BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINERRING (BPR)-AN OPTIMIZATION TOOL

Introduction:     Common Entrance Test (CAT): The system
        Business processes are found in everyof Common Entrance Test for ad­mission to
economic pursuit. Process signifies sys­tematic,different educational programmes viz., MBA, MCA, BE,
sequential, and logical series of activities directed atMBBS, BDS, MD, BAMS etc. is in vogue. This has
obtaining a pre­determined outcome in an effectivereduced the cost and inconvenience and increased
manner. Business processes may be viewed asthe informational availability to the prospective
chains. Hammer and Champy define business processcandidates in respect of number of seats, eligibility
reengineering as the fundamen­tal rethinking andcriteria, faculty, placement, fees, infrastructural
radical redesign of business processes to achievefacilities, etc. This is also an act of admission process
dramatic improvement in critical, contemporaryreengineering introduced by the educational
measures of performance such as cost, quality,administrators in the state of Haryana.
service and speed.    Railway Reservation: The Indian Railway
   Business Process Reengineering challenges thereengineered the ticket reservation system by linking
basic assumptions on which the organizations haveall major stations with computer network. The
been built (hierarchy, specialization, functional;computer network technology has enabled the
com­mand and control culture, etc.). It firmlypassengers to get railway reservation to and fro for
discriminating focus on the business pro­cess. Theany station from a computerized ticket reservation
primary and significant business process strives forwindow. It has helped in improving the passenger's
meeting or exceeding customer expectations andsatisfaction level, reducing the waiting time, and
delighting them.malpractices. The new system has increased the
  From the above, it is felt that, BPR is an analytical,revenue receipts from reservations besides aiding in
intellectual and recon­struction activity. It is agreater control over reservation staff and
complex, dynamic, costly, and time-consuming task.transparency and openness in the system.
The goal is to improve. It requires collective wisdom,    Assessment of Income Tax: The income tax
mutual understanding, voluntary and active support ofform Saral is people friendly reengineering activity
one and all within and outside the organizationbecause it has saved the tax assessees from the
including top management.cumber­some and lengthy income tax forms as
  It is in this context, an attempt was made tothese were in the past and made them law abiding
illustrate a few reengineering initiatives undertaken bycitizens as is visible by the quantum jump by the
the banks, railways, Management institutes of reputeincreasing number of income tax assessees year
for admission process in India. These have improvedafter year despite shrinking employment mar­ket.
the process of serving the users in a cost-effective      Inspite of the above cited illustrations for
manner and also improved the image of the providerBPR, The example of these kinds can be noticed in
of the service.every field of life. Some of them are:
     Teller's System: The banks introduced teller's(i) Auto­matic clearance of Foreign Direct
system to simplify the money-withdrawal processInvestment Proposal, and
from the savings bank by the depositors. Its(ii)  Removal of quantitative restrictions on import
pur­pose was to save the bank customers fromand
the inconvenience of waiting. The presentation of (iii) Exports of some items/commodities, sales tax
withdrawal instrument and the bank pass book toself assessment schemes, etc.
the cashier is considered sufficient, provided nothing      Conclusion
else is suspicious or incremental, to make quick       The business process reengineering effort
payment of cash to the depositor. It has greatlyseeks to change process structure by empowering
improved the cus­tomer's satisfaction and bankmotivated front-line workers to make decisions by
image.providing ac­cess to relevant information. BPR, to
    ATM (Automatic Tellers Machine): It isbe effective, requires, in fact, change in mindset.  It
techno-propelled customer-friendly machine aimed atneeds to be customer directed. It is analytical,
providing round the clock liquidity solution to the bankstrategic, cross-func­tional, creative and innovative
cus­tomers possessing ATM cards. It has notin nature. Its theme is to think afresh, evolve new
altogether replaced human intervention inprocesses, and seek active and willing participation of
money-withdrawal process as the cheque nor is dulyone and all, senior and junior, internal or external
filled-up withdrawal form required. The machineparticipants. Its aphorism is breakthrough for better,
supplies the needed money to the depos­itor. It haselimination of non-value adding activities, promotion of
improved customers service, bank image, and in thenew thinking, up gradation of skills, and
long run will reduce the operational costs of servingempowerment of all.
the customers.