Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Union Bank of California, a full-
service commercial bank
headquartered in San Francisco,
recently decided to reengineer
many of its IS tasks and functions.
(Source: Courtesy of AP Photo/
Anjum Naveed.)
In contrast to reengineering, the idea of
continuous improvement
is to constantly seek
ways to improve business processes and add value to products and services. This continual
change will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and ensure long-term profitability.
Manufacturing companies make continual product changes and improvements. Service or-
ganizations regularly find ways to provide faster and more effective assistance to customers.
By doing so, these companies increase customer loyalty, minimize the chance of customer
dissatisfaction, and diminish the opportunity for competitive inroads. The $200 million
annual market for continuous improvement software and systems is expected to grow by
these two strategies.
continuous improvement
Constantly seeking ways to improve
business processes to add value to
products and services.
Table 2.2
Comparing Business Process
Reengineering and Continuous
Improvement
Business Process Reengineering
Continuous Improvement
Strong action taken to solve serious problem
Routine action taken to make minor improvements
Top-down change driven by senior executives
Bottom-up change driven by workers
Broad in scope; cuts across departments
Narrow in scope; focus is on tasks in a given area
Goal is to achieve a major breakthrough
Goal is continuous, gradual improvements
Often led by outsiders
Usually led by workers close to the business
Information systems provide data to guide the
improvement team
Information system integral to the solution
