS OF PROCESS REENGINEERINGFour steps or questions are at the core of the reengineering process.➊Identify the highlevelpurpose andgoals for the process.What is the currentprocess aimed atachieving?➋Analyze how thecurrent processaccomplishes thesepurposes and goals.Develop a clear mapof what we currentlydo.➌Find, or more often inventwith the use of informationtechnology, more effectiveand efficient ways ofaccomplishing these goals.➟ ➟ ➟How could we accomplishthese goals with the leasteffort, cost, and time? Wherecan we optimize the process?➍Implement thechanges required forthe improvedbusiness process.How can we makethe changeover tothe new, moreefficient, andsustainable process?T HE PRINCIPLES OF PROCESS REENGINEERINGThe reengineering principles listed here have a profound effect on the leadership culture withinan organization. They move it from top-down control to a more involving and democraticculture. Ironically, although castigated for its antihumane aspects, many reengineering failuresare actually due to leaders being unwilling to give up control (i.e., this work often becomesbogged down when people in power have strong vested interests in the status quo).108 SECTION 4 TOOLS FOR DESIGNING PRODUCTIVE PROCESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS