1. INTRODUCTION:

Great interest is shown in implementing Toyota Production Systems (TPS) or “Lean Production” after the release of the book “The Machine that Changed the World” by Womack et al., (1990) (Stone, 2012). The concept of Lean for almost 25 years has gained a lot of popularity worldwide. Lean Production System means any process which utilizes less of everything to create more value to customers.

There has been a paradigm shift in focus from Lean Production (which concentrated on reducing cost and waste reduction) to Lean Thinking (which concentrates on creating worth).

Lean Thinking is a business methodology that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals while eliminating waste. Inculcating Lean Thinking in an organisation needs an entire transformation on how an organisation conducts its business. This takes an enduring viewpoint and determination.

Lean Thinking as an approach must be imbibed in the culture of the organisation and it ought to be according to the visions and objectives of the organisations (Liker et al., 2008).

Large bodies of researchers have demonstrated that cultural values directly influence the success of organisational strategies and managerial actions. The success of Lean Thinking requires more than the use of tools. According to (Bhasin et al., 2006), successful implementation of Lean is possible only when Lean is not treated as a strategy but as a philosophy that involves major changes in the organization, not only on the shop floor but to the whole organisation.

Lean Thinking cannot be inculcated in an organisation without significant change in the culture. However, in addition to a change in the culture there must also be a healthy interactive environment, skilled workers, support from the top management and strong leadership. All these factors can be enabled by robust HR processes.

HR processes has to extend its complete support in the change process. Due to the rapid change in the business environment the functions of HRM have changed. It has come out of its conventional processes and now takes up the responsibility of acting as a facilitator in the change process of the organisation.

Review of literature also highlights the role of Human Resource in successful Lean transformation.

Human Resource processes are a vital factor in Lean transformation. This vital factor comes into play by way of continuous improvement and respect for people.

The objective of this article is to understand the concept of Lean, Lean Thinking and the role of HR in inculcating Lean Thinking in an organisation. This article focuses on understanding the softer side of Lean i.e., Lean more as a philosophy rather than tools and techniques. Lean philosophy has become the state of art in today’s organisations because of the proven increase in efficiency. Inculcation of Lean Thinking has a direct impact on increased performance and quality. In this regard, this article will help the practioners and academicians to have a clear understanding of the Lean Thinking philosophy.

2. METHODOLOGY:

This research article is based on a systematic review of literature sourced from the web of knowledge which provides access to leading journals and conference proceedings worldwide. Some useful books were also referred for the review.

There were an abundant number of research papers on the topic ‘Lean’ which were available for review. This list was narrowed down the list by using key words more relevant to the review article. ‘Lean’, ‘Lean Thinking’, ‘Lean Implementation’, ‘Lean HR’, ‘Role of HR in Lean Thinking’ were some of the key words combination used to zero in on the relevant list of research papers and articles that were reviewed. A total of 120 research papers and articles were taken into consideration. Most of these 120 articles taken into consideration are those that are published after the year 2000. Few articles which were considered important for the article are those which are published before the year 2000.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW :

The literature on Lean Thinking is divided into six sections, namely Lean Concept, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Thinking, factors affecting inculcation of Lean Thinking, Lean HRM and Role of Human Resource in inculcating Lean Thinking.

3.1 LEAN CONCEPT:

It is essential to understand what Lean is not:

· Lean is obviously not about being skinny

· Lean is not reducing the head count in the name of cost cutting

· Lean is not just a tool or technique to be implemented in production

· Lean is not set of practices to be copied or replicated

· Lean is not just a process improvement method

Lean is much more than that. Lean is a philosophy. It is a thinking process. Lean is eliminating waste through continuous improvement.

Lean means making extra worth for your clients by utilizing minimum resources.

Lean is being respectful towards everybody who participates in the functioning of an organisation i.e., customers, employees, suppliers, the community, etc.

The concept of Lean is the revised version of Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System-TPS. The word ‘Lean’ was first used by John Krafcik (Ifechukwude et al., 2010).

The term ‘Lean’ became popular from the book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’ (Womack et al., 1990). The book clearly showcases the considerable gap in performance between the Japanese and other western automotive industries. It discusses the important attributes contributing to the greater performance of Lean Production by Japanese industries. They use less of everything - human effort, capital deployment, facilities, inventories and time - in manufacturing, product development, components supply and client relations.

The meaning of Lean has two parts:

Part1: Eliminating Waste through Continuous Improvement

Part 2: Respect for people

These are the two pillars for the success of Lean in any organisation.

In the context of Lean, respect for people means challenging them to perform their best having knowledge of and faith in their capabilities. Respect for people also means to collaborate and work together as a team, irrespective of the level of management one belong to.

3.2 LEAN MANUFACTURING:

Lean Manufacturing was introduced in Japan and the TPS - Toyota Production System was the first to implement Lean Practices in their production systems (Singh et al., 2010c) Lean Manufacturing means any process which utilizes less of everything. It uses only 50% of human efforts, manufacturing space, outlay in tools and 50% less time to develop a new product when compared to other processes (Womack et al., 2007).

