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CHAMPY, JAMES. "REENGINEERING MANAGEMENT".
Term Paper ID:23523
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Essay Subject:
Summary & review of work on theoretical & concrete changes needed for management in era of business uncertainty.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Summary & review of work on theoretical & concrete changes needed for management in era of business uncertainty.
Paper Introduction:
James Champy, in Reengineering Management: The Mandate for New Leadership, studies the turbulent world of modern business in a follow-up work to his 1993 work Reengineering the Corporation. In the previous work, the author presented a broader picture of corporate opportunities for more effective and efficient "operational processes---product development, for example, or order fulfillment." In this new work, Champy focuses on the role of and requirements for management in the reengineering process.
The first chapter addresses questions often raised by readers of his earlier work. One of the purposes of this chapter is to justify another book on the subject of reengineering, and he accomplishes this end effectively. The nature of many of these questions and his own continuing research have led him to
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That ideal corporation is precisely whatChampy is after, in fact. In Chapter 1, Champy writes honestly that the goals of his first bookhave been only partially achieved, requiring a second book: Our earlier book was largely about reengineering work---the operational processes performed by salespeople, clerks, factory and warehouse hands, repair people, engineers, technicians, customer- service folks, field representatives. When Champyfocuses on such practical and specific examples, where the human and thebusiness coincide, his work proves most effective. His honesty and directness overcome the limitationsof his writing style. Here themore manipulative elements of the reengineering process are revealed: Reengineering begins with a strategic imperative: Anticipate--- better yet, initiate---the currents and cross currents of customer demands, needs, and wants. This is perhaps due in part to the nature of hisaudience. Champy effectively cites an example at 3M, where a renewed sense ofteamwork revitalized the electronics department. The successful manager, after all, wants to cut to the muscleof the message. In addition, the author emphasizes the point thatreengineering is a matter of humanizing the company and not merely refiningthe technical or mechanical aspects of its operations. [14]Ibid., 199. One of the purposes of this chapter is to justify anotherbook on the subject of reengineering, and he accomplishes this endeffectively. The main point Champy makes in thebook, however, is that continuing major change on every level of the modernorganization is inevitable, and managers must meet this change bravely andeagerly if they and their firms are to survive and prosper. [12]Ibid., 114. The first chapter addresses questions often raised by readers of hisearlier work. In the second chapter, for example, the "ordeal of management" isopenly acknowledged. In Chapter 8, Champy reminds the reader about a dark side toreengineering. Headdresses customer needs at length, although he hardly qualifies as a manwho puts social or moral responsibility over that economic bottom line. [2]Ibid., xii. In Chapters 4 through 6, Champy focuses on the teamwork and valuesnecessary for successful reengineering. It is crucial to reengineering because this processdepends on a sense of cooperation and community among workers at everylevel of the company. In the previous work,the author presented a broader picture of corporate opportunities for moreeffective and efficient "operational processes---product development, forexample, or order fulfillment."[1] In this new work, Champy focuses on therole of and requirements for management in the reengineering process. Champy offers suggestions for company and employeepledges with respect to the "social contract" binding the firm and itsworkers and customers into an effort to improve all related operations.The effectiveness of such pledges, Champy says, is not guaranteed, but atleast they acknowledge the significance of such human and social ideals. His first work was apparently written in the belief that suchprocesses could be limited to the non-managerial realm. Champy makes the process sound as ifit were the liberation of humanity from the chains of economic slaverywhich preceded it. Writing ofvalues, Champy differentiates between work values and social values andargues that corporate activities give individuals the opportunity toexercise and express private values in a social context which wouldotherwise remain private and personal. What keeps the reader engaged is Champy's ability to mix the humanand the economic. . This book . Therefore, Champy ismisleading in assuming, as he does in Chapter 7, that the corporation canalways effectively balance the two sets of values---economic and human. Heassumes that the reengineered corporation will flourish if it implementsstandards for workplace behavior and gets back in touch with thefundamental values upon which the firm was founded. . The leader must bring all workersinto the drive to accomplish the purpose or mission of the firm. Still, even withinthat bottom-line context, Champy does deal with the human element. Writing of downsizing, the author says that it may benecessary for efficiency and cost reduction, but it should not beimplemented without the accompanying reengineering of the firm:"Reengineering is the way to redesign work for those people remaining inthe company."