Purpose

There is compelling evidence that demonstrates that organisations are failing to reap the full benefits of lean initiatives. While much work has been conducted on what factors are critical to the success of lean initiatives, there is a dearth of empirical evidence relating to whether team leaders implement critical success factors (CSFs) in practice. Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent to which functional team leaders implement lean practices focussing on the role of leadership, empowerment and culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The research analysed team leaders in a single-site manufacturing organisation. A state-of-the-art analysis was conducted to isolate relevant themes and an instrument was developed to capture data. Empirical data was collected and analysed from 34 team leaders in engineering, quality and manufacturing.

Findings

The study found that while many good managerial practices to support lean is implemented, there remain significant challenges relating to cultural issues which must be addressed. The findings illuminate a latent gap in commitment and communication from senior management, as well as an underlying discrepancy in time and resource allocation.

Originality/value

The study’s findings provide new knowledge concerning the extent to which CSFs are implemented by functional team leaders in a real-world environment. The enquiry makes a valuable departure from previous research that focusses on leadership at a senior and middle manager level. It bridges the gap between academia and practice and provides tangible and concise results to management on how CSFs relating to leadership, empowerment and culture impact team leaders to drive lean methodologies.

中文翻译：

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从中间领导：团队领导者如何实施精益成功因素

目的

有令人信服的证据表明，组织未能从精益计划中获得全部好处。尽管关于哪些因素对精益计划的成功至关重要，已经开展了大量工作，但缺乏关于团队领导者是否在实践中实施关键成功因素 (CSF) 的经验证据。因此，本研究旨在探讨职能团队领导者实施精益实践的程度，重点关注领导力、授权和文化的作用。

设计/方法/方法

该研究分析了单一地点制造组织中的团队领导。进行了最先进的分析以分离相关主题，并开发了一种工具来捕获数据。从工程、质量和制造领域的 34 位团队负责人那里收集和分析了经验数据。

发现

研究发现，虽然实施了许多支持精益的良好管理实践，但仍然存在必须解决的与文化问题相关的重大挑战。调查结果揭示了高级管理层在承诺和沟通方面的潜在差距，以及时间和资源分配方面的潜在差异。

原创性/价值

该研究的结果提供了有关职能团队领导者在现实世界环境中实施 CSF 的程度的新知识。该调查与之前专注于高级和中层管理人员领导力的研究有很大不同。它弥合了学术界和实践之间的差距，并就与领导力、授权和文化相关的 CSF 如何影响团队领导者推动精益方法论向管理层提供了切实而简洁的结果。