Toyota’s Production– well known as the Toyota Production System helps in reducing time between a customer’s order and delivery by eliminating the non – value added waste. The concept of Lean is also extended to the internal business supporting processes of Toyota like purchasing, sales, marketing and product development (Liker, 2004).

Lean Manufacturing is different from conventional manufacturing system (Gupta et al., 2013). The conventional manufacturing system focuses on the inventory, whereas Lean Manufacturing considers inventory as a waste. It emphasizes on Zero Inventory well known as Just – in – Time concept. Understanding the differences between the conventional manufacturing and Lean Manufacturing is crucial if any system wants to follow Lean Practices (Andrew, 2006). Lean Manufacturing believes that customers should pay only for the value of the services received not for the mistakes committed in the course of delivering the service (Rawabdeh, 2005).

Lean system has gained significant recognition in context of the most effective strategic practices in manufacturing industries. Its tools and techniques are extensively employed in manufacturing and in service industries. This success has attracted the attention of many managers who want to implement Lean in other sectors (Bennett et al., 2012).Lean Manufacturing helps in enhancing production processes and boosting up the employees job satisfaction (Singh et al., 2010c).

On aspect that is often misunderstood is that Lean is not just tools and techniques for implementation in the manufacturing department but a philosophy, a thinking process that should be imbibed in the culture of the organization (Liker, 2004).

3.3 LEAN THINKING:

There has been a paradigm shift in focus from Lean Production (which concentrated on reducing cost and waste reduction) to Lean Thinking (which concentrates on creating worth).

In the 1980s, changing a conventional or mass manufacturing system into a Lean Manufacturing system was very difficult. In those days workers never took up the responsibility for the quality of the product manufactured by them. The workers started responding positively to the change in the system only when they knew the management actually valued their skills and efforts they put in. The quote ‘do it right the first time’, encourages workers to be accountable for the products manufactured by them (Gupta, S et al., 2013).

Lean is viewed from two perspectives. First it is viewed from a practical operational outlook which focuses on the identification and elimination of waste in inventory, time, human efforts and manufacturing space, while manufacturing goods of high quality and being highly receptive to customers’ wants and desires. Second it is viewed from the outlook of a management philosophy (Murman et al., 2002; Scherrer et al., 2009; Womark et al., 1990).

During the late 1980’s, Womack and his associates at MIT, drew from the Toyota Production System (TPS) and evolved the principles ‘Lean’:

“Lean Production is ‘Lean’ because it uses less of everything compared with mass production – half the human effort in the factory, half of the manufacturing space, half the investment in tools, half the engineering hours to develop a new product in half of the time.”

(Womack et al., 1990, p.13)

Womack and his associates in their book ‘Lean Thinking – Banish Waste and Creates Wealth in Your Corporation’ published in the year 1996 have again defined Lean Thinking as a multi - faceted approach in doing business with its main concentration on elimination of waste.

An analysis of these definitions clearly places importance on reducing the usage of resources in shop floor as well as outside shop floor activities (Bruun et al., 2004).

The analysis of the definitions given by Womack and his associates give the impression that Lean was initially clearly defined but in today’s scenario researchers have accepted that there is no universally accepted definition for Lean (Dahlgaard et al., 2006; Lewis, 2000; New, 2007; Pettersen, 2009). According to (Shah et al., 2007) this uncertainty in understanding the concept of Lean is a result of similarity with associated terms like Toyota Production System (TPS), Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just – in – Time (JIT).

Literature puts forward that Lean can be understood from two dimensions, first as a philosophy that highlights the conceptualization or best understood as Lean Thinking and second as a practical operational dimension.

This paper is a literature review of the first dimension - Lean as a philosophy.

3.4 Factors affecting inculcation of Lean Thinking in an Organisation:

Lean transformation is commonly used to characterize an organisation moving from a conventional way of thinking to Lean Thinking. It needs an entire transformation in the way an organisation conducts its business. Lean Thinking as an approach must be imbibed within the culture of the organisation and it ought to be according to the visions and objectives of the organisation (Liker et al., 2008).

A flourishing implementation of the concept of Lean Thinking can be achieved only if the workers are associated with Lean philosophy. The concept of Lean can be implemented only if there is a high level of worker involvement in changing their outlook and behavior towards the concept (Gagnon et al., 2003). Hence, worker involvement plays a really vital role in establishing an environment of Lean Thinking in an organisation.

Another important factor leading to successful implementation of Lean Thinking is the leaders at the corporate level. They should view Lean Thinking as an approach to the whole organization not limiting it to only the manufacturing department (Jochen et al., 2007).

