Reengineering business processes in government: A framework for performance improvement interventions
The world is changing quickly, and government agencies have difficulty adapting. One reason is that they are based on a bureaucratic model derived from the industrial mass production era. While this model provides organizational benefits, such as stability and clear lines of authority, it also minimizes flexibility and diversity in service delivery. While the private sector has moved away from this model, the public sector remains wedded to a top-down, standardized service delivery system. Dissatisfaction with the traditional model of government is rampant. Constituencies are demanding that government agencies consume less and provide more. There is tremendous pressure on government at all levels in the United States to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government services and programs. Improving government agency performance is far more complex than simply reinventing or reengineering the agency for these efforts are likely to fail in procedural and copying agencies. The framework and decision process described in this paper should be used to prevent the high failure rates associated with blanket approaches to reengineering and reinventing. The best opportunities for change at the federal level are probably with agencies that have been mandated a change in mission. These agencies will tend to have a clearer sense of the need for change and have a greater sense of urgency regarding adopting a new way of conducting business. Also, for a higher rate of success, internal or external consultants may be utilized to avoid simplistic or faddish solutions when the real problems may be due to complex organizational behavior.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 35398
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-25328; CONF-950282-1; ON: DE95008924; TRN: 95:003239
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 3. international symposium on productivity and quality improvement conference, Vienna, VA (United States), 27 Feb - 1 Mar 1995; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Security Transition Program Office (STPO), technology transfer of the STPO process, tools, and techniques
Government Services Information Infrastructure Management