Reengineering based change in the further education sector in Northern Ireland – A qualitative study

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of a large scale change approach, namely Reengineering, as a method of implementing change in the further education (FE) sector in Northern Ireland (NI). Case studies on 17 FE colleges in NI provided a valuable source of material on how a process‐based Reengineering project can be applied to an FE college. A comparative analysis of the key change issues facing FE colleges and the key elements of business process reengineering (BPR), revealed a commonality in key areas namely: customer focus – a key element of BPR and an imperative for the FE sector; an emphasis on designing and improving key business processes – a key element of BPR and a goal for FE colleges due to internal restructuring caused by incorporation; fundamental change – an essential key tenet of BPR and a key requirement in the FE sector; critical success factors – a key BPR implementation issue covering factors unique to the FE sector that must be addressed for the successful implementation of change.

Citation

McAdam, R. and Bickerstaff, I. (2001), "Reengineering based change in the further education sector in Northern Ireland – A qualitative study", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 50-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/14637150110383944