[12] The fact is that, as Champy is not shy about pointing out, theprocess of reengineering a business can be painful, especially for thoseworkers (and managers) caught in the grinder of downsizing, but that painis inevitable for any business which wants to survive and thrive in thiseconomically turbulent era. Heuses the example of the CEO of Coca-Cola, who declares "constancy ofpurpose" (satisfying the customer) and "continuous discontent with theimmediate present" (always striving to improve product and service) as thetwo elements of success and progress.[9] In Chapter 4, the author focuses more tightly on leadership,specifically the need for active leadership. IsChampy suggesting that clerks and warehouse hands were buyers and readersof his first book? In this opening section on readers' questions is a courage on thepart of the author which resonates throughout the book. Therefore, he does not have to inspire his readerslyrically. His simple approach to the reader is the mosteffective. Any successful manager, after all, knows today that change isconstant, that jobs are at risk, that the future is uncertain, and thatinnovative action is required for any manager or firm which hopes tosurvive and prosper. Still, he dilutes this danger by imagining a somewhat idealcorporation: "In the wholeheartedly reengineered corporation,responsibility and authority are so widely distributed throughout theorganization that virtually everyone becomes a manager, if only of his orher own work."[5] As idealistic as such a vision is, it is nevertheless animportant part of this book. Theshortcomings of reengineering to date are not failures of the ideas ofChampy, the author says, but are rather failures of managerialaccountability. After writing of the inevitability of downsizing in manycases, for example, the author writes with an almost mystical appreciationfor the authenticity of the feelings of many effective leaders and theirability to communicate those feelings to others.[13] In Chapter 9, Champy writes again of the central importance ofeffective and honest communication at all levels of the firm, especiallywith respect to the why, what and how of the reengineering process. For example, the author deals directly andhonestly with the fact that many jobs will be lost in the reengineeringprocess, including the jobs of many managers. He deals with human resources issues with little sense of the deeper needsof human beings. Creatingcustomer demand is part of this process, obviously. Technology andthe changing role of government in business are the two major forces in thechange cycle which Champy explores. That, finally is the message of this book: Free markets need free men and women to invent the future.[15] Champy has succeeded in justifying the writing of his second book onreengineering. [4]Ibid., 3. A more realistic reader will takethe book at face value---it is aimed at helping managers improve theirbusiness, operations, production, products, services and profits. Addressing a different audience--managers--from that in hisfirst book--workers--he guides them through the reengineering process,including concrete as well as abstract aspects. Forexample, Intel's representative seems to be saying that every worker wholoses his or her job in the reengineering process has been found anotherjob with the firm,[14] which seems highly unlikely. New York: HarperBusiness, 1996.----------------------- [1]James Champy, Reengineering Management (New York: HarperBusiness,1996), 2. Managers must alsohave a vision for the future, which requires risk-taking and flexibilityand being "ambitious radicals."[3] All of this requires that managers needto balance fear and hope in themselves and throughout the corporation. This change has created a "dictatorship ofthe customariat" or a "market democracy,"[8] which no longer allows thecorporation to dictate market realities. No corporation is going to abandon its profits for the goodof society, unless it is forced to do so by the law. The leader must meet customerdemands, but he or she must also create business opportunity. [3]Ibid., xxiii. Without similardedication from below, the firm will not achieve its potential. It is about us, changing our managerial work, the way we think about, organize, inspire, deploy, enable, measure and reward the value-adding operational work.