Organizing for Lean: autonomy, recursion and cohesion

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the organizational implications of transformative Lean Deployment initiatives, leveraging the Viable System Model to understand what is needed organizationally so these initiatives can succeed and take root.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper starts by pointing out how Lean practices presuppose and demand empowered, autonomous organizational units at all levels. It then highlights how Lean manages the resulting Recursive Organization of “autonomous units within autonomous units” through powerful cohesion mechanisms addressing the negotiation of goals and resources, unit-to-unit coordination and process monitoring – with tools such as Pull, Kanban, Hoshin Kanri, A3 and the Toyota Kata, supported by operational practices such as Visual Controls, Standard Work, etc.

Findings

The Viable System Model was found to provide a valuable guide for articulating the organizational underpinnings of Lean deployments, including the effective, recursive distribution of deployment responsibility and authority at all levels, the identification of the right composition and reporting structure of implementation teams, and the role to be attributed to support organizations.

Originality/value

The approach provides a framework for understanding the organizational implications and possible resistance to comprehensive Lean deployments, and for appropriately including the all-important organizational dimension in order to promote the success of these deployments. It is also hoped that the paper can contribute to a more holistic, integrative understanding of what it means for an organization to embark on its Lean journey.

Citation

Sagalovsky, B. (2015), "Organizing for Lean: autonomy, recursion and cohesion", Kybernetes, Vol. 44 No. 6/7, pp. 970-983. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-01-2015-0020