Several researchers have outlined the determinants for successful Lean Thinking (Achanga and et al. (2005); Achanga and et al. (2006); Habidin and et al., 2013; Hilton and et al., 2012; Laureani and et al., 2012; Psychogios and et al., 2012; Antony and et al., 2011; Hines and et al., 2004; Hoyte and et al., 2007; Parry and et al., 2010; Turesky and et al., 2010; Worley and et al., 2006; Timans et al., 2011). These determinants are:

1. Management’s Commitment and Participation

2. Mission, Vision and Objectives of the company

3. Organisational Structure

4. Company’s Strategy

5. Proper Communication

6. Training and Development

7. Group Work

8. Leadership Forms

9. Organisational Culture

10. Customer Needs

From the above factors it can be concluded that for any organisation to inculcate Lean Thinking, Organisational Culture and strong Leadership are the two critical factors.

Detailed literature review of the two critical factors affecting inculcation of Lean Thinking (Organisational Culture and Leadership) in an organisation is as follows:

a. LEAN CULTURE:

Lean cannot be implemented without a significant change in the organizational culture. HR should do a trough check of the current organisational culture and help in changing the organisational culture suitable in implementing lean processes.

According to (Liker et al., 2010), most of the companies in the world, who wish to implement Lean in their organisation, observe Toyota as a benchmark. In fact quite a few companies have put in their best to implement lean in their organisation but they have not been successful for the very simple reason that they did not understand the actual internal culture of Toyota.

Liker (2004) explains that the Toyota’s culture is based on two parts:

1. External which starts with the customers

2. Internal which includes respect for the people who work for you and improvement activities continuously

Toyota Culture:

Bennett et al., (2012)

1. Toyota makes their employees feel part of the organization, bringing in a sense of belongingness and involving them in different departments from the beginning.

2. Employees of Toyota trust their company, not just be words but by the favorable policies and day to day interaction with the workers. This makes the employees feel motivated and a sense of belongingness will also develop. (Liker et al., 2010)

3. Toyota believes and trusts its employees and also invest huge on them because Toyota understands that the key to their success are their people.

4. Toyota provides enduring incentives and rewards to facilitate the managers to motivate their employees to give their best towards the activities of the organization.

5. Toyota sets long term vision and gives clarity to the employees about the objectives set which helps the employees to work towards achieving the objectives.

6. Further Toyota believes and accepts its employee’s mistakes particularly in experiments which eventually lead to continuous improvement.

7. Toyota encourages their managers to go the shop floor get first hand information rather than getting information from the supervisors. (Marksberry et al., 2011)

8. Unsystematic way of working and behavior is strictly not entertained. Each and every employee should perform according to the principles and philosophy of the company. (Liker et al., 2010)

9. Toyota wisely selects its employees and develops their capacity though it takes a long time because Toyota considers its people can drive the wheel of improvement.

10. Toyota frequently makes minute enhancements in their units so that their workers understand the enhancement process and importance. (Young, 2000)

11. Another culture that Toyota has is the ‘Learning Culture’.

12. Toyota has a transparent management where all the workers are aware of what’s happening in the organisation.

Any organisation intending to implement the concept of Lean should at least once understand the Toyota culture. Since each organisation has a unique culture, it will have to adopt the Toyota culture to suit its requirements.

Any organization irrespective of their size and business, wants to implement Lean. To implement Lean, companies should create a healthy organizational culture. (Bennett et al., 2012)

According to (Dahlgaard et al., 2006), culture cannot be compromised if a company wants to implement Lean. This culture should start from the top management executives till the shop floor workers. Having the appropriate culture is of at most importance for the success of Lean. Along with the right culture a strong leadership is also required.

b. LEAN LEADERSHIP:

Lean Leadership is enabling and empowering people. It is helping employees grow professionally and take pride in their work. Lean Leaders are not who just set the target for their employees and question them when the set target is not met. Lean Leaders are those who spend less time in managing and monitoring. They spend more time in coaching and mentoring their employees and motivating them to lead.

Lean leadership is an essential part of TPS (Orr, 2005). To understand the concept of Lean Leadership, it is vital to look at the Toyota Way leadership for orientation.

According to the culture of Toyota the important roles held in the organization are by leaders who have grown and have shaped as a leader in the organisations itself. Because Toyota feels leaders ought to be completely aware of the culture and the philosophy of Toyota only then they can lead the organisation. (Shang, 2014)

Toyota never recruits leaders they recruit people who they feel have some natural leadership qualities and coach them to think and act in the way Toyota thinks and functions. (Liker et al., 2008)

Table 1: Traditional Western Leadership and Toyota Leadership

(Source: Shang, 2014)

Traditional Western Leadership	Toyota Leadership
Quick results	Patient
Proud	Humble
Climb ladder rapidly	Learn deeply and horizontally and gradually work the way up the ladder
Results at all costs	The right process will lead to right results
Accomplish objectives through people	Develop people
Overcome barriers	Take time to deeply understand problem and root cause before acting
Manage by numbers and graphs	Deeply understand the process by go and see what happens in the first place

“The Toyota leaders must have a combination of in depth understanding of the work and the ability to develop, mentor and lead people. The expectation of leadership in Toyota is to effectively develop people so that performance is constantly improved. This is accomplished by instilling the Toyota culture in all employees.” (Shang, 2014)

According to (Katz, 2012), Lean Leader ought to concentrate more on acting as mentors and facilitators to their staff.

