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ACCA Strategic Professional · Advanced Performance Management · Performance improvement models and techniques

Pinnacle Bank's retail division has run a kaizen programme for three years, with staff suggesting small improvements to loan processing. Management now says the programme is delivering diminishing returns and wants a step change in performance. Which statement best contrasts the two approaches in this context?

Kaizen delivers gradual, low-risk improvement from staff involvement within the existing process, while BPR pursues radical, management-driven redesign that is riskier but can deliver step change. The other statements reverse these features, wrongly describing kaizen as top-down or BPR as incremental.

  1. AKaizen is top-down and high risk, whereas BPR is bottom-up and low risk
  2. BKaizen delivers gradual, low-risk gains from staff involvement within the existing process, whereas BPR seeks radical, higher-risk redesign driven by managementCorrect
  3. CKaizen and BPR both start from a blank sheet and differ only in speed
  4. DBPR improves existing steps incrementally, whereas kaizen replaces the process entirely

Explanation

Kaizen is continuous, incremental, bottom-up and works within the existing process with relatively low risk. BPR is radical, typically top-down, and carries greater disruption and risk but offers potentially dramatic gains. The other options reverse or blur these characteristics.

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