Exploiting information systems and technology through business process improvement

Abstract

An increasing number of business managers have been looking at business process reengineering (BPR) as a way of applying information technology (IT) to their businesses. Their belief is that process improvement which includes an IT component will allow them to gain competitive advantage and provide quality products and services to their customers. Furthermore, core business processes in most of today's organizations are supported by information systems (IS), and if benefits are to be realized from BPR it will often involve reengineering the information systems that support these processes. The relationship between process improvement and IS/IT is difficult to grasp at times. However, it is widely believed that the two are mutually dependent in the majority of organizations. Given this, it is essential to explore this relationship further. This paper examines how BPR has provided an opportunity for the IS community to combine the rigour of the IS discipline with organizational change and also for IS/IT to facilitate BPR. It is suggested that the two approaches have much to learn from each other. Case studies in three organizations both in the UK and abroad are used to demonstrate how IS/IT plays a significant part in organizational change and business reengineering initiatives. This paper examines the possible reasons why so many reengineered IS/IT systems are failing to support business needs, and examines whether BPR offers a partial solution by analysing the systems development work in the three cases. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Cornwallis Emmanuel Ltd.