They tend to split the processes into tasks, putting specialized people in different tasks and making a hierarchic

ranking based on their specialization level. Therefore, they are structured following the Adam Smith theory of labor
division. The bigger the firm, the more specialized the work and the more steps for the work to be split. Because of
this, tasks are being divided more and more. This tendency has greatly complicated the total process of producing
and delivering a product or service, has increased staff at the medium level of the organization, and has distanced
top management from users even more.

Customers are assuming control. Today, customers assume control instead of salesmen. Customers tell the suppliers
what they want, when they want it, and how much they are willing to pay. They demand products and services
designed for their particular needs. Customers have the upper hand with salesmen, partly due to easy access to more
information. Competition is growing. Before, the most important variable in sales was price. Now, similar products
are sold on different competitive bases which include quality and pre or after-sale service, not just price. Change is
continuous. The very nature of change has changed. Companies must adapt quickly to these changes to keep or
improve their competitive position. In this way, a methodology is necessary which allows changes to be made in
companies to make improvements in costs, quality, time, and service.

Consequently, a firm must start over, leaving their old procedures behind, testing the work without prejudices, and
forgetting systems used up to now. In other words, redesigning is changing. Reengineering is centered in the
processes.

Today, we find a great number of advances in the ITs being used in companies. In one way, remarkable advances in
personal computers and communications allow employees to work outside the office while still being connected to
the office. Employees may work from home or other locations. Multimedia communication systems, which send and
receive audio and video data, help us in making decisions by using electronic mail, file transference, or video
conference. Computer-aided design/manufacturing/engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) techniques allow for
coordinating product design, manufacturing, and engineering activities.

Using new IT allows companies to gain important advantages such as:

1) cost savings and improving the accuracy of exchanging information; 2) avoiding human mistakes inherent when
complex and repetitive tasks are used; 3) saving money because it reduces errors and the time it takes to accomplish
tasks; 4) integrating and coordinating several functions at once; and 5) improving the organizational efficiency and
effectiveness by eliminating delay, administrative intermediaries, and redundant processing steps and by providing
better access to information.

BPR is a methodology that promotes change and introduces new processes and new styles of working. So certain
elements will be required to make change possible. These elements are known as enablers and may be defined as
elements that act as vehicles for processes to change. IT promotes changes in organizations, mainly changes in the
nature of the work, the integration of business functions, and the transformation of competitive forces. IT can help
make the changes promoted by reengineering, and it can be considered as an enabler of BPR.

The degree of mediation refers to the sequential flow of input and output among the participants' functions in a
business process. A process at a high degree of mediation involves a large number of intermediate steps, performed
in various functions that contribute indirectly to the process outcome. A process at a low degree of mediation has
several functions that contribute directly to the process outcome without the mediation of sequential steps. The
degree of collaboration dimension is related to the degree of collaboration between functions through information
exchange. The frequency and intensity of information exchange can range from none (process at the low degree of
collaboration) to extensive (process at the high degree of collaboration).
First, companies must reduce the degree of mediation in processes. That is, they must convert processes with a great
number of intermediate steps into processes that take part directly in the final outcome. The IT make this
modification easy might be: 1) shared databases: Different functions are allowed to take part directly by using the
information stored in databases. Each function can approach, enter, or recover information from this database the
moment it is needed. 2) Imaging technology: Several people may work at the same time on a digitalized image of
documents or graphics. 3) Electronic data exchange and electronic funds transference. Furthermore, shared
computing resources make it possible for different functions to have access to information at any time.

Second, companies must increase the degree of collaboration in processes so that involved functions will share
information. The IT that makes the collaboration easy among different people may be communication technologies.
These allow information transfer by using tools such as electronic mail, video conference, and file transfer protocol.

Three criteria: dimension of the involved, object, and activities.

Regarding dimension of the involved, there are three types of processes: interorganizational, interfunctional, and
interpersonal. The use of IT, such as electronic data interchange and shared databases, reduces transaction costs and
eliminates intermediaries in organizational processes. Telecommunication networks make simultaneous work in
various locations possible in interfunctional processes. Technologies that combine work and image technologies
make it easier to integrate tasks into interpersonal processes.

Regarding the object, there are physical or informative processes. Physical ones require a labor reduction or
substitution which is facilitated by CAM and robotics. Informative ones imply processing a great deal of
information, made easier by new IT. Activities criteria differentiate between operational and managerial processes.
ITs, such as electronic commerce and shared databases, reduce time and costs and improve the output quality in
operational processes. Besides, expert systems, decision support systems, and executive information systems are
useful techniques in managerial processes.

Some ITs might ease the material and information flow through the whole process. Some examples are multimedia,
shared databases, artificial intelligence (mainly expert systems), computer-integrated manufacturing,
CAD/CAM/CAE, electronic data interchange, and electronic funds transfer. These technologies not only can reduce
lead time of order flow, but they help eliminate certain barriers among the different functions. The strategic process
is composed of formulation functions of the strategy and design of the organizational structure. This process
demands not only an external analysis, but an internal analysis as well. So the strategic process will collect and
manipulate a great deal of information in order to elaborate corporate strategy. In this way, we can differentiate
between two IT uses. First, there are technologies that collect and distribute information such as video conferences,
databases, e-mail or telecommunication networks, and executive information systems. Second, there are the
information systems that help make decisions, namely decision support systems and intelligent decision support
systems. Management information systems and expert systems will have less importance in this process once they
become programmed decisions.

The marketing or sales process includes customer satisfaction, market research, forecasting, and product-mix
decisions. This process acquires the most information possible on customer needs, preferences, and testing. The IT
make this process easy are computer-assisted telephone interviews and company-customer communication through
the internet. The service process is formed through the maintenance of products and after-sales service. In this way,
client-server systems are very useful. The accounting process includes product pricing, budgeting, and make-or-buy
decisions. This process requires information from all company areas. This process takes many steps and is slow in
collecting data. This task could be made easier by implementing integrated systems such as SAPR/3 which connects
the whole company and obtains the necessary information. Of course in this case, the telecommunication network is
of great importance. The personnel process involves several functions such as recruitment, selection, training,
compensation systems, and performance appraisal. Traditionally, IT has had a scarce role in this process, but today,
new possibilities are appearing. Employees desire more participation in changes that affect them, and this might be
made easier by introducing multimedia technologies and network.