How to make reengineering really work.docx

How to make reengineering really work.docx

《How to make reengineering really work.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《How to make reengineering really work.docx（24页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

Howtomakereengineeringreallywork

Howtomakereengineeringreallywork

Companiesoftensquandertheirenergiesonattractive-lookingprojectsthatfailtoproducebottom-lineresults

EUGENEA.HALL,JAMESROSENTHAL,ANDJUDYWADE

TheMcKinseyQuarterly,1994Number2,pp.107–128

Astudyofreengineeringprojectsinover100companiesrevealshowdifficulttheseprojectsaretoplanandimplementand,moreimportant,howoftentheyfailtoachieverealbusiness-unitimpact.Thestudyidentifiedtwofactors—breadthanddepth—thatarecriticalintranslatingshort-term,narrow-focusprocessimprovementsintolong-termprofits.SuccessfulprojectsatBancadiAmericaediItalia,SiemensNixdorfService,andAT&Tdemonstratehowcompaniescanappropriatelymaketheirreengineeringprojectsbroaderanddeeper.Suchefforts,however,ifpoorlymanaged,provokeorganizationalresistance.Butsuchoppositioncanbeovercomeifcommittedmanagersapproachreengineeringasapainfulbutnecessarydisruptionofthestatusquo.

Inalltoomanycompanies,reengineeringhasbeensimultaneouslyagreatsuccessandagreatfailure.Aftermonths,evenyears,ofcarefulredesign,thesecompaniesachievedramaticimprovementsinindividualprocessesonlytowatchoverallresultsdecline.Bynow,paradoxicaloutcomesofthiskindhavebecomealmostcommonplace.Acomputercompanyreengineersitsfinancedepartment,reducingprocesscostsby34percent,yetoperatingincomestalls.Aninsurercutsclaims-processtimeby44percent,yetprofitsdrop.Managersproclaima20percentcostreduction,a50percentprocess-timereduction,a25percentqualityimprovement,yetinthesameperiod,business-unitcostsincreaseandprofitsdecline.

Inshort,toomanycompaniessquandermanagementattentionandotherresourcesonprojectsthatlooklikewinnersbutfailtoproducebottom-lineresultsforthebusinessunitasawhole.

Butwhy?

Thepromiseofreengineeringisnotempty:

itcanactuallydeliverrevolutionaryprocessimprovements,andmajorreengineeringeffortsarebeingconductedaroundtheworld.Whythencan'tcompaniesconveytheseresultstothebottomline?

THREECRITICALELEMENTS

Ourresearchexaminedreengineeringprojectsinmorethan100companiesandincludeddetailedanalysisof20oftheseprojects.Itrevealedhowdifficultredesignsactuallyaretoplanandimplementand,moreimportant,howoftentheyfailtoachieverealbusiness-unitimpact.Ourstudyidentifiedtwofactors—breadthanddepth—thatarecriticalintranslatingshort-term,narrow-focusprocessimprovementsintolong-termprofits.First,theprocesstoberedesignedmustbebroadlybasedoncostorcustomervalueinordertoimproveperformanceacrosstheentirebusinessunit.Andtheredesignmustpenetratetoacompany'score,fundamentallychangingsixcrucialorganizationalelements.Thesedepthleversincluderolesandresponsibilities;measurementsandincentives;organizationalstructure;informationtechnology;sharedvalues;andskills.

Totranslateshort-term,narrow-focusimprovementsintolong-termprofits,theprocesstoberedesignedmustbebroadlybasedoncostorcustomervalue

Successfulreengineeringprojectsindiverseindustriesandlocationsdemonstratehowcompaniescanexpandthedimensionsoftheirreengineeringprojects.SeniorexecutivesatBancadiAmericaediItalia（BAI）,AT&T,andSiemensNixdorfService,forexample,setbroadgoals,fromcreatingapaperlessbankatBAItobecomingthemostcustomer-responsiveandskilledcomputer-servicingcompanyatSiemensNixdorf.Theythencompletelyrestructuredallorganizationalelements—anythingfromthelayoutofBAI'sbranchofficestotheskillsrequiredofAT&T'ssalespeople—inordertoimplementthenewdesignssuccessfully.

Ultimately,however,areengineeringproject—likeanymajorchangeprogram—canproducelastingresultsonlyifseniorexecutivesinvesttheirtimeandenergy.AstheexperiencesofBAI,AT&T,andSiemensNixdorfreveal,large-scalereengineeringexactsextraordinaryeffortatalllevelsofanorganization.Withoutstrongleadershipfromtopmanagement,thepsychologicalandpoliticaldisruptionsthataccompanysuchradicalchangecansabotagetheproject.Inevitably,managersandemployeesmayfeelthattheirturf,jobs,andorganizationalequilibriumareunderattack.Buttop-levelmanagerscanovercomeoppositiontothenewdesigniftheyapproachreengineeringasapainfulbutnecessarydisruptionofthestatusquo

Areengineeringprojectcanproducelastingresultsonlyifseniorexecutivesinvesttheirtimeandenergy

Expandingthedimensionsofreengineering

Performanceimprovement in11ofthe20casesthatweexaminedindetailmeasuredlessthan5percent,whetherevaluatedintermsofchangeinearningsbeforeinterestandtaxes（EBIT）orintermsofreductionintotalbusiness-unitcosts.1 Respectableresults,buthardlythestuffoflegend.Ontheotherhand,manyofthesamecasesreducedcostsoftheredesignedprocessbyanimpressive15to50percent.Narrow-processsuccesseslikethesehaveledseniorexecutivestoexpectoverallbusiness-unitimprovementstofollowsuit（seeExhibit1）.

