Lean Principles and Application - Essay Example

Lean Principles and Application Lean production emphasizes the elimination of waste and BPM emphasizes the leveraging of the production system, by streamlining all processes. The overall goal of the two cultures built on the different models include that both aim to improve quality and the staffs of Toyota are more accustomed to lean thinking. The impacts arising from the differences evident from the organizational culture includes the pressure facing the R & D Company, to shift from a lean production to a lean thinking approach, mainly because it is not focusing on product development (Armstrong, 2006, p. p. 57). The challenges facing the sustenance of lean thinking include the need to develop the skills needed and the time needed to adjust to systems change. Introduction The lean production model is one that emphasizes the elimination of waste, by cutting down on the business processes that do not yield value to the customer, yet they consume production costs and time. The seven areas of waste reduction exploited by Toyota Motors include inventory, transportation, overproducing goods, waiting, defective products (defects) and over-processing. The success for the lean model is greatly hinged to change performance in the respective areas, for senior managerial staffs and also the employees. The advantages of the model include increase in productivity, reduction in product defects, and customer lead times. The benefits enjoyed in the long-term include increases in customer satisfaction, financial performance and staff morale (Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006, p. 263). The model is heavily dependent on the principles of continuous improvement and making informed decisions at all points in the production process. The model works well for companies with clearly defined value chains, for example automotive (Toyota), pharmaceutical and industrial engineering companies. Business process management is the management model in use by the management of the department, and its outlook is relatively different from that of lean. When using this model, the R & D department will be explored in a holistic manner, as a collection of business processes. The model is used to leverage on the designing, modeling, execution, monitoring and the optimization of the production system, by automating the management of the processes. Through this paper, the writer will compare the differences in the organizational culture of Toyota (lean model) and that of the R & D department (BPM); the paper will explore the impacts of the differences in the implementation process for lean, and the ability to sustain lean thinking in the department (Zarbo, 2012, p. 321). Comparison and contrast between the organizational cultures of lean (Toyota) and BPM (R &D department) The similarities between the two models include that both models are used to make the production processes of an organization more efficient and effective, despite the fact that they adopt a relatively different approach to the same goal. For example, Toyota Motors, which has an established lean thinking outlook, uses the holistic approach to make production processes more economical and efficient. The case of the R & D department is different in that – it is still in the stage of shifting gears to lean thinking, and is emphasizing on increasing the efficiency of project management for the tasks that are specific to its work. The second area of similarity between the organizational cultures of Toyota, which has an established culture based on lean thinking, is that it emphasizes the role played by managerial processes, including empowerment and visual management. In a similar manner, the R & D department, which is in the process of adopting lean thinking, has been using the tools and the processes of multitasking, visual management and empowerment, which are borrowed from the lean model. The differences in organizational cultures between that of Toyota motors and that of the R & D department include that the tools of lean thinking have been in use for a longer time in Toyota motors, unlike in the R & D department, where the management is blending the tools with those of BPM. The second difference evident for the two organizational cultures is that, the tools of the lean model employed are those usable in a variety of industries, unlike the customized tools used by the department, which may not be used in other industries. The third major difference evident from the organizational culture of Toyota motors and that of the R & D department is that the scope of the tools in use and the processes in place is wider than those employed by the department The impacts of the organizational culture differences on the implementation of the lean model The impacts of the differences and the similarities of the organizational cultures of Toyota motors and the R & D department include that there is an importance to shift from the lean production thinking to a lean thinking outlook. This is one impact of the differences in the organizational cultures of the two companies, because the lean production organizational culture is only fit and useful to some companies, especially those of an automotive or engineering nature. In engineering or automotive producing industries, the tools of waste elimination and cost reduction are effective in improving the production system and leaning the system (Pojasek, 2000, p. 4). For example, in the case of Toyota motors, tools like just in time (JIT) delivery were used to overcome the problem of holding excessive inventory, but in the case of the R & D Company, much of the inventory collected is not quantifiable in a similar way. In its case, it will need to adopt an approach where the primary goal of waste reduction covers the areas of overproduction, product defects, eliminating unnecessary production stages, keeping human resources waiting and the delivery of output that does not meet the demands of customers. The next impact arising from the difference in organizational cultures is – the R & D Company will need to focus on making the external networks that channel production output or consume it from the company, leaner than before. This difference is emphasized in the modification of the lean production outlook to lean enterprise model, where lean production is shared and utilized throughout the value stream of the company (Pojasek, 2000, p. 2). Also, it in necessary for the R & D Company to understand the conflicts in the needs of their clients and the organization in general, because they may end up meeting the demands of the parent organization and then failing to meet the needs of customers. For example, there is a need to streamline the lean system and value stream to the companies and the functions that are either higher or lower on the company’s value channel. Unlike in the case of Toyota motors, the company will need to change its company culture, so as to meet the demands of lean, which may include reducing the bureaucratic structure, in order to allow for culture change more rapidly (Wang and Huzzard, N. D, p. 3). This case is different for Toyota Motors, because its administrative structure has been matched to the administrative needs of lean. The challenges facing the sustenance and development of lean thinking in the company The first challenge facing that development and the sustenance of lean thinking in the company include the time needed to develop the capability of the management and the employees, in lean thinking, which is critical to process improvement. For example, the problems in the previous management model will need to be diagnosed, and after finding them out, it will be necessary to eliminate it using the solutions offered by lean thinking. The second challenge facing the development and the sustenance of lean thinking is that the experience, skills and the knowledge needed to adopt the system effectively may not be available among the employees and the management. For that reason, there will be a need to develop a platform for communicating these areas of capability, so as to sustain lean thinking. This will also present the challenge of aligning the demands of individuals, while at the same time delivering the functions and the outputs needed from value chain, during the time of change (Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006, p. 263). Conclusion The lean model of production stresses eliminating waste; the business process model of management stresses improving the functions of an organization as a whole, as part of an overall system comprising of business processes. The similarities between lean and BPM include that both systems emphasize quality improvement, although they use different approaches. The second similarity in the organizational culture is that they emphasize processes like visual management, as tools of quality improvement. The differences that are clear from the organizational cultures built on the different models include that Toyota’s use of lean thinking is more established, therefore has been improved to the level of being used across industry, unlike that of the R & D company, which is shifting from BPM to lean. The impacts of the differences on the implementation include that the company will need to shift from lean production thinking to lean thinking, which spans the entire value chain. The challenges in the way of sustaining lean thinking include the time for adjusting and the skills to be developed by the staffs of the company. Reference List Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 10th Edition. London: Kogan Page. Dahlgaard, J. and Dahlgaard-Park, S., 2006. Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture. The TQM Magazine, 18(3), p. 263-281. Pojasek, R., 2000. Lean, Six Sigma, and the Systems Approach: Management Initiatives for Process Improvement. Environmental Quality Management, 13 (2), p. 1-7. Wang, Y. and Huzzard, T., N. D. The Impact of Lean Thinking on Organizational Learning. [Online], Hull, p. 1-18. Available at: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/hubs/pdf/ID%20128%20Wang%20Y,%20Huzzard%20Tong.pdf [Accessed 02 Sep 2014] Zarbo, R., 2012. Creating and Sustaining a Lean Culture of Continuous Process Improvement. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 138, p. 321-326. Read More