According to (Mann, 2009), if any organisation wants to sustain its Lean success then their leaders need to change the way they think and behave which eventually will percolate to the whole organisation.

Lean Leaders should have the required knowledge of the tools and techniques of implementing Lean else the group members will not put in the required efforts (Pamfilie et al., 2012).

A Lean Leader ought to be aware that it is the shop floor workers who actually add value to the processes and eventually to the business. Hence, it is the responsibility of the Lean Leader to act as mentors and facilitators in helping the workers develop the required skills and abilities. (Liker, 2010)

Fig 1: Difference between Traditional Leadership and Lean Leadership

(Source: Patange Vidyut Chandra, 2013)

(Dombrowski, et al., 2013) have developed the principles of lean leadership that is required for the successful Lean implementation.

1. Improvement Culture

2. Self – development

3. Qualification

4. Gemba

5. Hoshin Kanri

To have a healthy culture, skilled workers, strong leadership and support from the HR department plays a crucial role.

HR department has to extend its complete support in the change process. In fact due to the rapid change in the business environment the functions of HRM has changed. It has come out of its conventional processes. It now takes up the responsibility of acting as a facilitator in the change process of the organisation.

When it comes to implementation of Lean, active involvement of HR departments is a must. One of the reasons for lean implementation to fail is not involving the HR departments in the implementation process. (Thirkell et al., 2014)

According to the research of (Liker, 2004), a conceptual framework for Lean Thinking was developed. The framework consolidates every enabler of Lean Thinking and the nexus between the enablers for a successful Lean transformation. This framework includes the principles, processes and practices necessary for successful implementation of Lean Thinking throughout the organization.

Fig 2: Conceptual Framework of Lean Thinking

(Source: Kovacheva, 2010)

The foundation of the framework includes the enablers for successful Lean transformation.

The first layer is the Lean philosophy, which chiefly relates to the acceptable leadership qualities and commitment from all the levels of management including the top management. The main concentration is on the accomplishment in fulfilling customer wants through continuous improvement, learning and elimination of non value added waste.

The second layer consists of the key indicators for success of Lean Thinking like the human resource management, workers direction and involvement in Lean implementation because the focus is on teamwork.

Next in the framework are the supporting activities (manufacturing and non – manufacturing) that showcase the necessity of a company to boost its core processes by concentrating on waste reduction.

Manufacturing supporting activities which are considered as the best practices in contributing towards elimination of wastage are Just-in-Time (JIT), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Total Quality Management (TQM).

The non-manufacturing supporting functions/activities are called the core operations.

The top of this framework is the Lean culture that depicted in the roof. The roof of the framework includes Lean goals and outcomes. Lean culture carries with it the culture of problem resolution along the procedure of learning following the way of continuous development. Culture is not only an outcome but also an enabler in sustaining and successful Lean implementation. Culture acts as a role model which assists the workers in the organisational change towards the concept of Lean Thinking.

On the top of the framework or the Lean House is the outcomes achieved by implementing Lean. Outcomes include high quality, low cost, less lead time, high employee morale, safety operating problems and high business results. These outcomes provide companies a competitive advantage (Womark et al., 1990)

Changing towards Lean management needs a mixture of committed management, proper coaching and an atmosphere that permits organisations to maintain enhancement (Liker, 2004).

The key attributes in inculcating a Lean Culture in an organisation are the establishment of managerial and employee involvement in the implementation process. Irrespective of the form of organisation, embracing the concept of Lean implies a change in management thinking (Jaca et al., 2012).

Any organization who wishes to implement the concept of Lean should first check if they have the appropriate organisational culture which begins from the top to middle and eventually to the lower or the shop floor (Dahlgaard et al., 2006).

Companies have lately come to an understanding that Lean is not just tools and techniques that can be implemented in the production department but also in other processes of business. Review of literature also highlights the role of human resource in successful Lean transformation.

A critically vital factor in Lean success is the nexus between the functions of human resources and Lean transformation. HR functions need to actively support Lean transformation. Human resource department needs to be a leader in the transformation of organization into a Lean organisation by the way of continuous improvement and respect for people. Lean is all about people and gaining everyone’s involvement in continuous improvement.

3.5 LEAN HRM:

There are two facets to Lean HRM. The first facet is the HR department like any other department in an organisation requires applying the philosophy of Lean in all its processes. The second facet is the HR department its functions and processes should support in implementing Lean throughout the organisation.

A critically important aspect for the success of Lean is the nexus between HR and Lean change.

This review article concentrates on the second facet of Lean HRM i.e., Role of HR in Lean Thinking inculcation.

One of the major challenges for organisations today is to maintain efficiency in their performance. It is also important that the efficiency should be consistent and should be adaptable to the new and increasing needs and requirements.

For HR department it is a double challenge because it should not only concentrate on performing efficiently in its own processes but also be a active support in the other improvement processes like Lean implementation in organizations.

