BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINERRING (BPR)-AN OPTIMIZATION TOOL

Posted by sdp

November 3rd, 2009

Introduction:

Business processes are found in every economic pursuit. Process signifies systematic, sequential, and logical series of activities directed at obtaining a predetermined outcome in an effective manner. Business processes may be viewed as chains. Hammer and Champy define business process reengineering as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvement in critical, contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed.

Business Process Reengineering challenges the basic assumptions on which the organizations have been built (hierarchy, specialization, functional; command and control culture, etc.). It firmly discriminating focus on the business process. The primary and significant business process strives for meeting or exceeding customer expectations and delighting them.

From the above, it is felt that, BPR is an analytical, intellectual and reconstruction activity. It is a complex, dynamic, costly, and time-consuming task. The goal is to improve. It requires collective wisdom, mutual understanding, voluntary and active support of one and all within and outside the organization including top management.

It is in this context, an attempt was made to illustrate a few reengineering initiatives undertaken by the banks, railways, Management institutes of repute for admission process in India. These have improved the process of serving the users in a cost-effective manner and also improved the image of the provider of the service.

Teller’s System: The banks introduced teller’s system to simplify the money-withdrawal process from the savings bank by the depositors. Its purpose was to save the bank customers from the inconvenience of waiting. The presentation of withdrawal instrument and the bank pass book to the cashier is considered sufficient, provided nothing else is suspicious or incremental, to make quick payment of cash to the depositor. It has greatly improved the customer’s satisfaction and bank image.

ATM (Automatic Tellers Machine): It is techno-propelled customer-friendly machine aimed at providing round the clock liquidity solution to the bank customers possessing ATM cards. It has not altogether replaced human intervention in money-withdrawal process as the cheque nor is duly filled-up withdrawal form required. The machine supplies the needed money to the depositor. It has improved customers service, bank image, and in the long run will reduce the operational costs of serving the customers.

Common Entrance Test (CAT): The system of Common Entrance Test for admission to different educational programmes viz., MBA, MCA, BE, MBBS, BDS, MD, BAMS etc. is in vogue. This has reduced the cost and inconvenience and increased the informational availability to the prospective candidates in respect of number of seats, eligibility criteria, faculty, placement, fees, infrastructural facilities, etc. This is also an act of admission process reengineering introduced by the educational administrators in the state of Haryana.

Railway Reservation: The Indian Railway reengineered the ticket reservation system by linking all major stations with computer network. The computer network technology has enabled the passengers to get railway reservation to and fro for any station from a computerized ticket reservation window. It has helped in improving the passenger’s satisfaction level, reducing the waiting time, and malpractices. The new system has increased the revenue receipts from reservations besides aiding in greater control over reservation staff and transparency and openness in the system.

Assessment of Income Tax: The income tax form Saral is people friendly reengineering activity because it has saved the tax assessees from the cumbersome and lengthy income tax forms as these were in the past and made them law abiding citizens as is visible by the quantum jump by the increasing number of income tax assessees year after year despite shrinking employment market.

Inspite of the above cited illustrations for BPR, The example of these kinds can be noticed in every field of life. Some of them are:

(i) Automatic clearance of Foreign Direct Investment Proposal, and

(ii) Removal of quantitative restrictions on import and

(iii) Exports of some items/commodities, sales tax self assessment schemes, etc.

Conclusion

The business process reengineering effort seeks to change process structure by empowering motivated front-line workers to make decisions by providing access to relevant information. BPR, to be effective, requires, in fact, change in mindset. It needs to be customer directed. It is analytical, strategic, cross-functional, creative and innovative in nature. Its theme is to think afresh, evolve new processes, and seek active and willing participation of one and all, senior and junior, internal or external participants. Its aphorism is breakthrough for better, elimination of non-value adding activities, promotion of new thinking, up gradation of skills, and empowerment of all.