BPR and the substance of change

This paper offers a distinctive analysis of a key management process and buzzword — BPR (or BEEPEEARR). Commentators have sought to dismiss BEEPEEARR as a ‘fad’ lacking in substance. This account seeks to offer a form of analysis designed to reverse this judgement. The discussion of BEEPEEARR is placed within a larger analysis of organizational dynamics, and it is argued that BEEPEEARR is flawed because it discusses strategic change in terms of stability and regards organizational change as a linear process that may be predicted in advance. It is also contended that BEEPEEARR brings too much substance to the study of organizational change and concludes by spelling out implications for management practice.