The positioning of BPR and TQM in long‐term organisational change strategies

The paper reports some findings generated by a postal survey of Northern Ireland’s top 100 companies. The aims of the survey included: gaining some insight into levels of awareness, understanding and use of business process re‐engineering (BPR) in the province; examining the positioning of BPR in long‐term organisational change strategies; and exploring the relationship between incremental improvement and radical innovation as approaches to change management. The findings include: more widespread reported use and understanding of BPR than anticipated; some evidence of integrated use of BPR and total quality management; and that both are quite widely perceived as being significant elements of organisational change strategies for the foreseeable future. Follow‐up case studies have been undertaken to explore relevant issues in greater depth.