For implementation of Lean in any sector human resource department plays a pivotal role. Without the support of HR in lean transformation in any sector cannot be successful.

3.6 ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN INCULCATING LEAN THINKING:

The concept of Lean for almost 25 years has gained a lot of popularity worldwide. The concept of Lean has become the state of art in today’s production units because of the proven increase in efficiency. The success of Lean concept in manufacturing industry has attracted the attention of other industries like healthcare, service, retail, construction, textile and pharmaceutical industries. Despite the potential benefits, it has been noted that some organisations that have implemented Lean are not able to sustain the initiative across the organization and over period of time (Liker, 2004).

One of the main reasons for this is the fact that organizations consider Lean as a tool or technique to improve performance but do not realize the fact that Lean is a philosophy which needs to be imbibed in the organizational culture for Lean to be successful. The ‘Soft’ facets of Lean which is linked to people and culture are mentioned by researchers as the reason for failure in Lean Initiatives (Emiliani, 2011; Radnor and et al., 2013; Stewart et al., 2009)

According to (Bhasin et al., 2013), Lean can be successfully implemented only if Lean is not considered as a strategy but treated as a philosophy that involves major changes not only on the shop floor but also to the whole organisation.

From the time of introduction of Lean, there has been an increase in research in trying to understand the outcome of the human variable for the success of Lean (Bonavia and et al., 2011). Before 1990, Lean related research concentrated on the technical facets of operations, rather than the people – related aspects (Power and et al., 1997). After 1990s, researchers started claiming that Lean cannot be simply brought into organisations functions without the intervention of Human Resource practices (Samson, 1993). Attention slowly started to shift towards the reasons for why Lean is working or not working successfully in an organisation concentrating on understanding if Human Resource Practices are the reason for attention (Bonavia and et al., 2011). Nevertheless, majority of research conducted is concentrated on investigating the Human Resources Practices required to maintain Lean (Bonavia and et al., 2011; Forza, 1996). But limited research is conducted about the role of Human Resource in order to have a strategic impact on Lean Thinking initiatives.

(Liker, 2004) in his book “The Toyota Way” has mentioned the 14 principles which act as a foundation for Lean. The 14 principles are categorized into four categories all starting with the letter ‘P’ –

1. Philosophy

2. Process

3. People and Partners

4. Problem Solving

This started to be popularly known as the “4P” model of Toyota (Liker, 2004)

Figure 3: 4P Model of Lean implementation

(Source: Dombrowski, et.al, 2013)

Most of the organizations have focused on the 2^nd “P” – Process and they have been successful. But their success has not sustained because of the fact that they have ignored the other three “Ps” i.e., Philosophy, People and Partners and Problem solving (Dombrowski, et.al, 2013).

Only when all the principles of Lean are considered during implementation can the process of implementation be successful.

From the above it can be concluded that for any organisation to have a Lean Thinking culture in their organisation healthy environment, capable workers, complete support from the top executives and strong leadership is a must (Bennett et al., 2012). To have a healthy culture, skilled workers, strong leadership and support from the HR department plays a crucial role.

HR department has to extend its complete support in the change process. In fact due to the rapid change in the business environment the functions of HRM have changed. HRM has undergone a revolution from mere policies and procedures to re – structuring the organisation. Conventional practices are no more followed. The new role or the new functions of HRM is much more strategic in nature such as:

· They are now considered as an integral part of the management

· They act as a mediator in balancing the new requirements of the company

· They act as a facilitator in the change process

For successful Lean adoption in any organisation the support of HR department and HR processes plays a vital role. In fact HR department acts as a facilitator in successful implementation of Lean.

One of the major reasons for failure is organisations not understanding the importance of involvement of HRM in creating a Lean culture in the organization for the transformation process and sustaining it (Thirkell et al., 2014).

Organisations that are in the process of Lean transformation are required to generate a Lean framework which is supported by the organizational Leadership. This is where the HR department comes into picture, where they need to train the people, work on the framework till they get used to it and help them see the benefits (Thirkell et al., 2014).

Successful implementation of Lean in any organisation or any sector requires the culture of the organization to be supportive. With the help of the top management and HR department the culture of the organisation can be changed to support the implementation process. Researchers have mentioned that organizational culture needs to be changed not just for implementation but also for sustaining Lean in an organisation.

Researchers suggest that Human Resource Practices like training, performance management, employee involvement when put together into a Human Resource System; it can have a constructive impact on the organisation’s performance. (Ichniowski and et al., 1997; Lorenz and et al., 2005; MacDuffie, 1995; Pil and MacDuffie, 1996) Researches done in the area of Lean Performance Improvement also suggest that the significance of Human Resource System for achieving any change in the organisation along with facets like training, leadership, work design and skill acquisition. (Brockbank, 1999; Dankbaar, 1997; Green, 2002)

Various researches conducted in understanding the integration of Lean Thinking and HRM and involvement of Human Resource in the success of inculcation of Lean Thinking, have concluded that:

According to (De Menezes et al., 2010) understanding of Lean Production adoption means integration of Operations Management practices and Human Resource Management practices

(Birdi et al., 2008; Scherrer – Rathje et al., 2009; Wood and et al., 2004), say for the successful inculcation of Lean thinking in an organisation there must be a combination of Operations Management and Human Resource Management Practices.

