Questioning the Unit of Analysis in BPR

Jaakko Virkkunen and Kari Kuutti
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Jaakko Virkkunen: Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FIN-00560, Finland
Kari Kuutti: Department Information Processing Science, University of Oulu, Oulu, FIN-90570, Finland

Chapter 9 in Reengineering in Action:The Quest for World-Class Excellence, 1999, pp 156-172 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: AbstractWe criticize BPR as being radical only in relation to the way of doing things but not in relation to what and why things are done. This conservatism is related to the use of 'process' as a unit of analysis and development in organizational change. We propose another unit called an 'activity system,' which is based on the cultural historical activity theory. This unit helps the concrete analysis of the needs and possibilities of reinterpreting the object and purpose of the activity. The new interpretation can be made a part of practice by changing the actors' relation to the object of their activity with the help of IT. After characterising the key elements and problems of BPR, we present the main principles of cultural historical theory of activity, the concepts of activity system, expansive transition and remediation. We then show how these concepts can be used to realize organizational transformations and give a case example of the use of these conceptual tools.

Date: 1999
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