A Pernicious Panacea, A Critial Evaluation of Business Reengineering

The claims made for reengineering are great, and despite extensive academic criticism, are still being offered to managers looking for answers to business problems. Yet, can reengineering provide the techniques and, indeed solutions they desire? This paper argues that, although similar to previous business panaceas in terms of content and presentation, reengineering does depart from previous consultancy driven packages both in the enormous upheaval it practicalities of implementing the reengineering 'solution' are explored through two case studies, DefCo from private sector and MailCo from public sector, to demonstrate the destructive and insidious nature of reengineering, as opposed to the more common portrayal of fads as superficial and relatively harmless.