CPP Business Process Reengineering 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the 'clean slate' principle in Business Process Reengineering?
- Incrementally improving existing workflows
- Redesigning processes from scratch without being constrained by current practices (Correct answer)
- Cleaning up outdated documentation before process mapping
- Removing redundant staff to reduce overhead
Correct answer: Redesigning processes from scratch without being constrained by current practices
The clean slate principle means reimagining processes from the ground up rather than patching existing ones.
Question 2: In BPR, which technology concept was Hammer and Champy most associated with leveraging as an enabler?
- Artificial intelligence
- Information technology (Correct answer)
- Robotic process automation
- Six Sigma toolkits
Correct answer: Information technology
Hammer and Champy emphasized IT as the key enabler that makes radical process redesign possible.
Question 3: What is a 'process owner' in the context of BPR?
- The CEO who sponsors the reengineering initiative
- A senior manager accountable for end-to-end performance of a specific process (Correct answer)
- The consultant leading the redesign project
- An IT manager who owns the software supporting the process
Correct answer: A senior manager accountable for end-to-end performance of a specific process
A process owner has end-to-end accountability for a process's design, execution, and performance outcomes.
Question 4: Which outcome is most indicative of a successful BPR initiative?
- A 10% reduction in process cycle time
- Incremental cost savings spread across departments
- Order-of-magnitude improvements in cost, quality, or speed (Correct answer)
- Standardization of existing procedures into documented SOPs
Correct answer: Order-of-magnitude improvements in cost, quality, or speed
BPR targets dramatic, breakthrough performance improvements—often 10x gains—not marginal ones.
Question 5: Which of the following is a primary risk associated with BPR initiatives?
- Over-documentation of existing processes
- High failure rate due to resistance to change and poor change management (Correct answer)
- Excessive focus on customer satisfaction metrics
- Underuse of benchmarking data
Correct answer: High failure rate due to resistance to change and poor change management
Studies show that BPR projects frequently fail due to inadequate change management and employee resistance.
Question 6: In BPR, what does 'process benchmarking' help an organization accomplish?
- Document current as-is processes in detail
- Identify performance gaps by comparing processes against best-in-class organizations (Correct answer)
- Create standard operating procedures for new processes
- Measure employee compliance with redesigned workflows
Correct answer: Identify performance gaps by comparing processes against best-in-class organizations
Benchmarking identifies gaps between current performance and best practices, motivating and informing radical redesign.
Question 7: Which concept differentiates BPR from Total Quality Management (TQM)?
- BPR focuses on customer satisfaction while TQM focuses on cost
- BPR seeks radical discontinuous change while TQM emphasizes continuous incremental improvement (Correct answer)
- TQM uses cross-functional teams while BPR does not
- BPR is technology-driven while TQM is people-driven
Correct answer: BPR seeks radical discontinuous change while TQM emphasizes continuous incremental improvement
BPR aims for radical, breakthrough change in contrast to TQM's philosophy of gradual, continuous improvement.
CPP Business Process Reengineering 2
Which of the following best describes the 'clean slate' principle in Business Process Reengineering?