UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2017/2018
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BBIT 309 BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING
FULL TIME/PART TIME/DISTANCE LEARNING
DATE: AUGUST, 2018 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE
a) Discuss process management in relation to BPR
(5 Marks)
b) Briefly explain each of the five levels of Information Technology enabled business
transformation. Give examples of each
(5 Marks)
c) What is the role of Information Technology in BPR and especially in managing
organisational change and interdependencies
(5 Marks)
d) What are the factors that lead to failure of BPR in organizations
(5 Marks)
e) The purpose of reengineering is to “make all your processes the best-in-class.” Explain
the benefits of benchmarking in Business process reengineering context. (6Marks)
f) Briefly explain the role of organization culture in the success of BPR effort. (4 Marks)
QUESTION TWO
a) BPR is often used by companies on the brink of disaster to cut costs and return to
profitability. The danger is that during this process the company may slash its capacity
for future growth. Discuss. (5Marks)
b) Although information technology plays a central role in reengineering, “the IS
organization in many companies is unable to deliver.” Discuss (5Marks)
c) Why must BPR be accompanied by strategic planning, which must address leveraging IT
as a competitive tool? (5Marks)
d) BPR can achieve a radical improvement, but is also very risky. Briefly explain the problems
experienced in business process reengineering implementation. (5Marks)
QUESTION THREE
a) Strategic decision making calls for process modelling to find out what is the right alternative for
organizational change. What are the four conditions for good decision support systems?
(8Marks)
b) Discuss the architectural characteristics of a business process.
(8Marks)
c) Explain the impact of BPR on organization structure. (4Marks)
QUESTION FOUR
a) Distinguish between business process redesign and automation. (6Marks)
b) Discuss the principles of reengineering (7Marks)
c) Describe the difference and similarities between BPR and TQM. (7Marks)
QUESTION FIVE
a) Describe the three basic types of benchmarking. (6Marks)
b) Briefly explain how functions or processes to be benchmarked can be selected
(6Marks)
c) Describe how outsourcing can be used in BPR. (8Marks)
