Complex Decision-Making in Economy and Finance

9Complexity and the Theory of Organizations: Complex Systems Reengineering

The art of engineering complexity can heavily draw on a well-known practice called business process engineering. It actually enriches the latter by a significant measure, which, in turn, broadens its scope and applicability. This chapter focuses on the ways and means to so perform and obtain better control of complex systems.

9.1. The reengineering of complex systems

This section focuses on process redesign and improvement. This, also known as BPR (Business Process Reengineering), is an effective and efficient way to change paradigms in an organization. Indeed, the objective is to change the quality and performance of an existing organization, knowing that the context is continuously evolving.

9.1.1. Introduction

Although BPR is often associated with reducing or refocusing activities or other changes, this concept actually focuses on the notions of:

• – new working methods, in terms of operations content but also the human aspect;
• – value-added flow and sustainability;
• – organizational objectives in production, logistics, decision-making processes and adaptivity.

This approach often increases product quality or customer satisfaction by a factor of 10 or 100, as while respecting the principles developed in this chapter. We will first look at BPR with a “conventional” view to highlight its essential characteristics. The technologies used in BPR are based on an analytical and methodical approach. Indeed, ...