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Reengineering Questions

Q1. In reviewing the structure of a corporation which of these activities would be regarded as

reengineering?

A Improving all departments to make them more efficient.

B Replacing older computer systems with the latest technology.

C Restructuring the company from scratch regardless of existing structures and concepts.

D Increasing investment and hiring more people to build up the company.

Q2. What does a reengineered company tend to give its workers?

A increased pay and benefits.

B the sack.

C Increased job security.

D More power to make decisions and higher responsibility.

Q3. What would be a good reason for a company to decide to reengineer its self?

A To quickly get cash to overcome an immediate problem.

B To radically improve its productivity in the long term.

C To squeeze the last ounce of efficiency possible out of the company.

D To give managers more control over employees.

Q4. Who should employees working in the new style teams regard the most important in trying to

please?

A The end customer.

B The next department in the production chain.

C Their immediate boss.

D Their team mates.

Q5. What is the most important use of computers and information technology in a reengineered

company.

A To replace as many people as possible.

B To give managers more information about employee performance.

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C To get information on competitors products and production methods.

D To Improve internal communications and reduce the problems imposed by physical boundaries.

Q6. What problems are associated with reengineering?

A Hiring a new set of workers with new skills is required.

B It is expensive in the short term and can lead to chaos in transition.

C It almost always fails to work effectively.

D Employees are required to work a lot harder.

Q7. When a company needs to reengineer itself what is the most important thing it should do?

A Reengineer as quickly as possible to beat the competition.

B Get employees to vote on the decision.

C Take time planning it out and make sure it is really needed.

D Stick with traditional concepts learned through experience.

Q8. What type of management structure is needed for the new style reengineered company?

A Flat structure with less middle management and more power delegated to workers.

B A larger structure is needed to organize the workers more effectively.

C No management is needed as workers make all the decisions.

D The same as before because there are the same amount of employees.

Q9. The business process reengineering (BPR) is the same as

(i) total quality management (TQM)

(ii) concurrent engineering

(iii) kaizen

(iv) software reengineering

a. (i)

b. (i) and (III)

c. (ii) and (iv)

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d. none of above

Q10. Why is BRP so popular now?

(i) competition intensifies by overseas competitors.

(ii) customers demand unique products for their needs

(iii) guarantee downsizing, cost reduction and also greater efficiency and quality

(iv) Executives don't change their style to work but middle manager and bottom-line people do

a. (i) and (ii)

b. (i), (ii) and (iii)

c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)

d. all of the above

Q11. Which of these are good reasons for reengineering failure?

(i) the flattening of the organisation hierarchy

(ii) underestimating the time necessary for the employee training

(iii) job security is left unaddressed during reengineering

(iv) the initiatives to reengineer are driven by long term strategy rather then short-term cost reduction

a. (i) and (iv)

b.(ii) and (iv)

c. (ii) and (iii)

d. all of the above

Q12. What is the main difficulty in reengineering in general?

a. identifying the core business process

b. technology limitations

c. redefining the company's objectives

d. convincing people.

Q13. The principles of BRP are:

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(i) flattening the hierarchical structure and using team work.

(ii) eliminating boundaries - both internal and external.

(iii) empowerment

(iv) quick-fix

a. (i) and (iii)

b. (i), (ii) and (iii)

c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)

d. all of the above

Q14What are the common characteristics of BPR and TQM?

(i) cross functional process

(ii) they are customer focused

(iii) they identify core processes

(iv) empowerment

a. (i) and (ii)

b. (i), (ii) and (iii)

c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)

d. all of the above

Q15. How do executives maintain positive relationships with people?

(i) involving people as much as possible during the reengineering process

(ii) a "big announcement"

(iii) accept the feelings - denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, acceptance.

(iv) by asking for input and feedback

a. (i) and (iv)

b. (i), (iii) and (iv)

c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)

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d. all of the above

Q16. Why does reengineering take so long?

(i) low successful rate

(ii) lack of resources to support

(iii) it is hard to convince people to change

(iv) people take time to change

a. (ii) and (iii)

b. (i), (ii) and (iii)

c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)

d. all of the above

Q17. What are the common mistakes made when beginning reengineering?