Even if an organisation is focusing on implementation of Lean only in their conventional areas of production and engineering, it requires not only a change in the technical facet but also change in the cultural facet of the organisation (Hines and et al., 2008; Holweg, 2006; Radnor, 2010)

According to (Antony, 2011), if problem – solving capabilities of employees are increased then it will not only benefit the employees individually but will also benefit the organisation’s performance.

The above review points out the role of Human Resource in helping inculcate and sustain Lean Thinking Initiatives.

Lean processes cannot be introduced without a significant underlying change of the organizational culture. When the culture of the organization needs to be changed, then the HR department has to play a very pivotal role.

The authors findings clearly indicates that HRM practices are of critical importance in the successfully implementation and sustaining the implementation. Authors identified a few areas for further research:

· The method can be applied to different sectors across the borders.

· Further research can be done on developing a method for the adoption of the HRM practices in the successful implementation of the Lean process.

4. CONCLUSION:

In a continuously changing business environment, HR has been shown as an enabler and facilitator in successfully managing change like Lean Thinking. If Human Resource System is a set of interrelated activities and functions that are directed towards attracting, developing and retaining a organisation’s human resource (Lado et al., 1994) then it is evident that HRM will play a crucial role in inculcating Lean Thinking.

The concept of Lean extends far beyond manufacturing. A wide range of other sectors like healthcare, government organisations, construction, hospitality, educational institutions, banking are applying the concept of Lean. However, an extensive and depth study needs to done to answer the following questions:

· How is Lean being understood and adopted?

· Is it considered as a set of tools that is used to solve some short term issues especially in the shop floor?

· Has Lean something to do with cultural and organizational change?

· In that case, are HRM specialists involved in these change processes?

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

The authors are grateful to the authorities of Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru for the facilities and support provided.

6. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

7. REFERENCES:

1. Achanga, P., Shehab, E., Roy, R., and Nelder, G. (2005). Lean Manufacturing to Improve Cost Effectiveness of SMEs. In Seventh International Conference on Stimulating Manufacturing Excellence Small Medium Enterprises, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

2. Achanga, P., Shehab, E., Roy, R., and Nelder, G. (2006). Critical Success Factors for Lean Implementation within SMEs. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 17, 460–471.

3. Andrew, L. M. (2006). A Lean Route to Manufacturing Survival. Assembly Automation, 26, 265–272.

4. Antony, J. (2011). Six Sigma versus Lean: Some perspectives from leading academics and practitioners. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 60, 185–190.

5. Bennett, N., Dhakal, H.N., and Al – Najem, M. (2012). The Role of Culture and Leadership in Lean Transformation: A Review and Assessment Model. International Journal of Lean Thinking, vol. 3, pp. 02

6. Bhasin, S., and Burcher, P. (2006). Lean Viewed as A Philosophy. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 17, 56–72.

7. Bhasin, S. (2013). Impact of Corporate Culture on the Adoption of the Lean Principles. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Emerald Group, 2013

8. Birdi, K., Clegg, C., Patterson, M., Robinson, A., Stride, C. B., Wall, T. D., and Wood, S. J. (2008). The Impact of Human Resource and Operational Management Practices on Company Productivity: A Longitudinal Study. Personnel Psychology, 61, 467–501.

9. Bonavia, T., and Marin-Garcia, J. A. (2011). Integrating Human Resource Management into Lean Production and their Impact on Organizational Performance. International Journal of Manpower, 32, 923–938.

10. Brockbank, W. (1999). If HR were really Strategically Proactive: Present and Future directions in HR’s Contribution to Competitive Advantage. Human Resource Management, 38, 337–352.

11. Bruun, P., and Mefford, R. N. (2004). Lean Production and the Internet. International Journal of Production Economics, 89, 247–260.

12. Chandra, Vidyut, Patange. (2013). Approach to Lean Leadership through Creating A Lean Culture. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovation Technology, vol 2.

13. Dahlgaard, J. J., and Dahlgaard - Park, S. M. (2006). Lean Production, Six Sigma Quality, TQM and Company Culture. The TQM Magazine, 18, 263–281.

14. Dankbaar, B. (1997). Lean Construction: Denial, Confirmation or Extension of Socio Technical Systems Design? Human Relations, 50, 567–583.

15. De Menezes, L. M., Wood, S., and Gelade, G. (2010). The Integration of Human Resource and Operation Management Practices and its Link with Performance: A Longitudinal Latent Class Study. Journal of Operations Management, 28, 455–471.

