Improving the efficiency of public administrations through business process reengineering and simulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Rinaldi ◽  
Roberto Montanari ◽  
Eleonora Bottani
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Business Process ◽  
Business Process Reengineering ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Activities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a business process reengineering (BPR) approach to a public administration of Italy, to first assess the efficiency of the administration, then to redesign its internal processes, to improve the current performance. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed mapping of the AS IS processes of the public administration was initially carried out, together with the collection of the relevant data. Then, a simulation model was designed to support the BPR approach. In particular, the model was exploited to assess the performance of the AS IS scenario of the organization, then to investigate numerous TO BE process configurations and evaluate the achievable performance improvements. Findings – From the study, it emerged that the current efficiency level of the public administration examined has potentials to be significantly improved. For instance, by maintaining its current workforce, the public administration could consider the opportunity of providing additional services to the citizens or to serve citizens from the neighbouring municipalities. Otherwise, the organization could consider a reorganization and reduction of its current workforce, at the same time keeping the service level to its citizens almost unchanged. Research limitations/implications – Results of this study cannot be fully generalized, since the whole analysis is grounded on specific public administration. Moreover, although the simulation outcomes of the TO BE processes show interesting improvements compared to the AS IS scenario, the TO BE configurations were not (yet) implemented in practice. Therefore, the results provided should be confirmed in future research activities. Practical implications – The case study allowed deriving some useful guidelines to improve the efficiency of the public administration examined, as well as to identify some TO BE configurations that could be implemented in practice. Originality/value – Scientific literature includes a limited number of studies that evaluate the efficiency of public organizations in real contexts. Moreover, no studies target public administrations in Italy. Therefore, this case study represents an interesting addition to the literature.

scholarly journals Innovation and cross-functional teams

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 84-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Marasquini Stipp ◽  
Márcio Lopes Pimenta ◽  
Daniel Jugend
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Incremental Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Tax Management ◽  
Functional Teams ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The aim of this paper is to characterize how innovation may happen through cross-functional teams (CFT) in an organization of the public sector. Design/methodology/approach A case study helped to characterize several behavior patterns, team structures and respective links with generating innovation in internal processes and public answering contexts. Findings The results highlight that formal-temporary teams present a higher capacity to generate incremental innovation in products, whereas permanent-informal teams have a higher capacity to generate innovation in the internal processes and public answering contexts. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research relate to the fact that this is a single case study, and although it is an important case to examine innovation and CFTs, by its very nature, it is not possible to extend and generalize the obtained data to other organizations. The evaluation of its propositions was merely qualitative, and future research is needed to validate its characteristics. Practical implications Several settings of CFTs are presented, as well as their ability to generate different types of innovation, such as the computerization of documents, petitions and papers, which decreases the time to answer the taxpayer. Moreover, CFTs can help to create products, such as computer programs that can be used not only locally but also in several public organizations related to tax management. Originality/value The field research provides the perceptions of the respondents regarding CFT characteristics that can lead to specific types of innovation, as well as the types of products or services that can be generated by these processes.

Business process model patterns: state-of-the-art, research classification and taxonomy

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 972-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fellmann ◽  
Agnes Koschmider ◽  
Ralf Laue ◽  
Andreas Schoknecht ◽  
Arthur Vetter
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Pattern Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Process Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Research Classification

Purpose Patterns have proven to be useful for documenting general reusable solutions to a commonly occurring problem. In recent years, several different business process management (BPM)-related patterns have been published. Despite the large number of publications on this subject, there is no work that provides a comprehensive overview and categorization of the published business process model patterns. The purpose of this paper is to close this gap by providing a taxonomy of patterns as well as a classification of 89 research works. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyzed 280 research articles following a structured iterative procedure inspired by the method for taxonomy development from Nickerson et al. (2013). Using deductive and inductive reasoning processes embedded in concurrent as well as joint research activities, the authors created a taxonomy of patterns as well as a classification of 89 research works. Findings In general, the findings extend the current understanding of BPM patterns. The authors identify pattern categories that are highly populated with research works as well as categories that have received far less attention such as risk and security, the ecological perspective and process architecture. Further, the analysis shows that there is not yet an overarching pattern language for business process model patterns. The insights can be used as starting point for developing such a pattern language. Originality/value Up to now, no comprehensive pattern taxonomy and research classification exists. The taxonomy and classification are useful for searching pattern works which is also supported by an accompanying website complementing the work. In regard to future research and publications on patterns, the authors derive recommendations regarding the content and structure of pattern publications.

Healthcare Process Redesign

2011 ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
Minh Huynh ◽  
Sal Agnihothri
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Business Process Reengineering ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
Process Redesign ◽  
Healthcare Process

In this chapter, we present key principles and the limitations of business process reengineering (BPR) in general, and the use of BPR in healthcare in particular. We then present a case study of reengineering a healthcare process. The purpose of this case study is to explore the reality of how a BPR project is initiated, formulated, and implemented in a hospital setting and how it can fail. In the final discussion, we analyze the possible reasons for the failure of the BPR project and discuss their implication to the implementation of BPR in general.

