Graph theoretic approach for analysing the readiness of an organisation for adapting lean thinking: A case study

Abstract

Purpose

A literature review revealed that in recent times, many companies have attempted organization‐wide change management through the philosophy and principles of Lean Thinking (LT). Although some organizations have transformed and reaped significant benefits in this endeavour, many organizations have failed in this attempt. One of the reasons can be attributed to the fact that not many organizations are attempting to “assess the organizational readiness” before implementing/adapting LT. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Hence in this paper, an attempt has made to address this problem by presenting a hypothetical case study of an Indian organization to comprehensively assess organizational readiness of the case organisation using a graph theoretic approach (GTA), which has the ability to integrate and model multiple inter‐related factors.

Findings

From the obtained results, it was found that the case organization is not fully ready to embrace LT. It needs to work on different factors under the categories of suppliers, customers, etc. in addition to employees, organisation and top management for smooth and successful adaptation.

Originality/value

According to the authors' knowledge, no paper exists either in the literature of organizational analysis or in the field of LT literature that demonstrates the application of GTA, specifically for assessing the readiness of an organization in adapting LT. Furthermore, various factors which need to be considered were identified apart from modelling them by incorporating the relationship/dependency that exists between these factors, which is unique.

Citation

Gurumurthy, A., Mazumdar, P. and Muthusubramanian, S. (2013), "Graph theoretic approach for analysing the readiness of an organisation for adapting lean thinking: A case study", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 396-427. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-04-2013-0652