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Can Lean values contribute to Sustainable Development
Mid Sweden University, Faculty of Science, Technology and Media, Department of Quality Technology and Management, Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8609-6290
Mid Sweden University, Faculty of Science, Technology and Media, Department of Quality Technology and Management, Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5610-2944
Mid Sweden University, Faculty of Science, Technology and Media, Department of Computer and System science.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4153-5549
2014 (English)In: 17th Qmod-ICQSS: Part 2: INDEX and FULLPAPERS / [ed] Su Mi Dahlgaard-Park, Jens Jörn Dahlgaard, 2014Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Purpose – The aim of this paper was to study interactions between Sustainable Development and Lean values by comparing two organizations, one with Technical Communication in-house and one with Technical Communication partly outsourced.

Methodology/approach – A literature study with focus on Lean and Sustainable Development values was carried out. Interviews with companies that provide Technical Communication have been conducted to identify Lean categories. The identified categories have been compared to the findings in Lean and Sustainable Development values.

Findings – The literature study and our results indicate that presence of Lean values support Sustainable Development, but it requires that organizations focus on the culture and values. The result indicates that if Technical Communication has a low status the company put low value on Sustainable Development. If Technical Communication is produced in-house customer involvement might be easier to achieve.

Practical implications – The identification of Lean values can be a starting point for organizations to work with Sustainable Development as it helps the organizations to focus on significant areas.

Paper type – Case study

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014.
Keywords [en]
Sustainable Development, Lean, Quality Management, Values, Technical Communication
National Category
Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-23274ISBN: 978-91-7623-086-2 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:miun-23274DiVA, id: diva2:757382
Conference
Qmod 2014
Projects
KATI, Kundanpassade teknikinformationAvailable from: 2014-10-22 Created: 2014-10-21 Last updated: 2022-11-15Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Insights in Lean values: Exploring links to sustainable development
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Insights in Lean values: Exploring links to sustainable development
2017 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The Quality Management initiative Lean is a popular method used by organisations to engage in organisational development. The Lean philosophy is grounded in numerous values. The organisations must implement and apply these values to achieve the desired results. Lean poses a dilemma in that many organisations fail to implement it because they fail to change, and they fail to maintain their new organisational culture. Lean's values are linked to sustainable development principles, and organisations that have implemented Lean have achieved results consistent with a more sustainable society. Previous studies have shown that more research is needed in areas in which business leaders require more support and knowledge so that they can combine these areas to strive for sustainable development.

 

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute a deeper understanding of the application of Lean values when implementing Lean, and the potential to interlink to sustainability theory. To achieve this purpose, studies have been conducted in three organisations. Data were collected through a survey, interviews, and a systematic literature review was conducted that was also used to analyse findings from the empirical data. The results have been presented in four different papers.

 

The findings provide deeper knowledge of Lean values during Lean implementation. They also provide a picture of the complexity in the inter-linkages between the values embodied in Lean and sustainable development principles. This thesis shows that the length of time that Lean has been implemented affects the kind and extent to which values are visible in an organisation: more values are visible in organisations that have worked the longest following Lean implementation. It has also been found that the values articulated in an organisation’s vision and strategy for implementing Lean have a greater perceived presence among employees than other Lean values. As well, differences were found in the presence of Lean values between the operational level and the strategic level of an organisation. However, findings indicated that the Lean values that were visible were more often fragmented rather than a pure value as presented in the theory. The findings also showed that interlinkages between some of sustainability principles and Lean values are more visible in one of the two organisational levels. For example, ´Waste reduction´ was only visible at the operational level.

 

Implementing and applying Lean takes time and requires a change in the organisational culture. This thesis concluded that the Lean values of the ‘System view’ and ‘Long-term thinking’ have low presence and are not a part of the values considered most important to employees when implementing Lean. For organisations at the beginning of their implementation, this knowledge may be good to consider as failures with implementation are often due to the fact that change in organisational culture does not happen as intended. This finding indicates that there are gaps in the knowledge among employees about the important links between Lean and sustainable development. It is difficult to draw boundaries between the values when they should be recognized as a system.

Abstract [sv]

Kvalitetsinitiativet Lean är för organisationer ett populärt sätt att arbeta med organisationsutveckling. Lean, som ses som en filosofi, grundas i ett antal värderingar som utgör dess bas. Dessa värderingar behöver implementeras och tillämpas i organisationen för att önskade resultat skall kunna uppnås. Ett dilemma med Lean är att många organisationer misslyckas med implementeringen på grund av att de inte lyckas ändra och bibehålla den nya förändrade organisationskulturen. Värderingarna inom Lean har kopplingar till principer för hållbar utveckling och organisationer som implementerat Lean har nått resultat i linje med ett mer hållbart samhälle. Tidigare studier har visat att mer forskning behövs inom området då verksamhetsledare är i behov av mer stöd och kunskap för att kunna föra samman dessa områden i organisationer och därmed driva utvecklingen i en hållbar riktning.

 

Syftet med denna avhandling är att bidra med djupare kunskap i tillämpningen av Lean värderingar vid implementering av Lean, samt kopplingar till hållbar utveckling. För att uppnå syftet har studier genomförts hos tre organisationer. Empiri samlades in genom en enkätstudie och intervjuer. Dessutom gjordes en systematisk litteratur studie, som använts för att analysera insamlad empiri. Resultaten har presenterats i fyra olika artiklar.

