Business Process Reengineering is not just for Businesses but is also for Governments: Lessons from Singapore's Reengineering Experience

Abstract

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has been hailed as a cure for many of the woes in today’s organizations. Many organizations have embarked on BPR but the results have been mixed. Failure is not uncommon but this does not appear to have affected the BPR drive to achieve dramatic improvements in organizational performance. The pragmatic goal-driven approaches adopted by corporations and other businesses position them advantageously in their BPR pursuits. But what about public bodies with their bureaucratic baggage? Is BPR relevant to them? If relevant, is it feasible in the public sector, particularly the public sector of developing nations which tend to have bigger baggage? This chapter draws on the experience of Singapore to suggest strategies for reengineering practice in the public sector of developing countries and other nations.