The Art and Politics of Re-Engineering Under Crisis Conditions

Abstract

Re-engineering an entire college administration can be daunting--wholesale change is intimidating and unwelcome to many. Common wisdom from the literature suggests that re-engineering should take place in times of stability and good fortune. In practice, there may be little motivation short of crisis for even launching an encompassing re-engineering project. This paper describes how Bryant College got started on such a project, the crisis conditions under which the project is proceeding, and the lessons we have learned to date. Early feedback is mixed on how well our approach is working.Two of several unusual aspects of our project are: use of a new administrative MIS implementation as the excuse to re-engineer, and the structure of the management team (a triad that includes a politician, a user advocate, and a technician).