ABSTRACT
Given that organizations and teams are able to do reengineering and process redesign if they have the will and use the approach such as the one described in this book, why do so many fail? In their book The Reengineering Revolution, Michael Hammer and Steven A. Stanton (1995) list the top ten reasons why reengineering fails or fails to get started in organizations. I and many others can vouch for the fact that these reasons apply as much to health care processes as they do to other industries. Do not be dismayed if your organization experiences one or two of the errors on this list-you are not alone. Though Hammer and Stanton’s book was written in the mid-1990s, its caveats still hold true today. Carefully review your major change initiatives and see if any of the following apply to your situation:
1. Organizations do not actually reengineer or redesign their processes, but say that they are. Organizations often try to fix a process instead of changing it. When the term “reengineering” became ubiquitous and a fad word, it became attached to all kinds of programs that did not involve process redesign at all. As an example, one hospital administrator had four of his individual managers present simple departmental changes they had implemented to demonstrate that his people were “already into reengineering and process redesign.” Fortunately, most of the audience
Organizations do not actually reengineer or redesign their processes, but say that is what they are doing. Organizations often try to fix a process instead of changing it.
