Beyond Lean: A Revised Framework of Leadership and Continuous Improvement PDF
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Peter Béndek Beyond Lean A Revised Framework of Leadership and Continuous Improvement Beyond Lean ThiSisaFMBlankPage Peter Be´ndek Beyond Lean A Revised Framework of Leadership and Continuous Improvement PeterBe´ndek MANTECInternational Gothenburg,Sweden ISBN978-3-319-27743-1 ISBN978-3-319-27745-5 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-27745-5 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015960846 SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon #SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2016 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Preface IwantedtowriteanexcitingbookandhavingreaditbackoncompletionIbelieve Imanagedtoachievethisobjectiveatleast.Icanonlyhopemyreaderwillhavethe samefeelingoncereachingtheend.Ihavestuffedintoitacriticalinvestigationinto ourcurrenttheoriesandintothemanagementpracticeofsomeoftheworld’smost important businesses, so in this sense the reader holds, for better or worse, a management thriller in their hands. It has a vein, too, in the still little developed disciplineofthephilosophyofmanagement,centringaroundthemostsalientman- agementphilosophyofourtime,theToyotaWay.Andofcourse,thebookisalsoan introduction to a leadershippracticeofcontinuousimprovement and culturaltrans- formationaspiringtopointbeyondLeanandhelpafewbusinessesredesigntheirCI practice for the better. I did not want this to be a lengthy book either but rather a representationofawayofthinkingwhichmightgivefoodforfurtherthoughtwhile alsoconclusiveandhelpfulinkeypoints.Ifleshedthenewframeworkoutwithjust enoughdetailstobecomprehensibleandinspiringatthesametime.Again,Icanonly hopeIdidwell.Iwishmyreaderforanenjoyabletimewiththisbook. Technicallyspeaking,thisbookwasdesignedtobeusablebytheacademiaandby practitioners at the same time. Its critical chapters taking up the most of the book writtenwiththeacademiccommunityinmind,butwithineachchapter,anexecutive summaryandseveralinserts(shadedingrey)helpquickandeasydigestionbymore practice-oriented readers. They are meant to establish that the available leadership and continuousimprovementframeworksdonotproperly supportapracticaltrans- formationprocess;therefore,theyarehardlyirrelevanttothebusinesscommunity,on thecontrary.Theyhelpclarifywhythecurrentpracticeofoperationalimprovement isbroken(underperforming)andtheylockinanumberofkeyconsiderationsIwould find very hard to spare in building my own improvement strategy. Yet, you have those grey boxes to help you navigate through the chapters with less immediate referencetopractice,highlightingthemeatoftheargument. Theexpositionofmyowndoctrineinthelastcoupleofchaptersisrathermore practical and a reader with a vein of either the academia or business may find interestinit.Indeed,Ihopetheywill. London,UK PeterBe´ndek v ThiSisaFMBlankPage Executive Summary This book, as its title suggests, presents a revised framework of Lean and Lean implementation with an eye on the transparency, sustainability, and speed of the transformation process. The efficiency of a transformation into more competitive companyculturesisincreasinglybecomingavaluewithequaloperationalimportto baseline capabilities. This book offers an argument in conformity with the more individualisticpreceptsofWesternsocietiesofhowtogeneratethistransformation and turn it into a continuous improvement practice that fares better than the availableLeanstrategies.Tomoulditallintoonephrase,Ilookfortheprinciples ofefficiencyatcontinuousimprovement,principlesthatdonotclaimeithertrans- parencyorsustainabilityorspeedbutalloftheseandservecompetitivenessatayet unknownlevel. Continuousimprovement(CI)shouldnotbeconsideredasubcategoryofchange management. Contrary to the latter, it has no end and no purposes outside self- reflective improvement. Its purpose, in other words, is itself. CI companies are characteristic for their production of improvement before anything else. Their perspectiveistheproductionofimprovement,i.e.,ofeverincreasingvaluecreation ratherthanofanyspecificgoods,services,orprofit.Thisisnotonlyadistinctionof theoreticalbutalsoofpracticalnature.Onceonestartstoconceivetheircompanyin termsofaself-reflectiveimprovementorvaluecreationmachine,theirchancesof improvingthequality,productivity,andperformanceoftheoperationalsostartto dramaticallyincrease.Tobuildaproductionofimprovement,youneedtomakethis change of perspective first of all. The book steps up tothis perspective in various concentric rounds to finally arrive at the exposition of a revised doctrine of TPS/Leanandaroadmapofimplementation. Once this perspective has been taken, the role of people in CI will also gain a