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A CASE STUDY OF REENGNINEERING Gene Dixon East Carolina University

Abstract Organizations undertake reengineering in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons mostly centered on improving productivity and profitability. Reengineering has been implemented on a variety of scales including a department, a division, a company a business unit or a corporation typically with varied impact and effectiveness. This paper presents a continuing case study of reengineering by a contractor at a government owned, contractor operated (GOCO) facility in the Southeast. . With the budgetary reductions associated with changing winds of politics and economics, management responded with contract language calling for reductions in manpower in order to limit long term exposure for retirement benefits. The case study is applicable for teaching various processes

perspective and increase critical thinking skills. The case allows students to apply engineering management concepts across the engineering manager s range of interest. The open ended problem solving approach in this case will provide a broader range of learning opportunities.

Introduction: Case Studies and Reengineering Cases studies are designed scenarios that develop analytical and decision-making process skills in engineering students [8]. Engineering management (EM) instructors often use the case study method to deliver integrated concepts and knowledge within an illustrative, simple format, or story line, that may have very complex content. This combination of simple story line and complex content can be helpful in guiding the development of real problem solving skills within future engineers. Niewoehner [2] suggest that the case study offers an opportunity to broaden student perspective and increase critical thinking through the use of real, complex examples from business and industry. This teaching methodology is markedly different when compared to closed ended, formulaic questions often found at the end of a text book chapter. -world experiences without 9]. The issue for instructors of EM curricular is gaining access to practical and useable case study documentation that can be used for single or multiple learning opportunities. Most case studies seem to be generated by either business or management schools and are subsequently adopted or adapted for use by EM instructors. Ideally, the case study should permit the EM student to directly consider the case in light of its EM lesson without the need to translate into EM language and concepts. The case study would thereby provide a more direct development of a broad range of understanding leading to critical EM related skill development. For the EM student, those skills should be developed in areas of particular interest for the aspiring engineering manager, i.e., the bridging between technology and the technology worker with the management and finance components of competitive business operations. With the growth of EM and a recognition of the need to graduate engineers possessing the harder (not softer) skills associated with managing and developing human capital, the challenge to develop students having real skills continues to grow. Case studies can provide a pedagogical process for developing these hard skills in engineering students. It is in that vein of reasoning this particular case study is offered. This case study describes the application of reengineering within a government-owned, contractor operated facility located in the southeast. Reengineering is defined as g and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed. [3]. The use of reengineering case studies in the classroom provides an opportunity

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Dixon, G. (2009, June), A Case Study Of Reengnineering Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5348