                                                                                                                       

Resultaten bidrar med fördjupade kunskaper om värderingar inom Lean under implementeringen av Lean. De ger också en bild över komplexiteten som finns kring kopplingarna mellan värderingar inom Lean och principer för hållbar utveckling. I denna avhandling visar resultatet att tiden för hur länge implementering av Lean har pågått påverkar antalet synliga värderingar i en organisation. I detta fall är fler värderingar synlig hos den enhet som arbetat längst med implementeringen. Det har också framkommit att de värderingar som organisationen valt att lägga till i sin vision och strategi för implementeringen av Lean har högre närvaro hos de anställda än andra Lean värderingar. Det finns skillnader i vilken organisationsnivå, den operativa eller den strategiska nivån, för vilka Lean värderingar som är närvarande på respektive nivå. De Lean värderingar som identifierats som synliga har i de flesta fall endast visat sig vara delar av hur Lean värderingarna presenteras i teorin. Kopplingarna mellan Lean värderingar och principer för hållbar utveckling är många och finns representerade inom all tre hållbarhetsaspekterna: ekonomi, miljö och sociala området. Resultatet visar att vissa hållbarhets principer som har kopplingar till Lean värderingarna är mer synlig i en av de två organisationsnivåerna. Till exempel eliminering av löserier är mer synlig i den operativa nivån. Systemsyn, som har betydelse ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, har av medarbetare rankats som minst viktig av de utvalda Lean värderingarna och har låg synlighet i organisationerna.

 

Att implementera och tillämpa Lean tar tid och kräver att organisationskulturen förändras. Slutsatser som dragits i denna avhandling är att Lean värderingarna systemsyn och långsiktighet har låg närvaro och tillhör inte de värderingar som ses som viktigast hos de anställda vid en implementering av Lean. Då organisationerna är i början av sin implementering kan denna kunskap vara bra att förhålla sig till då misslyckanden med implementering ofta beror på att förändring av organisationskulturen inte sker som avsett. Hos de anställda finns det luckor i kunskapen kring kopplingar mellan Lean och hållbar utveckling. Att dra tydliga gränser mellan värderingarna är svårt då de snarare ska ses som en helhet.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sundsvall: Mid Sweden University, 2017. p. 75
Series
Mid Sweden University licentiate thesis, ISSN 1652-8948 ; 135
Keywords
Lean, sustainable development, organisational development, organisational culture, values, Lean, hållbar utveckling, värderingar, organisationsutveckling, organisationskultur
National Category
Reliability and Maintenance
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-32048 (URN)978-91-88527-34-9 (ISBN)
Presentation
2017-12-08, Q221, Akademigatan 1, Östersund, 10:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

Vid tidpunkten för framläggningen av avhandlingen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 4 inskickat.

At the time of the defence, the following papers were unpublished: paper 4 submitted.

Available from: 2017-11-15 Created: 2017-11-13 Last updated: 2019-11-21Bibliographically approved
2. Make the Future a Part of Today: Awaken Long-term Thinking in Quality Management Practices
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Make the Future a Part of Today: Awaken Long-term Thinking in Quality Management Practices
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Individuals and organisations need to consider the future since actions taken today will have implications for the future. Long-term thinking as a concept encompasses consideration of the future and is identified in both quality management and sustainable development. Theoretical interpretations of long-term thinking include a variety of different aspects, for example values and principles. Long-term thinking is also identified as necessary for organisations challenged by rapid change and societal needs but is difficult to put into practice. 

Leaders play a significant role in organisations’ attempts to achieve quality and sustainability goals. They are, among other things, responsible for creating positive conditions for employees and taking decisions in line with organisational objectives. The research presented in this thesis provides deeper insights into the importance of leaders in applying long-term thinking and how to awaken long-term thinking in organisations.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of long-term thinking as an aspect of quality management from a leadership perspective to understand more about the praxis in making long-term thinking visible in organisations. For this purpose, the phenomenon of long-term thinking has been explored in both theory and in practice in several organisations.

For long-term thinking to be relevant, organisations need to set clear business intentions for the future. These serve as an anchor to connect visions, goals, strategies and plans, and provide a guide for leaders in their work. To practise long-term thinking in organisations that apply a quality management initiative, leaders need to understand the common values that constitute the organisational culture, how these values are linked and how they contribute to organisational objectives. One of the skills required of leaders who engage in long-term thinking is managing short-term and long-term challenges simultaneously. 

In leaders’ quest for sustainable quality development, they have a vital role in guiding employees and customers with regard to the organisational culture. Leaders guide through their behaviour and actions, and in so doing contribute to the prevailing culture of the organisation. This requires a consensus on, for instance, definitions and communication of long-term thinking. If leaders do not behave and act in accordance to this, a fragmented picture of long-term thinking can emerge, increasing the risk that expected results will not be reached.

Leaders are dependent on supporting systems and structures when practising long-term thinking, but they are also responsible for building and developing them. To develop systems and structures to support long-term thinking, leaders need deep knowledge of the concept and to act accordingly. Systems and structures do not develop themselves, and leaders need to act to make long-term thinking visible and in so doing awaken it in organisations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sundsvall: Mid Sweden University, 2022. p. 144
Series
Mid Sweden University doctoral thesis, ISSN 1652-893X ; 379
Keywords
Long-term thinking, future, quality management, sustainable development, leader, leadership, culture
National Category
Reliability and Maintenance
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-46435 (URN)978-91-89341-81-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2022-12-16, Q221, Akademigatan 1, 831 40 Östersund, Östersund, 13:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)Mid Sweden University
Note

Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 6 inskickat.

At the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 6 submitted.

Available from: 2022-11-15 Created: 2022-11-15 Last updated: 2023-08-28Bibliographically approved

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Mårtensson, AnnaIngelsson, PernillaÖberg, Lena-Maria

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