RHETORIC AND REALITY: A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST RESEARCH AGENDA FOR BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING IN CONSTRUCTION

S. D. GREEN

Department of Construction Management & Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading, RG6 6AW, UK

Abstract

Despite the rhetorical claim that business process re-engineering (BPR) represents a `radical new beginning' its dominant technical emphasis reflects a return to the simplistic machine metaphors of Taylorism. The process-mapping techniques of BPR offer little other than a high-tech rehabilitation of work study. From a social constructivist perspective, business processes do not exist independently of the perceptions of social actors and are therefore continually renegotiated as part of the never-ending flux of organisational life. Irrespective of the originality of BPR, its persuasive rhetoric has already significantly influenced the mental constructs of practising managers. The reality of the modern construction industry therefore cannot be understood without also understanding the underlying metaphors of BPR. The persuasiveness of BPR has further influenced government and industry-sponsored research agendas. Construction academics are therefore pressurised to adopt a similar kind of language to secure research funding. Those who resist the simplistic images of BPR risk being labelled as `out of touch'. Whilst it is important for academics to respond to the perceived needs of industry, they must also have a commitment to developing long-term research which is independent of the `flavours of the month' propagated by the management gurus. Research cannot be judged solely in terms of efficiency gains for industry. Academics also have a responsibility to develop the intellectual capital of the construction industry.

Keywords: business process re-engineering; social constructivism; rhetoric; research; management gurus.