The Elements of Business Process Change

Abstract

One of the tools used by governments to bring about organizational
transformation is business process change (BPC). The objective of BPC is to
bring dramatic changes in the way organizations conduct their business.
Though the BPC concept seems to be conceptually appealing, it has been
reported by many scholars that BPC comes short of its expectations. This study
aimed at identifying and assessing the factors that contribute for successful
implementation of BPC projects in organizations of the developing country
context. The factors identified as important include the degree to which
strategic business process changes are included in the BPC project, level and
complexity of problems encountered; the degree to which proposed BPC
objectives are being identified and incorporated in these change project plans
and are actually derived; and the impact of BPC endeavors on business
processes and on the organization. The study developed hypotheses about the
BPC implementation process and the test results were found to be consistent
with the hypotheses. The result of the study revealed that organizations give
little attention to strategic processes critical to the very existence of the
organization and employees’ empowerment recommended in the BPC
literature. While implementing BPC, the most frequent problems seem to be
very difficult to address such as communication barriers, the unforeseen
magnitude of the BPC effort, and its interruption to operations. Based on
findings of the study, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made
for practitioners to focus on success factors such as top management
commitment. Well organized BPC project team and plans, focus on outcomes,
sufficient resources and fund, well defined communications plan, team spirit
and good working environment.