Business process re‐engineering to total quality management : An examination of the issues

This paper examines two research questions. First, is a re‐engineered company a suitable platform for the subsequent application of TQM principles? Second, is BPR an appropriate means to transform an organisation operating along traditional lines into one which is managed using TQM principles? It is posited that these questions have been given scant attention by the academic fraternity. Considers, for example, characteristics of BPR which facilitate or hamper TQM and also TQM considerations when reengineering. It is argued that a company can apply TQM and BPR simultaneously, thus yielding more improvements than if only one of them was used on its own. The analysis presented in the paper indicates that the application of BPR can provide the base for the subsequent development of TQM.