Information Architectural Design in Business Process Reengineering

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Kettinger ◽  
James T.C. Teng ◽  
Subashish Guha
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Business Process Reengineering ◽  
Information Architecture ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
Process Redesign ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Relationship

Business process reengineering and information architecture share a common strategic and business process focus. Both can be mutually supportive of each other's objectives. Information architecture design can produce a stable IA capable of supporting existing as well as improved business processes. Reciprocally, business process redesign (BPR) provides a high profile business justification for the IA endeavour. Given proper collaboration between corporate and IT strategic planners, both BPR and IA efforts should produce a number of valuable common outputs. These include the identification of business processes within an organization, the prioritization of these processes based on their strategic relevance, the establishment of process performance measures, and the modelling of these processes and their supporting information resources. A synergistic model of IA and BPR is presented and selected IA techniques and modelling methods are recommended. Future research is suggested concerning the need to test the relationship between BPR and IA.

scholarly journals Formulating optimal business process change decisions using a computational hierarchical change management structure framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Alrabiah ◽  
Steve Drew
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Business Process ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Temporal Constraints ◽  
Process Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Structure

PurposeThis paper first aims to examine how business process change decisions (BPCDs) were implemented in a government organisation bound by tightly coupled temporal constraints (TTCs). Second, it focuses on how to achieve optimal and efficient BPCDs that require tight compliance with regulators’ temporal constraints. Finally, it formulates a rigorous framework that can facilitate the execution of optimal BPCDs with maximum efficiency and minimal effort, time and cost.Design/methodology/approachDecision-making biases by individuals or groups in organisations can impede optimal BPC implementation; to demonstrate this, a case study is investigated and the formulated framework is applied to tackle these failings.FindingsThe case study analysis shows 76 per cent of the BPCDs implemented were inefficient, mostly because of poor decisions, and these resulted in negative ripple effects. In response, the newly developed hierarchical change management structure (HCMS) framework was used to empower organisations to execute high-velocity BPCDs, enabling them to handle any temporal constraints imposed by regulators or other exogenous factors. The HCMS framework was found to be highly effective, scoring an average improvement of more than 100 per cent when measured using decision quality dimensions. This paper would be of value for business executives and strategic decision makers engaging with BPC.Research limitations/implicationsThe HCMS framework has been applied in a single case study as a proof of concept. Future research could extend its application to broader domains that have multi-attribute structures and environments. The evaluation processes of the proposed framework are based on subjective metrics. Causal links from the framework to business process metrics will provide a more complete performance picture.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this research assists in formulating a systematic BPCD framework that is otherwise unavailable. The practical use of the proposed framework would potentially impact on quality outcomes for organisations. The model is derived from decision trees and analytical hierarchical processes and is tailored to address this problematic area. The proposed HCMS framework would help organisations to execute efficient BPCDs with minimal time, effort and cost. The HCMS framework contributes to the academic literature on BPCD that leverages diverse stakeholders to engage in BPC initiatives.Originality/valueThe research presents a novel framework –HCMS – that provides a platform for organisations to easily determine and solve hierarchical decision structure problems, thereby allowing them to efficiently automate and institutionalise optimal BPCDs.

scholarly journals Business process reengineering in developing economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Nkurunziza ◽  
John Munene ◽  
Joseph Ntayi ◽  
Will Kaberuka
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Business Process ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Process Reengineering ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between organizational adaptability, institutional leadership and business process reengineering performance using the tested complexity theory in a developing economy setting. Design/methodology/approach This study is correlation and cross-sectional and adopts institutional-level data collected via questionnaires from reengineered microfinance institutions in Uganda. Cluster analysis as data mining technique was used to classify cases based on respondents’ opinions into homogeneous clusters. Nvivo was used to understand the perceptions of business process reengineering performance based on qualitative data. The authors used structural equation modeling to derive the predictive model of business process reengineering performance in a developing world setting. Findings The authors find that organizational adaptability and institutional leadership are key predictors of business process reengineering performance. Results reveal a predictive model of 61 per cent based on structural equation modeling for the study variables. Cluster analysis as data mining approach explored complex patterns of reengineered business processes. Research limitations/implications The use of cluster analysis is susceptible to problems associated with sampling error and absence of fit indices. However, the likelihood of these problems is reduced by the interaction with the data, practical implications and use of smart partial least square to generate structural equations based on derived measurement models of each study variable. Practical implications Policymakers of Bank of Uganda, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, should develop sound policies in relation to knowledge management, institutional leadership and adaptive mechanisms to enhance business process reengineering performance to take advantage of new knowledge opportunities for the improvement of their businesses. Social implications Given the results from structural equations generated, managers need to consider institutional leadership and organizational adaptability as key drivers of business process reengineering performance in microfinance institutions. The results confirm the significant role of institutional leadership, organizational adaptability in determining business process reengineering performance outcomes. Originality/value Unlike most of the business process reengineering literature, this study contributes to literature by domesticating and testing complexity theory to explain business process reengineering performance in developing economies.

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