[4] Of course, the first book was written for managers as well. For thetop officers to be dedicated, Champy says, is not enough. James Champy, in Reengineering Management: The Mandate for NewLeadership, studies the turbulent world of modern business in a follow-upwork to his 1993 work Reengineering the Corporation. Chapter 12 offers a very idealistic portrait of free enterprise andthe overall effects of reengineering. [5]Ibid. by a manager. Themanager must also follow up on what he communicates, must continue to seekfeedback, and must constantly be aware of ways to improve both thereengineering and the communication about it. [15]Ibid., 2 4-2 5.----------------------- 6 In fact, Champy is naive to think that managers wouldtake steps to implement reengineering processes which would endanger theirjobs. is about managing, written for managers, and . Chapter 11 deals with additional repercussions of the reengineeringrevolution in American business and focuses additional light on thespecifics of the hiring process. [13]Ibid., 128. [7]Ibid., 8. Short-term, half-hearted, or self-protective efforts will not payoff: "Reengineering involves a voyage that will last years, possibly ourmanagement lifetime."[6] The author cannot be faulted for not challenginghis manager/readers. The manager who does notreengineer her company to compete for such savvy customers will lose out. And it's more obvious sorts of freedom, too: freedom from stifling hierarchies, from organizational "slots" and "boxes," and from the corpse of memory (which actually looks like a rusty old machine). [8]Ibid., 19. The workers were taughtthe pleasure of "delighting the customer,"[11] which translated into arenewed sense of working together, which had been lost. The problem with the book is that the values of work and societyoften clash. [1 ]Ibid., 39-4 . [9]Ibid., 38. Making a company moreeffective, more efficient, more modernized, and more productive willinevitably mean job loss in many cases. In fact, he asks them to be heroes and heroines ofthe reengineering process, which aims at "the creation of a betterworkplace and the production of wealth."[7] Champy may inspire managers to heroically implement his program inthe face of much risk and anxiety, but he does not have an inspiring style. [11]Ibid., 98. Forexample, saying the customer should be the heart of the corporation iseasy, but Champy goes on to argue that the "person in charge" is not theCEO but the person who is dealing directly with the customers, the personwho can and will actually help those customers. Whether or not heis merely trying to sell another book, he is at least writing a work whichacknowledges that the jobs of his readers in this case are at risk ifmanagers implement his suggestions. The market may be "customer-driven" as never before in history, but customers, being only human, often do not know what they demand, need, want, unless and until they see it.[1 ] Expecting from Champy a humanitarian or spiritual examination ofbusiness would be unrealistic, however. Again, the sense of community betweenworker and company is emphasized in a realistic light. For example, Champy writes that the manager of today, likeit or not, is dealing with a far more educated and skeptical customer thanwas the manager of the past. . BibliographyChampy, James. Champy is fearlessin attacking problems and dangers in the reengineering process which lesserauthors might have skirted. Reengineering Management. But many firms werefounded on the desire for profit, and the behavior of the some of the mostsuccessful businesspeople can hardly be called "good." Ruthlessness ratherthan "good behavior" often spells success in business. Perhaps some of thestories told by corporate representatives are somewhat idealized. The failure of managers to let go of their oldpower is what has prevented corporations from benefitting as fully as theymight have from previous reengineering efforts. [6]Ibid., 6. . This is especially true for the manager, Champy says,in language which always and inevitably reflects his concern for both thehuman and the economic: It's the freedom without which we can never summon the ideas and images we need to meet the demands and opportunities of our markets. Chapter 1 deals with employee hiring and is one of the morefascinating chapters. He clearly supports theprocess, emphasizing a humane approach, as well as one focused on thebottom line. The book effectively mixes the theoretical and the practical. The nature of many of these questions and his own continuingresearch have led him to bring to reengineering a tighter focus than heestablished in the first book: "I have become increasingly convinced thatthe real challenge to changing dramatically how companies operate is withmanagers, both in how they work and how they think."[2] Management hasshown a willingness to implement the steps of reengineering but has notbeen so willing to include itself in the overhaul process. In "Living the Questions," Champy emphasizes the need for bothintelligence and character in the individual reengineering the firm.
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