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Re-engineering in East Asia: an examination of Chinese and Japanese business applications
Maris G Martinsons
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Damon L Drummond
Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
Abstract
Business process re-engineering (BPR) has been used widely to improve the performance of American and European businesses. As an economic downturn sweeps across East Asia, managers there are starting to apply the principles of BPR in their firms. This paper employs a cultural software model to examine how re-engineering fits the business cultures of Greater China and Japan. The role of information, the nature of business relationships and prevailing attitudes towards change are key factors that are shaping Chinese and Japanese business process re-engineering initiatives. The insights provided here will help in the management of Asian-based business ventures and international joint ventures, particularly with regard to use of new management models and business information and other computer-based systems. The 8 propositions presented here are also relevant to international transfer of new technology and other R&D collaborative ventures.
Keywords
Business Process Re-engineering, BPR, Kaizen, cultural software, hardware, East Asia, China, Japan
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