Editing Strategic management (section)

===Reengineering===
[[Michael Martin Hammer|Michael Hammer]] and [[James Champy]] felt that these resources needed to be restructured.<ref>Hammer, M. and Champy, J. ''Reengineering the Corporation'', Harper Business, New York, 1993.</ref> In a process that they labeled [[Business process reengineering|reengineering]], firm's reorganized their assets around whole processes rather than tasks. In this way a team of people saw a project through, from inception to completion. This avoided functional silos where isolated departments seldom talked to each other. It also eliminated waste due to functional overlap and interdepartmental communications.

In 1989 [[Richard Lester]] and the researchers at the MIT Industrial Performance Center identified seven '''best practices''' and concluded that firms must accelerate the shift away from the mass production of low cost standardized products. The seven areas of best practice were:<ref>Lester, R. ''Made in America'', MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity, Boston, 1989.</ref>

* Simultaneous continuous improvement in cost, quality, service, and product innovation
* Breaking down organizational barriers between departments
* Eliminating layers of management creating flatter organizational hierarchies.
* Closer relationships with customers and suppliers
* Intelligent use of new technology
* Global focus
* Improving human resource skills

The search for best practices is also called [[benchmarking]].<ref>Camp, R. ''Benchmarking: The search for industry best practices that lead to superior performance'', American Society for Quality Control, Quality Press, Milwaukee, Wis., 1989.</ref> This involves determining where you need to improve, finding an organization that is exceptional in this area, then studying the company and applying its best practices in your firm.