Discontinuous Change Definition

A 1. Discontinuous change is a sudden change that restructures all the processes and tasks. Incremental change is a continuous improvement process which caters to a specific process and promises a gradual improvement. In simple words, incremental change is an evolutionary process and discontinuous change is a revolutionary process. It is easy to improve one process at a time. Reinventing business process (discontinuous change) by implementing information systems is a rather difficult task and requires the clear understanding of the business goals and the proper knowledge of the technology being used.
A 2. The response to change model that best depicts the situation (implementation of information systems) is Kubler Ross’s model.
Denial-Anger-Bargain-Depression-Acceptance.

It’s not an easy journey from denial to acceptance. The best strategy to counter the resistance is to educate the employees, communicate the overall plan and telling them what is in it for them (WIIIFM). Involving them in the change management process is a smart strategy.
A 3. The obvious signs of resistance to change are manifested in performance and behavior of an employee. Like avoidance of a task given, disengagement and lack of initiatives are the most obvious signs. Sometimes the resistance may be covert (hidden). However, resistance can be countered by constant dialogue and sharing the philosophy of change with them.
A 4. The organizational culture is reflected in policies, procedures, beliefs and norms set by people. Implementation of information systems has a huge impact on policies, procedures and norms.
A 5.The change agent can overcome the problems by establishing the need for the change; by showing the clear picture of the overall processes and the system post implementation, by establishing the true performance goals and by simplifying the process.
A 6. Employees, Clients, Project Managers, Suppliers, Business partners, Top management, HR Managers & Stockholders are the main stakeholders. They need to be educated thoroughly and engaged in different tasks according to their interests in the process and their influence on people.
A 7. The only way to motivate employees towards acquiring new behavior is rewards and recognition and positive reinforcement of desired behavior.
A 8. Implementing the information systems is sometimes difficult due to the complexity of the processes, business IT misalignment & lack of integration between various processes.
These risks can be mitigated by assigning a project manager who will act as an interface between all the processes and designing service oriented architectures (SOA) for delivering what business needs.
Answers to page 390
A 1.  BPR has changed the way people do business and serve the customers. It is more than the process improvement. It calls for a discontinuous change. This article suggests how we can -serve our customers better by efficient workflow management, gain competitive advantage through process remodeling, minimize the operational cost and thereby the price of a product & redefine business goals by radical business process outsourcing using BPM.
A 2. The various benefits that BPM offers are

Decision-making process made easier using pre-defined business rules.
Monitoring and follow up on orders can be done easily and quickly
Generating cost and time savings and minimizing maintenance costs
Shortening product creation processes.

A 3. It is true that information management systems are driven by process improvements.   Organizations need BPM for various reasons such as
– Define and discover business processes
– Execute business processes
– Measure and Modify/Improve business processes Define
Depending upon the needs, the improvement targeted can either be moderate & continuous or radical/significant.