16. Dibia, K., Ifechukwude and Onuh Spencer. (2010). Lean Revolution and the Human Resource Aspects. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering, Vol III, London, U.K., pp. 02

17. Dombrowski, U., and Mielke, T. (2013). Lean Leadership – Fundamental Principles and their Application. Proceedings CIRP, 7, 569–574.

18. Emiliani, M. L. (2011). Lean Management Failure at HMRC. Management Services, 55, 13–15.

19. Forza, C. (1996). Work Organization in Lean Production and Traditional Plants – What are the differences? International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 16, 42–62.

20. Gagnon. M.A. and J.H. Michael. (2003). Employee Strategic Alignment at a Wood Manufacturer; An Exploratory Analysis using Lean Manufacturing. Forest Products Journal.

21. Green, S. D. (2002). The Human Resource Management Implications of Lean Construction: Critical Perspectives and Conceptual Chasms. Journal of Construction Research, 3, 147–165.

22. Gupta, Shaman, and Jain, K., Sanjiv. (2013). A Literature Review of Lean Manufacturing. International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Managemen,t Vol. 8, No. 4, 241–249

23. Habidin, N. F., and Yusof, S. M. (2013). Critical Success Factors of Lean Six Sigma for the Malaysian Automotive Industry. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 4(1), 60–82.

24. Hilton, R. J., and Sohal, A. (2012). A Conceptual Model for the Successful Deployment of Lean Six Sigma. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 29(1), 54–70.

25. Hines, P., and Lethbridge, S. (2008). New Development: Creating a Lean University. Public Money and Management, 28, 53–56.

26. Holweg, M. (2007). The Genealogy of Lean Production. Journal of Operations Management, 25, 420–437.

27. Hoyte, D., and Greenwood, R. (2007). Journey to the North Face: A Guide to Business Transformation. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 6, 91–104.

28. Ichniowski, C., Shaw, K., and Prennushi, G. (1997). The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines. American Economic Review, 87, 291–313.

29. Jaca., Carmen, Santos., Javier, Errasti., Ander and Viles., Elisabeth. (2012). Lean Thinking with Improvement Teams in Retail Distribution: A Case Study. Total Quality Management Vol. 23, No. 4, 449–465

30. Jekiel, M., Cheryl. (2011). Lean Human Resources – Redesigning HR Processes for a Culture of Continuous improvement. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Group

31. Jochen Czabke, Eric N Hansen, and Toni L Doolen. (2007). A multisite field study of Lean Thinking in U.S. and German Secondary Wood Products Manufacturers. Forest Products Journal, Vol.58, No.9.

32. Katz, J. (2012). The Lean CEO Effect. Industry Week, 261(10), 38–43.

33. Kovacheva, Ana., Valentinova. (2010). Challenges in Lean Implementation – Successful Transformation towards Lean Enterprise. Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus

34. Lado, A. A., and Wilson, M. C. (1994). Human Resource Systems and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Competency-based Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 19, 699–727.

35. Laureani, A., and Antony, J. (2012). Critical success factors for the effective implementation of Lean Sigma: Results from an Empirical Study and agenda for future research. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 3(4), 274–283.

36. Lewis, M. (2000). Lean Production and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 20, 959–978.

37. Liker, J.K. (2004). The Toyota way: 14 Management Principles from the World's greatest manufacturer. McGraw-Hill, New York

38. Liker, J. K., and Hoseus, M. (2008). Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way. McGraw-Hill New York.

39. Liker, J. K., and Hoseus, M. (2010). Human Resource Development in Toyota Culture. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 10 (1), 34-50

40. Lorenz, E., and Valeyre, A. (2005). Organisational innovation, Human Resource Management and Labor Market Structure: A Comparison of the EU-15. The Journal of Industrial Relations, 47, 424–442

41. Luz Guilherme and Fogliatto Sanson Flávio. (2014). Method for assessing Human Resources Management Practices and Organisational Learning factors in a company under Lean Manufacturing Implementation. International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 52, No. 15, 4623–4645

42. MacDuffie, J. P. (1995). Human Resource Bundles and Manufacturing Performance: Organizational Logic and Flexible Production Systems in the World Auto Industry. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48, 197–221.

43. Mann, D. (2009). The Missing Link: Lean Leadership. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 26(1), 15–26.

44. Marksberry, P., Badurdeen, F., and Magin, M. A. (2011). An Investigation of Toyota's Social Technical Systems in Production Leveling. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 22 (5), 604-620

45. Marshall, A, David. (2014) Lean Transformation: Overcoming the Challenges, Managing Performance and Sustaining Success. University of Kentucky

46. Murman, E., Allen, T., Bozdogan, K., Cutcher - Gershenfeld, J., McManus, H., Nightinggale, D., Rebentisch, E., and Widnall, S. (2002). Lean enterprise value: Insights from MIT’s Lean Aerospace Initiative. New York, NY: Palgrave.

47. New, S. J. (2007). Editorial: Celebrating the enigma: The continuing puzzle of the Toyota Production System. International Journal of Production Research, 45, 3545–3554.

