Dear ICEIMT member
Seven years after the publication of Michael Hammer's crucial paper that started the reengineering wave, BPR practitioners seem to have enlarged the scope of their efforts to encompass not only the technical aspects of business processes, but also the human side that is inherent and critical in reorganization projects. In consonance with the more recent ideas of Hammer, Champy, Senge, Schein, and many others, I believe that the understanding of how people "live" reengineering processes is fundamental to the success of this type of endeavor.
That is why I am developing a research on the impact of BPR and similar processes on our work lives. In fact, this investigation is part of a broader project to critically analyze reengineering techniques and their consequences to individuals and organizations. I would be very thankful if you could help me in this project by sparing some minutes to participate in a short interview process.
I have urgency to interview 10 persons who had experienced (or are experiencing) reengineering or similar processes. In the present stage of my research, my interest is mostly in those who were "submitted" to such reorganization procedures, rather than in those who were responsible for implementing the reengineering process. The questions I am going to formulate focus on the individual's personal experience with reengineering process, i.e., on how he or she has "lived" the process. The specificities of the reengineering techniques will not be addressed. Therefore, there are no restrictions concerning the position of the person in his or her organization, or his or her knowledge about reengineering.
The interview can be done by e-mail, in a chat-room, by telephone, or even face-to-face, depending on the interviewee's preference and his or her location. The interview consists of only four or five open-ended questions, requiring a small investment of time from the interviewee. Additional questions may be asked as needed to clarify some point in the previous answers. The interviewees are totally free to interrupt the interview at any time.
All information given by interviewees is completely confidential. Names, dates, companies and departments, places, etc., won't be included in the final report. Parts of the document related to an individual will be submitted to him or her to allow the verification of the accuracy of the information there included. The interviewees will have total power to vet the diffusion of any information they had provided.
All interviewees are going to receive copies of my final report regarding people's experiences with reengineering. The present investigation is part of a broader research project, which includes a critical socio-historical analysis of reengineering in its diverse forms, since the emergence of its basic idea in Michael Hammer's paper in 1990. The roots of this idea, the conditions that allow it to emerge, and its consequences are examined in my work. The final report of this larger investigation will be also available to interviewees.
I would greatly appreciate your help to complete my research. If you have experienced reengineering processes, if your life has been affected by reengineering projects, please take part in the interview process. If you know anybody who could be interviewed too, please send me his or her data so that I can contact him or her. Any help will be inestimable!
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely yours,
Valter Moreno, Jr. Ph.D. Student and Research Assistant Computer and Information Systems Department The University of Michigan Business School 1804 Mc Intyre Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone : (313) 763-8677 E-mail: morenov@umich.edu
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