In 1989, the IT function of the exploration and production division of British Petroleum Company set out to transform itself in response to a severe economic environment and poor internal perceptions of IT performance. This case study traces and analyzes the changes made over six years. The authors derive a model of the transformed IT organization comprising seven components that they suggest can guide IT departments in general as they seek to reform themselves in the late 1990s. This model is seen to fit well with recent thinking on general management in that the seven components of change can be reclassified into the Bartlett and Ghoshal (1994) framework of purpose, process, and people. Some suggestions are made on how to apply the model in other organizations.
This paper reports on early results from case study research into the relationship between business process reengineering (BPR) and strategic planning. First a framework for analysis is proposed based on the concept of alignment. This "process alignment model" comprises four lenses of enquiry: process, strategy, information systems. and change management and control. Four case studies are then described, selected from a wider sample to demonstrate variation across the four domains. A taxonomy of strategies for BPR is derived from the case studies. This taxonomy suggests a richer variety of BPR practice than has been documented to date and provides an opportunity and platform for further research.