Man As Machine: BPR and Taylor

Man as Machine

Dr. Joe O’Mahoney 2007

07906133649

Learning Objectives

1. To understand the metaphor of humans as machines

2. To understand the limits of the metaphor

3. To learn the similarities of BPR and Taylorism

07906133649

1. Man as machine

2. Business Process Reengineering

3. The Limits of the Metaphor

The Agenda

07906133649

Man as Machine

07906133649

The History

• Ancient tradition valuing rationality and cool logic above emotion• Hephaestus creating mecahnical servants

07906133649

The History

• Ancient tradition valuing rationality and cool logic above emotion

• Hephaestus creating mecahnical servants

• Post-enlightenment ideal of a clock-work world

• 1900+– War

– Industrialisation

– Expanding markets

– Cheap immigrant labour

07906133649

Scientific Management

• 1800+: science over nature

• Applying scientific principles

• Reflected division in society

07906133649

Taylorist Worker

• Schmidt

• Obedient

• Stupid

• Motivated by money

• “This seems to be rather rough talk. And indeed it would be if applied to an educated mechanic….With a man of the mentally sluggish type of Schmidt it is appropriate”….

07906133649

BPR

07906133649

The Traditional Evolution of Companies

• Evolution of Functional Departments

• Mix of systems, procedures, manual v automated etc…..

FIN

AN

CE

HR

SA

LE

S

OR

DE

RIN

G

OP

ER

AT

ION

S

MANAGEMENT

Slow turn around time

Inconsistent data

Duplicated tasks

No “Process” view

07906133649

Unanswered Questions

• How long does it take to process an order?

• How much does it cost to handle a customer complaint?

• What data do we have on Customer X?

• What does it cost to introduce a new line?

07906133649

BPR Emerging

• Hammer - former MIT computer science professor turned management consultant

• Problems facing companies not based on organisational structures but process structures (echoes of value chain)

• Process structures are legacy structures developed incrementally and hence patched

• Re-engineering vs. CQI/kaizen, TQM

• Involves re-design & implementation - start with a clean sheet

07906133649

FIN

AN

CE

HR

SA

LE

S

OR

DE

RIN

G

OP

ER

AT

ION

S

MANAGEMENT

Re-engineering Processes

• e2e processes

• Radical

• Fundamental

MANAGING COMPLAINTS

PROCESSING ORDERS

RECRUITING STAFF

MA

NA

GE

ME

NT

07906133649

Definitions of BPR

• “Re-engineering is the fundamental re-thinking and radical re-design of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed” BPR Re-engineering the Corporation Michael Hammer & James Champey 1993

• “the fat is not waiting around on top to be cut. It’s marbled in, and the only way you get it out is by grinding it up and frying it out.” (Hammer as quoted in Byrne, 1992)

07906133649

Making a cup of tea….

Get mug

Put Tea in Mug

Fill Kettle

Boil Kettle

Put O2 in Mug

Remove Tea

Put Milk in Mug

Throw Tea

Stir Drink

(WAIT)

1 SEC 2 SEC 5 SEC 60 SEC 5 SEC

3 SEC3 SEC

3 SEC1 SEC

Get Milk

3 SEC

86 sec

07906133649

Making a cup of tea….BPI’d

Get mug

Put Tea in Mug

Fill Kettle

Boil Kettle

Put O2 in Mug

Remove Tea

Put Milk in Mug

Throw Tea

Stir Drink

(WAIT)

Get Milk

1 SEC

5 SEC 60 SEC 5 SEC

1 SEC 3 SEC 3 SEC 3 SEC

3 SEC 1 SEC

80 sec

07906133649

Making a cup of tea BPR’d

07906133649

Designing the system

PurchaseRights

1

Product

Customer

mCommerce

PackageContent

2

DRM

ManageContentDelviery

3

CARDS

MediaDelivery

ProvideUsageFigures

4

DRM

Search forDRM Key

5

DRM

Device

Player

VerifyCustomer

Rights

6

DRM

UpdateRights

Database

7

DRM

ExperienceMedia

8

Device

Player

Press Play

9

Device

Player

ReceiveKey /

Content

10

Device

DRM

Generateand deliver

key

11

DRM

StoreContent

12

CARDS

APE

ManageRules

14

CARDS

ContractManagement

DetermineDRM

Requirement

15

CARDS

APE

RightsVerif ied

Updatelog

PurchasedRights

ConfirmRightsUpdate

SentKey

UpdateKey Rights

16

DRM

Device

IngestContent

CheckRules

ReturnRules

Instruction topackage

RetrieveContent

StoreContent

ReturnContent

DeliverContent

KeyFound

InitiateMedia

RequestDRM Key

17

DRM

Device

Key notfound

KeyFound

Triggerkey

delivery

Trigger contentdelivery

PurchasePrompt

18

Product

Request topurchase

Receipt of DRMw rapped content

Rightsnot

verif ied

Key found- log

created

Updatelog

RightsRequested

07906133649

Assumptions

• Workers are Stupid and Replaceable

• Managers are Omnipotent and Omniscient

• The organisation is perfect

• Based on Taylorism?

07906133649

4. Critiquing the Machine

07906133649

Managerial Critiques

• One size fits all ?

• High failure rates: soft BPR

• Resistance from unions

• The Production of Electronic Concrete

07906133649

BPR Failure or Fad?

• No single IT application - however sophisticated and state of the art it may be - could deliver a sustained competitive advantage. Rather, advantage is obtained through the capability of an organization to exploit IT functionality on a continuous basis.

16%

39%

45%

Fully satisfiedDissatisfiedPartially satisfied

Executive Satisfaction with Business Re-engineering Projects

Arthur D. Little, 1993

07906133649

Moral Critiques

• Braverman: Deskilling

• Increased surveillence & control

• Automation & Redundancies

• Alienating workers

07906133649

Conclusions….

• What the Tin Man needs….

• Increasing evidence of machines as humans– Artificial intelligence

– Telemetry

– Cyborgs

• Question of what we want in life

07906133649

Questions?