Business process reengineering (BPR) involves the radical re-design of the core business process to attain a substantial improvement in productivity, quality, and time cycle ( Cempel, 2010) . Generally, BPR encompasses the scrutiny of the organization’s workflow, identifying processes that are inefficient or sub-par, and determining ways of changing or getting rid of them. According to Cempel (2010) , BPR is a remarkably effective method of fostering business operation and performance. Additionally, effective execution of BPR results in notable improvements in the entire organizational operations. First, BPR simplifies the business process and empower people within the organization to execute their duties ( Cempel, 2010) . Second, BPR expands job descriptions into multi-dimension, hence, enabling employees to perform a wider range of tasks. Also, BPR helps in shifting organizational emphasis away from the individual-centered performance towards teamwork and team’s achievement. Moreover, BPR enhances professionalism, customer satisfaction, and achievement of desired organizational results. Equally important, BPR does not only enhance the creation of new business processes, but it rather focuses on creating a new organization in all dimensions ( Cempel, 2010) .
Typically, BPR concept brings valuable changes to an organization as summarized on the table ( Cempel, 2010) .
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Organization without BPR |
Organization with BPR |
| Business processes are more complex and are sometimes ambiguous. | Business processes are simplified and outlined chronologically |
| Job descriptions are often shallow and one-sided, where employees are obliged to work in a single-line of duties. | Job descriptions are broadened and become multi-dimensional. Thus, employees perform a wider range of responsibilities |
| Duties are regularly individual-based and achievements are similarly individualized. | Emphasis shifts from individual-based performance towards team-work and the team’s success. |
| Encompasses hierarchy of management and vertical chain of command: decision making falls to the managers | The organizational structure is modified from a hierarchy to a flatter arrangement: decision making falls to the employees. |
| Characterized by protective value systems | Value systems change from being protective to productive |
| Organizations are aligned with departments | Organizations are aligned with end-to-end processes |
| The responsibilities and motives of managers are mainly to supervise | The responsibility and motive of the managers change from supervision to coaching other employees. |
| Employees endeavor to please the management and the boss | Employees focus is mainly directed towards customer service and customer satisfaction |
| Managers are normally the central focus point for the firm | Emphasizes professionalism as the key focus point for the organization. |
Notably, Gift Ltd was facing a wide range of challenges. Primarily the organization had a complex business process that hindered efficiency. In addition, Gift Ltd had faulty job descriptions that entailed shallow responsibilities for each worker ( Cempel, 2010) . This had resulted in the employment of excess employees and subsequently the high cost of labor. Additionally, the organization was experiencing a huge decline in sales, resulting in a radical reduction in profitability in 2003 ( Cempel, 2010) . Further, this leads to fear and anxiety about the future, hence, inducing the desire for change to remedy the existing problems. Hence, the organization needed to execute BPR to rectify the existing problems, establish itself as the market leader in standards of sales, and foster profitability.
BPR introduced numerous valuable changes to Gift Ltd. At first, the processes were merged: sales from the stock and order process were merged, in addition to teams and infrastructures ( Cempel, 2010) . Also, contemporary means of selling unsold items through the internet was established. Furthermore, contemporary process rules were created. For instance, salesmen were assigned customers, and a customer could substitute servicing salesmen in league with mega-process directors, job descriptions were broadened, where salesmen were accorded more duties: to coordinate the entire process from sales to delivery and making claims ( Cempel, 2010) . Hence, salesmen were required to advise clients concerning products, styles, and new trends. Ideally, salesmen became sales constant and they were regarded as customer care consultants (CCC). Fundamentally, re-engineering principles entailed development of new processes such as integrating the role of IT, focus on the customer perspective, focus on real value added, responsibility for the entire process, focus on results, and empowerment ( Cempel, 2010) .
Besides, new guiding principles for recruitment, training, technical infrastructure, and building architecture were introduced during the process ( Cempel, 2010) . Not to mention, new showrooms that had a definite style, color, and name, capacity to change from season to season, definite music and smell, and contemporary concept of decorative items season-low were also introduced. Importantly, the emphasis was shifted from individual-based performance towards team-work and the team's success ( Cempel, 2010) . For example, customers’ satisfaction was attributed to the commitment of all suppliers involved in the process from CCC to stockmen. Furthermore, four key management initiatives were introduced: sales project management, import project management, sample project management, and distribution project management ( Cempel, 2010) .
After the implementation of BPR, quantitative and qualitative results were recorded. Resultantly, the organization received remarkably positive feedback from clients ( Cempel, 2010) . Basically, the implementation of BPR resulted in outstanding financial performance. For the example, Gift Ltd recorded almost 1000% in profit growth in the following year, 975% in return on equity, and 173% in earnings before interest and taxes among other quantitative measures ( Cempel, 2010) . Generally, the goal of profit expansion and becoming a market leader in standards of selling was attained through BPR. In fact, profit expansion level was homogenous to reengineering outcome characterized in the literature. Moreover, employees experienced salary growth, monotonous routines changed to more fascinating activities, while empowerment gave workers more power, liberty, and assistance from coaches and Mega-process Directors ( Cempel, 2010) . This led to the expansion of skills, knowledge, and experience for workers. However, besides the emphasis on team achievements rather than individual-based recognition, Gift Ltd could also have developed an employee-appraisal and rewarding mechanism to acknowledge and reward individual efforts and stimulate more responsibility and commitment among workers.
References
Cempel, W. (2010). Logistic process reengineering: a case study. Total Logistic Management , (3), 5-20.