Bytakingacloselookatthe20detailedcases,wecanseewhymostprocessreengineeringeffortshaveinfacthadlittlemeasurableimpactontheoverallbusinessunit.Afewcommonmisstepsemerge.Ontheonehand,redesignprojectsoftenaimatprocessesthataretoonarrow,andchangeonlyoneortwoofthedepthlevers.Ontheotherhand,evenwithsufficientdepth,effortsstillfocusonaprocessthatistoonarrowlydefinedandthereforehaslittlediscernibleimpactonoverallperformance.Stillmoredistressing,manymanagersneverlearnthattheirreengineeringeffortsdonothavemeasurableimpact.Theyanalyzeimprovementsrelativetotheprocessbeingredesignedratherthanthebusinessunitasawhole,orneverdevelopperformancetrackingmechanismstomeasureresults.

Onlybroadanddeepprojectsproducewidespreadandlong-lastingbottom-lineresults

Onlysixofthe20companiesthatweanalyzedindetailachievedanaverage18percentreductioninbusiness-unitcosts.Thesecompanies,importantly,hadperformanceimprovementsalongmultipledimensions—typicallycost,revenue,time,andquality.Despitedifferencesinindustry,geographicregion,andcompetitivesituation,thesecompaniesdesignedandconductedtheirreengineeringprojectsinstrikinglysimilarways.Forallcompanies,expandingthedimensionsoftheredesignprojectwascriticaltosuccess.Onlythoseprojectsthatweresufficientlybroadandsufficientlydeepproducedwidespreadandlong-lastingbottom-lineresults.

Identifyingbreadthlevers

Managersmustfirstidentifytheactivitiestoincludeintheprocessbeingredesignedthatarecriticalforvaluecreationintheoverallbusinessunit.Aprocesscanbeasnarrowlydefinedasasingleactivityinasinglefunctionorasbroadlydefinedastheentirebusinesssystemforthebusinessunit.Ourstudydividedcasesintoquartilesbasedonthebreadthoftheprocessbeingredesigned.Atoneendofthespectrumwerecompaniesthatredesignedthenarrowestprocesses,usuallyasingleactivitywithinasinglefunction,suchasaccounts-payableprocesses.Middle-of-the-roadprojectsreengineeredintrafunctionalorcross-functionalprocesses,suchasnewproductdevelopmentprocesses.Andatthefarendwerecompaniesthatredesignedoneormoreprocessesthatcomprisedmostofthecriticalactivitiesinthebusinessunit（seeExhibit2）.

FINDUNEXPECTEDOPPORTUNITIESFORREDESIGN

Opportunity

Eliminateproblems

causedupstream

ofactivity

Example

ProblemErrorsinorderentryataUScomputercompanywerecausedbysalesrepresentativeswhoincorrectlyconfiguredsystems.Asaresult,thecostofthesalesandorderprocesswas30percenthigherthanthatofcompetitors,andtheerrorratesforsomeproductswereashighas100percent.

RedesignThecross-functionalredesignfixedboththeconfigurationproblemsandsalesforceskillssothaton-timedeliveryimprovedatsignificantcost-savings.

Removedelays

orerrorsduring

handoffsbetween

functionalareas

ProblemTheprocessingofanewpolicyataUKinsurancecompanyinvolvedtenhandoffsandtookatleast40daystocomplete.

Redesign.Acase-managerapproachwasimplementedsothatonlyonehandoffoccurred,andthepolicywasprocessedinlessthansevendays.

Combinestepsthat

spanbusinesses

and/orfunctions

ProblemAtaUSelectronicsequipmentmanufacturer,sevenpossiblejobtitlesinthreedifferentfunctionswereinvolvedintheninestepsrequiredtoprovisionhardware.

Redesign.Allbuttwojobtitleswereeliminated,leavingonejobinsalesandonejobinmanufacturing.

Whilethereengineeringofsingleactivitiesorfunctionscanbeimportanttocompanieswithlimitedproblems,anarrowapproachtoredesigncannotproducethekindofwidespreadresultsthatmanycompaniesarelookingfor.Processbreadthisimportantfortworeasons.First,ifmoreactivitiesareincludedintheprocess,theimprovementsaremorelikelytoextendthroughouttheentirebusinessunit.Second,ifaprocessincludesinterrelatedactivities,acompanymayidentifyincrementalopportunitiesthatwouldnotsurfaceinsingle-functionperformance-improvementefforts.Suchopportunitiesincluderemovingdelaysanderrorsinhandoffsbetweenfunctionalareas,eliminatingproblemscausedupstreamofanactivity,and,finally,combiningstepsthatspanbusinessunitsorfunctions（seeinsert）.

Toobroadortoonarrow?

Manyreengineeringeffortsfailbecauseofinsufficie