(i) over-reliance on information technology solutions

(ii) not paying attention to processes

(iii) not paying attention to customers

(iv) not paying attention to workers

b. (ii) and (iii)

c. (ii) and (iv)

d. all of the above

Answers

1) C. The purpose of reengineering is to remove old structures and concepts and rebuild them with

completely new ones. Improving individual departments and systems is not regarded as reengineering

as it relies on existing frameworks without questioning them. The aim is not to increase output by

increasing inputs and making the company bigger. It is about producing more by removing inefficienciesburied in the existing structure.

2) D. Team work is used more, which allows creative thinking and responsibility in employees. Job

security isnt really increased as the workplace becomes more dynamic, however existing employees will

stay on and be retrained if required. Pay may increase if the company does well as a result of

reengineering, but this is not a direct consequence.

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3) B. Reengineering is only a viable option if it can yield a radical improvement in productivity in the

companys future. It is very expensive in the short term, and should only be done if the effects on long-

term prospects vastly exceed present values.

4) A. The reengineered exercise is mainly used to shift the attitude of employees away from improving

themselves and the companys prosperity, and towards servicing the paying customers at all costs. Thecustomer is regarded as the most important person in todays highly competitive world. Those

companies providing better service than others will get the most customers and receive the highest

profit.

5) D. Information technology can be used to improve a lot of different aspects of the companys internal

processes, but where it really comes into its own is in communication. Computers can help people work

together regardless of physical location and can help to organize when a lot of people need to think as

one. Computers allow people to increase their creativity and potential and are not there just reduce the

number of workers needed.

6) B. Reengineering is a long term investment. It can be very expensive to reorganize the company, to

train people and install new technology. There is a period of transition from the old to the new style

which leads to problems in organization and a temporary loss of productivity. New workers are not

always required as previous employees can be retrained. Work is not harder but it is broader and more

satisfying. Although the transition period can lead some companies to failure, a lot do make it. A

company would only reengineer if it was sure it could succeed.

7) C. Reengineering is about the biggest investment a company can make and should not be taken

unless absolutely necessary. Using careful planning is the only way in which it can succeed. Careful

reorganization of the whole company is needed and should be undertaken by people who really

understand what it involves and have the power to achieve it.

8) A. The creative team based approach leaves a lot less organization needed at the higher management

layers. A flatter structure with less managers is needed for the same amount of workers. Although

workers get a lot of freedom to make decisions, you still need a strong, although smaller, management

structure. Without the required management, chaos would prosper and the company would cease to

function.

9) D. "Reengineering, properly, involves the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business

processes to achieve dramatic improvement in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as

cost, quality, service, and speed", say Dr. Hammer in Reengineering the Corporation. The basic idea of

TQM and kaizen(Japanese word) emphasizes on incremental continuous improvement. It is not radical.

In general, Concurrent engineering is to reduce the time from designing to producing a new product.

Software reengineering is to rewrite existing programs to enhance performance. BRP may use the

techniques, but they are not the same.

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10) A. (iii) is wrong. Many factors can lead reengineering to fail to deliver the expected performance. (iv)

is also wrong. After reengineering, organisations are longer in the hierarchical structures. Executives

have to manage processes rather than departments.

11) C. (ii) is one of the reasons because learning time is usually longer time than expected. Leaders

usually underestimate it. (iii) is also the reason because people will be in doubts and fears inreengineering activity.

12)D. People are convinced if there is a common vision. The common vision will take indefinite time and

will be very difficult to be agreed.

13) B. (iv) is wrong because many successful reengineering efforts take a minimum of two years(ref 6).

Mr. Champy explained this via an analogy relating a conversation he once had with a scientist. After

noting that deep technological changes typically have a 5- to 10-year cycle time, the scientist explained

to him that it nevertheless took the scientific community a full 25 years to accept such change. "Why?"

asked Mr. Champy. The scientist thought a moment, then replied " Because it takes 25 years for the old

scientists to die".

14) D. (i) to (iv) are all the basic principles of BRP and TQM.

15)D. (ii) is incorrect because sharing information is essential to achieve a smooth rollout. Nothing is

more intimidating to employees than hearing rumours that another "big announcement" is going to be

made. Employees should know up-to-date on the changes taking place and the ideas and issues being

discussed.

16) D. all of the choices are correct.

17) A. Changing processes and improving customers satisfactions are the main objective inreengineering. Executives usually over-emphasize them and ignore the others.