Lean Manufacturing Practices: Problems and Prospects - Essay Example

 Critical Analysis in Business Student’s Name University Affiliation LEAN MANUFACTURING PRACTICES: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS Lean Manufacturing is defined as removal of activities and processes that are regarded as waste so as to generate more value for customers. The target for elimination here becomes any process or activity that adds cost, consumes resources and time without creating value. Lean manufacturing implements different essential and objectives such as the Total elimination of waste, highest satisfactory of customers' needs, use of less effort with same production rate (Mehta et al.,2012). Key lean manufacturing principles include mapping value stream, identifying value, creating the flow, seeking the perfection, and establishing pull. Lean manufacturing affects the attitude of employees too (Mehta et al.,2012). It can be implemented in any organization in the following departments; planning, production, engineering, marketing, and store. Lean thinking success depends on the perception of employees and working management. This is because it requires an in-depth understanding of implementation. Training of employees is necessary for its success. Secondly, planning and implementation of policies and plan is another key determinant of success .6 sigma, for instance, can be meant to increase quality and production without increasing the production cost. Lean manufacturing, therefore, can be essential in the implementation of six sigmas. For a company to move forward, it has to implement the lean manufacturing concept which the main objective is improving efficiency, waste management and reducing machine downtown (Mehta et al.,2012). “What Japanese companies must do to create a second Economic Miracle” Japanese people had to start afresh from the defeat that happened in World War II since everything they had got destroyed from the war. There were series of policies that were set by the U.S occupation of Japan to reconstruct and recover the devastating nation and ultimately creating the opportunity to become the economic superpower. The American force embraced and implemented three major reform policies which were labor democratization, land reform, and Zaibatsu. These policies had a huge impact in modernizing and democratizing the nation and also influenced the nation’s ability to grow (O'Gorman,2012). Japanese economy recovery was achieved through implementation of the Dodge plan and the effect it had from the Korean war outbreak. The Korean war boom caused the economy to experience a rapid increase in Japanese economic growth and produced what was called the beginning of the economic miracle. One of the most important factors for Japan’s fantastic growth was the ability of Japanese to imitate and apply the knowledge and skills learned from the western countries. Some of the factors for growth were the import of technologies and improved business conditions. Moreover, economic strategies and policies that were carried out by political character significantly accelerated and influenced the economy growth(O'Gorman,2012). Management directed kaizen: Toyota's Jishuken process for management development Currently, there is variety of understanding of how Toyota develops its managers to support daily Kaizen, especially when Toyota managers have different levels of understanding of Toyota production system(TPS) and skills essential in applying the TPS (Marks berry et al.,2010). The study of Toyota’s Jishuken process is important in strengthening TPS to analyses management aspect and technical aspects of Toyota’s Jishuken process. When integrated into plant-wide long-term continuous improvement, Jishuken can be useful at coming up with management's ability to teach and conduct daily kaizen and problem solving (Marksberry et al.,2010). Jishukens function within the TPS system was to continuously improve managers understanding of the TPS both for support manager's roles in communicating, teaching problem-solving to production workers as wells as concrete problem-solving skills. Attempts to imitate Toyota fail because techniques are embraced and adopted piecemeal with little understanding of why they exist or what kind of organizational culture is required to adequately make them work for the company. Jishuken serves as an example of a technique that its success requires being embedded within the right organizational culture (Marksberry et al.,2010). The Toyota recall: Missing the Forest for the Trees Getting the most from employees is a perennial concern of management. The primary goal of managers was to increase employees efficacy. This thinking led to the creation of bureaucracies to manage the minutiae of efficiency (Liker & Ogden,2011). In manufacturing, the most powerful force was the global success of Toyota whose emphasize of efficiency led to its success. Toyota practiced andon cords and kaizen approach. Everyone understood that less adversarial relationships with employees were necessary. Toyota engaged its employees in continuous improvement which became touch some. Two concepts emerged; Management by Objectives and management by Means. The concept of management by objectives is to empower everyone in the enterprise by articulating clear goals and objectives and allowing workers and managers figure out the best way of achieving them. This encourages accountability and limits micromanagement which are recognized as a goal of enlightened management. This has negative consequences such as employee cutting corners (such as ethics and quality) to achieve the goals laid out (Liker & Ogden,2011). Management by means is an approach built to refocus what the administration by means ignored. This approach is built on the theory a positive outcome will come if you pursue your jobs in the right way. Some of its advantages include the use ‘Management standardized work,” which are prescribed set of managerial practice such as improving coaching and daily walks of asking questions. Both MBM and MBO are inextricably linked. What went wrong at Toyota is that the share target market grew out of a customer satisfaction goal of global vision. It became hard to measure the goal, and so it translated to specific target including among other, a fifteen percent global market share (Liker & Ogden,2011). Conclusion It is now clear that implementation of any technique largely looms upon various factors. This application also requires combination and coordination of varies techniques and tools without which success of any technique would be in doubt. It is the duty of the managerial and any employees to coordinate to come up with the best technology that suits the institution. The most fundamental factor is the expertise of the labor force such that they can adopt a technique or tools successfully. Most techniques require in-depth knowledge and skills to be able to succeed in any institution. No techniques or tool are flawless. There are obstacles to the implementation of any technique. These obstacles can be however being overcome by successful planning. In the application of the lean manufacturing, for instance, is the non-recognition of LMS as an effective tool. Their financial benefits are mostly not recognized by the organization. Overcoming such hurdle should be prioritized. In the era of globalization, all organization tries to improve quality and production using all industrial engineering techniques. Management by objective and management by means, on the other hand. These two concepts need an institution with workers that understand the culture fully for them to be operational. It can lead to a disappointment when either is treated as the end goal. The success of any concept requires training and in-depth understanding of the culture, tools, and techniques. Reference Mehta, R. K., Mehta, D., & Mehta, N. K. (2012). LEAN MANUFACTURING PRACTICES: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS. Annals of the Faculty of Engineering Hunedoara, 10 (3), 119-124. O'Gorman, D. (2012). WHAT JAPANESE COMPANIES MUST DO TO CREATE A SECOND ECONOMIC MIRACLE. Ivey Business Journal Online Marksberry, P., Badurdeen, F., Gregory, B., & Kreafle, K. (2010). Journal of Manufacturing Technology Managment, 21 (6), 670-686. Liker, J., & Ogden, T. N. (2011, Nov/Dec). The Toyota Recall: Missing The Forest for the Trees. Ivey Business Journal Online. Read More