Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Building a high‐commitment lean culture

Building a high‐commitment lean culture Purpose – The characteristics of successful lean operations make a committed workforce a necessity. However, there is an ongoing debate over whether lean characteristics inherently enhance or impede commitment. The purpose of this paper is to help settle the debate, as well as provide insights into the role specific work practices play. Design/methodology/approach – Based on responses from 1,391 workers at 21 lean sites, the authors examined the relationship between the degree of lean implementation and worker commitment; as well as the commitment effects of 21 lean work practices. Findings – The paper examines relationships between worker commitment and lean production, sheds light on the lean commitment debate and provides guidance for designing lean systems that complement high‐commitment work practices. Practical implications – The results will be of value to readers with interests in operations, human resources and high‐performance work practices, as well as the management and implementation of lean and its associated practices. Originality/value – The study described in the paper is unique in that it establishes a statistically valid relationship between lean production and worker commitment and associated work practices. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management Emerald Publishing

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/building-a-high-commitment-lean-culture-Si53RpTDFF

References (127)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1741-038X
DOI
10.1108/17410381111134446
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The characteristics of successful lean operations make a committed workforce a necessity. However, there is an ongoing debate over whether lean characteristics inherently enhance or impede commitment. The purpose of this paper is to help settle the debate, as well as provide insights into the role specific work practices play. Design/methodology/approach – Based on responses from 1,391 workers at 21 lean sites, the authors examined the relationship between the degree of lean implementation and worker commitment; as well as the commitment effects of 21 lean work practices. Findings – The paper examines relationships between worker commitment and lean production, sheds light on the lean commitment debate and provides guidance for designing lean systems that complement high‐commitment work practices. Practical implications – The results will be of value to readers with interests in operations, human resources and high‐performance work practices, as well as the management and implementation of lean and its associated practices. Originality/value – The study described in the paper is unique in that it establishes a statistically valid relationship between lean production and worker commitment and associated work practices.

Journal

Journal of Manufacturing Technology ManagementEmerald Publishing

Published: Jun 7, 2011

Keywords: Lean production; Working practices; Commitment

There are no references for this article.