Product Description

No business concept was more important to America's economic revival in the 1990s than reengineering -- introduced to the world in Michael Hammer and James Champy's Reengineering the Corporation. Already a classic, this international bestseller describes how the radical redesign of a company's processes, organization, and culture can achieve a quantum leap in performance.

But if you think that reengineering once was enough, think again. More changes, more challenges are coming in the twenty-first century. Now Hammer and Champy have updated and revised their milestone work for the New Economy they helped to create -- promising to help corporations save hundreds of millions of dollars more, raise their customer satisfaction still higher, and grow ever more nimble in the years to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #806410 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06
• Released on: 2001-06-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 257 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Management consultants Hammer and Champy thoughtfully critique the management procedures of American business and offer a promising prescription in this invigorating study. "It is no longer necessary or desirable for companies to organize their work around Adam Smith's division of labor," they state, arguing that task-oriented jobs are becoming obsolete as changes in customer bases, competition and the rate of change itself alter the marketplace. Post-industrial companies must be "reengineered," which necessitates starting anew, going back to the beginning to invent a better way of accomplishing tasks. The process requires a leader with vision using information technologies, consulting closely with suppliers to reduce inventories, and empowering employees so that decision-making "becomes part of the work." Hammer and Champy acknowledge that reengineering can be difficult to launch and to sustain; yet they provide clear, specific guidelines and excellent case studies. Their superb book should have strong appeal to managers and general readers alike.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"An important book that describes the principles behind a new and systematic approach to structuring and managing work." -- -- Peter F. Drucker

"May well be the best-written, most well-reasoned business book for the managerial masses sinceIn Search of Excellence." -- - John Byrne, Business Week

From the Publisher
Reengineering the Corporation sets aside much of the received wisdom of the last 200 years of industrial management and in its place presents a new set of organizing principles by which managers can rebuild their businesses.

The book provides numerous examples and in-depth case studies of how leading organizations are achieving significant competitive gains through reengineering: How Ford Motor reduced the size of its North American accounts payable organization by 80% while improving the process; how IBM is leasing subsidiary cut its deal-making process from seven days to four hours; and how Taco Bell used a new set of production and management processes to fuel a six-fold growth in revenue.

Customer Reviews

Good Summary of the Benefits of Fresh Thinking
This book's subject is the popularized version of the business concept of management process design. Making that concept more accessible is a very useful contribution. The downside of this book is that many people have assumed that it teaches you everything you need to know to do management process design, or to reengineer key processes. That, alas, is not true. If you find the subject of process design or reengineering to be of interest, I suggest that you first read James Champy's excellent book, REEENGINEERING MANAGEMENT. That book is a good template for how to make any beneficial change in an organization, including reengineering. Then, if you want to get fired up to make major changes, use REENGINEERING THE CORPORATION as a way to create passion about the subject for yourself. But do remember, you may not even have all the processes you need, so reengineering is not the only answer. For example, what is the management process that your company uses to improve its stock market valuation? If you are like most, you do not even have an effective process for stock price enhancement. So be sure to see if you have processes where they will do you the most good.

Though old concepts, it is an easy read and a solid tool.
"Reengineering the Corporation" was THE management book for the early to mid 90's. Many companies, including my own, adopted the Reengineering philosophy. The book implants basic management principles of process redesign. Specifically, the book encourages business leaders to examine their core processes (e.g. the order fulfillment process). Then, starting with a clean sheet of paper, the book encourages a redesign of those processes to their maximum efficiency. A critical theme throughout the book was employee ownership of processes. In fairness to those that have been involved in process redesign, Hammer and Champy's book does not introduce new management concepts. Rather, it packages the process redesign concept very nicely. The book is a very easy read, including many examples of companies that have successfully reenginered core processes. I would recommend this book to two groups. If you are a manager unfamiliar with process redesign or Total Quality Management, I would recommend this book for you. If you are a student studying business, I would strongly recommend this book. As an MBA student, I have used quotes from this book on numerous occasions. On a final note, James Champy does admit in a later publication, that reengineering has failed in many companies (Reengineering Management). But, the concepts are sound and the examples are moving. Overall, it is a solid business tool. Reviewed by Jay A. Goklani

Some great ideas, but not thoroughly thought-out
This book has some great ideas, particularly the idea to take a fresh look at processes. For any established process, it's likely that enough has changed since the process was born that the process is no longer the best way to get from the beginning to the result. This book is well written and easy to read and the examples are especially useful in illustrating the major benefits of reengineering.

Unfortunately, many of points are not as well-thought out. For example, the book advocates building teams around discrete processes but fails to realize that this just moves companies from horizontal silos to vertical silos. These vertical silos cause different but still serious problems. Also, the book mentions the critical role of Information Technology, but fails to realize that they can often lead reengineering efforts because if they have a solid knowledge of the business and new technologies they are in the best position to see the new possibilities. Another confusing area is that book indicates certain problems that should be overcome in an initial reengineering project such as functional departments and lack of understanding of reengineering continue to be problems for subsequent reengineerings.

Many of the questions that are not answered in this book are answered in John Case's "Open-Book Management". Open-Book Management and Reengineering have many things in common including empowered workers, performance measured by results, and coaching managers, but Open-Book management does a much better job of explaining what really drives these changes and how they can best be aligned.