48. Orr, C. (2005). Lean Leadership in Construction. Proceedings of 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference, 345-351.

49. Pamfilie, R., A. J. P., and Draghici, M. (2012). The Importance of Leadership in Driving a Strategic Lean Six Sigma Management. Proceedings - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58, 187–196.

50. Parry, G., Mills, J., and Turner, C. (2010). Lean Competence: Integration of Theories in Operations Management Practice. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 15, 216–226.

51. Paul and Otaye–Ebede, Lilian. (2014). Lean Management and HR Function Capabilities: The Role of HR Architecture and the Location of Intellectual Capital. International Journal of Human Resource Management.

52. Pedro José Martínez - Juradoa, José Moyano - Fuentesa, and Pilar Jerez – Gómezb. (2012). Human Resource Management in Lean Production Adoption and Implementation Processes: Success factors in the Aeronautics Industry. Business Research Quarterly, 17, 47 – 68.

53. Pettersen, J. (2009). Defining Lean Production: Some Conceptual and Practical Issues. TQM Journal, 21, 127–142.

54. Pil, F. K., and MacDuffie, J. P. (1996). The Adoption of High Involvement Work Practices. Industrial Relations, 35, 423–455.

55. Power, D. J., and Sohal, A. S. (1997). An Examination of the Literature Relating to Issues Affecting the Human Variable in Just-in-Time Environments. Technovation, 17, 649–666.

56. Psychogios, A. G., and Tsironis, L. K. (2012). Towards and Integrated Framework for Lean Six Sigma Application: Lessons from the Airline Industry. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 23(3-4), 397–415.

57. Radnor, Z., and Osborne, S. P. (2013). Lean: A Failed Theory for Public Services? Public Management Review, 15, 265–287.

58. Rawabdeh, I. A. (2005). A Model for the Assessment of Waste in Job Shop Environments. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25, 800–822.

59. Samson, D., Sohal, A. S., and Ramsay, E. (1993). Human Resource Issues in Manufacturing Improvement Initiatives: Case Study Experiences in Australia. The International Journal of Human Factors in Manufacturing, 3, 135–152.

60. Scherrer-Rathje, M., Boyle, T., and Deflorin, P. (2009). Lean, Take Two! Reflections from the Second Attempt at Lean Implementation. Business Horizons, 52, 79–88.

61. Shah, R., and Ward, P. (2007). Defining and Developing Measures of Lean Production. Journal of Operations Management, 25, 785–805.

62. Shang, Gao (2014). Toyota Way Lean Leadership: Some Preliminary Findings from the Chinese Construction Industry, Proceedings IGLC-22, Oslo, Norway, 1145-1155.

63. Singh, B., Garg, S. K., Sharma, S. K., and Grewal, C. (2010c).Lean Implementation and its Benefits to Production Industry. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 1, 157–168.

64. Stewart, P., Richardson, M., Danford, A., Murphy, K., Richardson, T., and Wass, V. (2009). We Sell Our Time No More. Workers’ Struggles against Lean Production in the British Car Industry. London: Pluto Press.

65. Stone, K. B. (2012). Four Decades of Lean: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 3(2), 112–132.

66. Syed Azuan Syed Ahmad. (2013). Culture and Lean Manufacturing: Towards a Holistic Framework. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 7(1): 334-338.

67. Thirkell., Emma and Ashman., Ian. Lean Towards Learning: Connecting Lean Thinking and Human Resource Management in UK Higher Education. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2014 Vol. 25, No. 21, 2957–2977

68. Timans, W., Antony, J., Ahaus, K., and van Solingen, R. (2011). Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Small- and Medium-sized Manufacturing Enterprises in the Netherlands. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 63(3), 339–353

69. Turesky, E. F., and Connell, P. (2010). Off the Rails: Understanding the Derailment of Lean Manufacturing Initiative. Organization Management Journal, 7, 110–132.

70. V.S.P Rao. (2008) Human Resource Management, 2^nd Edition, Excel Publishers

71. Womack, J. P., Jones, D. T., and Roos, D. (1990). The Machine that Changed the World. New York, NY: Rawson Associates.

72. Womack, J. P., Jones, D. T., and Roos, D. (1996). The Machine that Changed the World. New York, NY: Rawson Associates.

73. Womack, J. P., Jones, D. T., and Roos, D. (2007). The Machine that Changed the World. New York, NY: Rawson Associates. p.11

74. Wood, S. J., Stride, C. B., Wall, T. D., and Clegg, C. W. (2004). Revisiting the Use and Effectiveness of Modern Management Practices. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 14, 415–432.

75. Worley, J., and Dolan, T. (2006). The Role of Communication and Management Support in A Lean Manufacturing Implementation. Management Decision, 44, 228–245.

76. Young, D. (2000). The Six Levers for Managing Organizational Culture. Business Horizons, 43 (5), 19–28.

Received on 20.02.2018 Modified on 21.04.2018

Asian Journal of Management. 2018; 9(2):1020-1030.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2018.00160.9