How Process Enterprises Really Work

Introduction James Champy, Michael Hammer, and others introduced the concept of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) in the early 1990’s. Both Hammer and Champy have authored several books on the subject since then as BPR became a hot buzzword. They now both lead separate consulting practices focusing on helping companies improve their processes. Steve Stanton, co-author of the article How Process Enterprises Really Work, works with Hammer at his consulting practice. Champy, Hammer, and other proponents of Business Process Reengineering envisioned it to be a “fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvement in critical measures of performance” (Management Learning). According to Hammer, a process is “everything that transpires from the beginning – the point at which a customer or constituent requires something – to the point that a customer is satisfied with the results” (Harris 1999). A process enterprise is a business that takes the revolutionary concept of BPR and transforms their organization. In the article, How Process Enterprises Really Work, Hammer and Steve Stanton reiterate the importance of building a business around its core processes. They take a look at companies who have successfully applied BPR and became process enterprises, noted some of the obstacles these companies faced and how the obstacles were overcome, and reaffirmed the techniques for becoming a successful process enterprise. After a brief summary of the article, a discussion on why BPR is important and what is necessary to succeed at BPR will follow. To close, some criticisms of BPR, a comparison to other business management techniques such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM), and a general recommendation will ensue.

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