Impact evaluation of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) in the department of Academic Administration at a University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa

Abstract

Organizational evolution is an inevitable trend in higher educational institutions. Aside from being dynamic entities themselves, organizations operate under dynamic environments and exist to serve the needs of other entities that equally evolve. Most importantly, the services offered by organizations are susceptible client’s deliberate or induced changes. To remain relevant is a function of the quality of service offered and ability to continually add value in alignment with current demands. Ensuring this continuity is a monumental challenge that requires organizations to implement suitable strategies to monitor and evaluate their business processes to remain relevant, efficient, and competitive. This has given credence to the implementation of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) in higher education to address operational challenges. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the impact of Business Process Reengineering implementation in the Department of Academic Administration in a University of Technology in South Africa. The research study objectives were: • To examine employee’s awareness of the broad principles of Business Process Re-engineering implementation in Higher Education; • To investigate the impact of Business Process Re-engineering on employee’s work daily routines, and • To investigate perception of employees on the success of Business Process Re-engineering. The research main question was: What impact has Business Process Re-engineering implementation had in the Department of Academic Administration in a University of Technology in South Africa? The sub-questions were: • What level of awareness exist amongst employees about Business Process Re-engineering? • What are the factors relevant for Business Process Re-engineering success? • What is the implementation status of Business Process Re-engineering in the Department of Academic Administration? A non-probability sampling method was used in this study. Relevant information was obtained through the application of the questionnaire, which was then classified into themes. A quantitative method approach was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection, consisting of both structured and one open-ended survey question. The study population included one hundred and ten employees and a sample of sixty, total returned responses of forty-nine (49). Respondents included both academic and administrative (support) staff members. Data analysis was conducted through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, for both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of this study indicate that the implementation of Business Process Reengineering had a positive impact in a specific University of Technology. First positive impact is based on employee perception that automation has resulted in an increased use of online services, secondly departments were able to respond rapidly to problems and the strategic goal of the project was aligned with the departmental goal. This study contributes towards an under-researched area of Business Process Reengineering implementation in the administrative sector in higher education. The researcher envision that the findings will help in expanding Business Process Reengineering to other departments in a University of Technology, as well as provide BPR strategies to enhance the administrative quality of university services.