newmeaning.CIcannotfocusonassets(technology,space,capital,brand,etc.)as longatleastasyoucannotbuildgenericself-reflective(cybernetic)intelligenceinto them. I shall try to prove that the best of Lean practice in the West, more in my focus of investigation than Japan, or Taiwan, or South Korea for that matter, still fallscaptivetoassetorientationanddiversifiesintoafewtypesofunderperforming change management attitudes and broken CI practices. Along with a couple of critical chapters from the automotive industry (Ford, VW) to prove my point, I review the much renowned Toyota Production System. Demonstrating where it is vii viii ExecutiveSummary unstableasasystemandinefficientasapractice,Iinvitethereadertosurpassitand look beyond Lean in certain key respects to better access optimum efficiency and sustainabilityintheCItransformation.Thecruxofthematterwillbeifthepresence of ambitions for systemic autonomous kaizen can be validated in an operational strategy.Thenitcanbecoherentlyproducedinacongenialpractice. In the exposition of my own theory, to be followed by a CI implementation framework,IarguethatthevitalprinciplesofCItransformationsarelaidoutinthe compositionofourpsychological(natural)needsandintheindividualisticconcep- tionofexcellence,bothcharacteristicofourWesterncultures.Whenreinforcedby anappropriatelearningsystematcompanypremises,thetwogenericprinciplescan evolveintothegeneralprinciplesofoperationalexcellence(orCI).Theappropriate learningsystem,inturn,isanchoredinanall-encompassingtrainingandworkplace coaching(TWC)systemdirectedattheinculcationofthepeakleadershipprinciple of self-actualisation in problem seeking and solving via teams (SAPSST). As the training system is consistently applied to the organisational practice, the double helix (or DNA) of coordinated people and product development will gradually engender the culture of CI. This application of the training system to practice is carried out in a 7-stage process of (cultural and organisational) transformation spanningfromoperationalchaostowhatistermedthereflectivekaizenstage. Withmoreandmorepeopleintegrated,accordingly,inthesystemicpracticeof problem seeking and solving (or learning), CI becomes the dominant habit of the organisation. It may all seem to amount to a conveniently simple strategy, but to proveitslogicthebookalsoleadsthereaderthroughfirstacritiqueofalternative methods and then exposes the pillars of the strategy as well as an universally applicable roadmap in adequate detail. Once the strategy is fully grasped, it becomesveryamenabletoimplementationwhichiswhyitmightbefoundvaluable forpractitioners.Allinall,thebuild-upoftheargumentismostlylineartohelpthe easy handling of its practical upshot, and once the reader has worked their way through the theoretical foundations they can confidently embark on the implementationpart. Thatis,thewaytoaCIcultureleadsfromthepsychologicalandethicalprecepts through leadership as SAPSST to TWC and its application to systemic practice along the 7-stage learning process, the latter in turn selecting the right principles andtoolsofthegembapractice.Theseprinciplesandtoolsmaynotnecessarilybe exactlythosethatTPSandLeanhavedeveloped,sointhissense,too,itisnotabad ideatolookbeyondLean. The book concludes with a 12-entry roadmap of to-dos and a summary of key points,whilecorestatementsasfollowsarepickedupfromtimetotimealongthe textand re-explained: Leaders are notthere strictlyspeakingtoleadothers—they are for engendering a leadership culture, a largely different attitude. Standards make no sense in kaizen unless they are mere signposts to be passed, and the Lean PDCA cycle is likewise (structurally) inadequate to support continuous improvement—it needs to be supplemented by a sub-cycle called IARS. Teams are not the ends of a cooperative organisation; they are the means to reflective individuality. Training, if effective, is not for doing. Doing is for training. It is ExecutiveSummary ix rationalnottochooseLean/XPS.TheLeanindustryhaslostitswayintheWestand is unable to serve efficiency and continuous improvement. It is possible to reach beyondtheToyotaWay. As this book is a product of parallel research and practical experience, it is imagined to be both coherent and useful, and as such it is meant equally for the academic and for the business communities with indications made to the latter wherethepracticalweightofcertainargumentslies.Allinall,theultimatebenefit oftheapproachistwofold.Verycrudely,itmayhelpleadersandpractitioners,first, tocastacriticaleyeontheirownCIprogrammes,understand,find,andtamebugs before they should kick in with full force, or repair them if already present, and second,tochoosetheauthor’sownapproachinitsfullstretchfromtheorytothelist ofpracticalto-dos.
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