International Journal on Customer Relations

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Challenges in Implementation of Business Process Re-engineering in Botswana Public Hospitals


Affiliations
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Business, University of Botswana., Botswana
2 Department of Clinical Service, Ministry of Health, Gaborone., Botswana
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Public hospitals in Botswana are faced with many challenges. Amongst them are long queues and long waiting time at the outpatients clinics. Long queues and waiting time are a result of uncoordinated internal processes. In order to address the long queues and patient waiting time, the management of one hospital introduced Business Process Reengineering (BPR). The implementation of BPR resulted in improvement as service level was at about ∼87%. The change in top level of the management at the hospital led to regression of some of the gains that the hospital had experienced. The key factors which drive BPR success are top management and coherent understanding of the urgency of the situation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes of BPR failure and proposals of new interventions to address the problems. Failure factors which have been identified include organizational resistance, lack of organizational readiness to change, lack of training and education, problems related to commitment support and leadership, problems related to championship, problems related to integration mechanism, jobs' definition and responsibilities allocation, problems related to BPR resources, and ineffective use of consultants. In conclusion it has been observed that the institution prematurely declared the success of BPR even before change became part of the institution's culture. This is reflected by the action taken by the current top management as it does not seem to personify the change effort. It is recommended that the top management get the employee buy-in and ownership; appoint and empower a champion; engage supervisors in the re-engineered departments to work with the champion; appoint a BPR team, train them and then make the team to benchmark with other public sector organizations; secure resources for BPR.

Keywords

Business Process Re-engineering, Public Hospital, Botswana, Implementation
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Aldag, R. J., & Kuzuhara, L. W. (2001). Organizational Behavior and Management: An Integrated Skills Approach. Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing.

  • Al-Mashari, M., & Zairi, M. (1999). BPR Implementation Process: An Analysis of Key Success and Failure Factors. Business Process Management Journal, 5(1), pp. 87-112.

  • Blumberg, B., Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods. Maidenhead, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education.

  • Cameron, S., & Price, D. (2009). Business Research Methods: A Practical Approach. London, England: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

  • Central Statistics Offi ce. (2009). Botswana Demographic Survey 2006. Gaborone: Central Statistics Offi ce. Retrieved from http://www.cso.gov.bw/images/stories/HouseHold/2006_bdsrprt.pdf (accessed on November 1, 2011).

  • Chamberlin, J. (2010). Business Process Reengineering: A Retrospective Look. Part Two. Management Services, Spring, 54(1), pp. 13-20.

  • Copper, R. D., & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods (7thed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

  • Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization Development & Change. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning.

  • Dean, A. M. (2000). Managing Change Initiatives: JIT Delivers but BPR Ails. Knowledge and Process Management, 7(1), pp. 11-19.

  • Geisler, E. (1996). Cleaning Up after Re-Engineering. Business Horizons, September/October, pp. 71-78.

  • Grover, V., Jeong, S. R., Kettinger, W. J., & Teng, J. T. C. (1995). The Implementation of Business Process Re-Engineering. Journal of Management Information Systems, 12(1), pp. 109-144.

  • Hubberman, A. M. & Miles, M. B. (2002). The Qualitative Researcher’s Companion. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Johansson, H. J., Mchugh, P., Pendlebury, A. J., & Wheeler III, W. A. (1993). Business Process Reengineering: Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  • Khoong, C. M. (1999). Reengineering in Action: The Quest for World-Class Excellence. London: Imperial College Press.

  • Kotter. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, Mar/Apr, pp. 18-23.

  • Lai, Y. F., Khoong, C. M., & Aw, T. C. (1999). Value Innovation through Business Process Re-Engineering: A&E Services at a Public Hospital. Knowledge and Process Management, 6(3), pp. 139-145.

  • McAdam, R., & Donaghy, J. (1999). Business Process Re-Engineering in the Public Sector: A Study of staff Perceptions and Critical Success Factors. Business Process Management Journal, 5(1), pp. 33-49.

  • Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1984). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Source Book for New Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Office of the Auditor General. (2005). General Survey on Waiting Time at Princess Marina Hospital. Gaborone:Office of the Auditor General.

  • Princess Marina Hospital. (2010a). Princess Marina Hospital Strategic Plan 2010-2016. Unpublished.

  • Princess Marina Hospital. (2010b). Re-engineering Records 2009-2010 Princess Marina Hospital. Unpublished.

  • Princess Marina Hospital. (2010c). Princess Marina Hospital Balance Score Card Report 2009/10. Unpublished.

  • Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research, (2nded.) UK: Blackwell Publishing.

  • Rogerson, S. (1996). Business Process Re-engineering. IMIS Journal, 6(2), pp. 1-3.

  • Selladurai, R. (2002). An Organizational Profi tability, Productivity, Performance (PPP) Model: Going Beyond TQM and BPR. Total Quality Management, 13(5), pp. 613-619.

  • Serrat, O. (2009). A Primer on Organizational Culture. Knowledge Solutions, 68, pp. 1-4.

  • Stake, R. (1995). The Art of Case Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Thong, J. Y. L., Yap, C. S. & Seah, K. L. (2000). Business Process Reengineering in the Public Sector: The Case of the Housing Development Board in Singapore. Journal of Management Information Systems, 17(1), pp. 245-270.

  • Y in, R. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nded.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

  • Willcoxson, L., & Millett, B. (2000). The Management of Organizational Culture. Australian Journal of Management & Organisational Behaviour, 3(2), pp. 91-99.


Abstract Views: 657

PDF Views: 8




  • Challenges in Implementation of Business Process Re-engineering in Botswana Public Hospitals

Abstract Views: 657  |  PDF Views: 8

Authors

Rebana N. Mmereki
Department of Management, Faculty of Business, University of Botswana., Botswana
Kgomots Gini Moruisi
Department of Clinical Service, Ministry of Health, Gaborone., Botswana

Abstract


Public hospitals in Botswana are faced with many challenges. Amongst them are long queues and long waiting time at the outpatients clinics. Long queues and waiting time are a result of uncoordinated internal processes. In order to address the long queues and patient waiting time, the management of one hospital introduced Business Process Reengineering (BPR). The implementation of BPR resulted in improvement as service level was at about ∼87%. The change in top level of the management at the hospital led to regression of some of the gains that the hospital had experienced. The key factors which drive BPR success are top management and coherent understanding of the urgency of the situation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes of BPR failure and proposals of new interventions to address the problems. Failure factors which have been identified include organizational resistance, lack of organizational readiness to change, lack of training and education, problems related to commitment support and leadership, problems related to championship, problems related to integration mechanism, jobs' definition and responsibilities allocation, problems related to BPR resources, and ineffective use of consultants. In conclusion it has been observed that the institution prematurely declared the success of BPR even before change became part of the institution's culture. This is reflected by the action taken by the current top management as it does not seem to personify the change effort. It is recommended that the top management get the employee buy-in and ownership; appoint and empower a champion; engage supervisors in the re-engineered departments to work with the champion; appoint a BPR team, train them and then make the team to benchmark with other public sector organizations; secure resources for BPR.

Keywords


Business Process Re-engineering, Public Hospital, Botswana, Implementation

References