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The creators of the “lean” approach share their extensive experience, highlighting how organizations can reap the benefits of Toyota’s approach.

Based on the authors expertise and 30 plus years of experience developing and implementing the “lean” approach.

A shift is required in leaders, away from a chain of command to a chain of help. Type IV learning is required where everyone, including the “leaders”, explores, learns, and figures out, experientially, one change at a time.

The paper provides a succinct summary of the need for a mind-set shift in leaders if they are to create a truly lean culture in their organization. They call for leaders to start a cognitive revolution, rather than look to “bolt on” lean to existing organizational practices.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

While car maker Saab may now be part of US giant GM, its marketers haven't forgotten its roots. “Born from jets” is a powerful advertising slogan for powerful cars. But closer scrutiny of the current relationships between aircraft and automobile engineering and development might tell a different story.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

The purpose of this paper is a first-hand study of lean improvement programs that has led the authors to distinguish two different forms of learning intent: exclusive learning versus inclusive learning. These two forms of learning reflect two different attitudes to learning. With exclusive learning, the executives expect to learn by themselves and then apply this learning to the organization – and then reap the benefits. With inclusive learning, the executives intend to learn with others and from their own learning efforts – and share the benefits. The authors argue that these learning attitudes account for a large part of the difference between the success and failure of lean initiatives.

The paper is based on over 25 years of research studying Toyota – where the term “lean” was first used to describe their particular way of working – together with working with hundreds of other organizations around the world across all sectors.

To implement a lean strategy that brings long-term, effective change requires senior executives to start with their own personal learning journey and to create an inclusive learning culture within their organization.

The paper provides a succinct summary of how a different mindset is required from senior executives if they are to create and implement a truly lean strategy for their organization. Their behaviors enable or inhibit what the authors describe as an “inclusive” learning environment which will create and maintain a sustainable shift to a lean culture.

The purpose of this article is to discuss lean as a learning system in a hospital ward.

Discusses lean as a learning system in a hospital ward.

The Toyota veterans are fond of saying, lean is about “making people before making parts” or, in the wards' context, developing nurses before delivering care.

This example in using lean to carefully build a learning environment for staff and management has implications for nursing practice, certainly, but also more generally for lean implementation at large.

What gives bureaucracy such a bad name? Is it bureaucracy in itself, or the ghosts in the system who, in a million minor drifts, contribute to turning efficiency into red‐tape? Undesirable side‐effects need not be confused with necessary first‐level effects. There is nothing wrong with the bureaucratic system as such. Ultimately we could not work without it as it is the only known way of co‐ordinating vast numbers of people to treat mass problems. However, like any tool, it is only as good as the people who use it, and its results are largely linked to the very agendas of the users. Understanding what makes bureaucracy work requires a good look at the implicit biases in the bureaucratic model, mostly seeded by its various founders and theoreticians, as well as tackling pragmatic issues of creating and applying rules – and where and when to change them.

Examines organizations as systems based on interdependence between people rather than structured parts. Goes on to explore organization processes, interfaces and variability as aspects of a dependence principle. Presents a short case study and concludes by arguing that we must stop thinking about organizations as structures and start looking at them as interrelated, self‐responsive, living systems.

Looks at the decision‐making process, noting examples of good and bad practice. Considers how to ensure decisions are acted upon by confronting possible problems encountered along the way and reasons most often, after the event, for failure. Focuses on the “action plan” as used by many managers and organisations and highlights important factors that are often left out of such plans. These include suggestions for anticipating reactions to decisions and changes.

Being acquainted with both lean and action learning in theory and in practice, this study finds that the theoretical complementarity of these two research streams has traditionally been underexploited. In this conceptual paper, this study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of lean by exploring the complementarity of lean thinking and action learning leading to a proposed integrated theory of these two research streams. Target audience is the operations management research community.

By deliberately adopting a process of theorising, this paper explores, reflects upon and combines individual experiences of researching, teaching and engaging in lean and action learning as operations management scholars.

Having taken a gemba walk through the literature and practices of lean and action learning, this study views and notices a systematic and complementary relationship between the two domains. The overlapping theoretical and practical complementarities of lean and action learning suggest that these two research streams are ripe for synthesis into an integrated theory. This finding provides an opportunity to (1) progress towards an integrative design of interventions leading to more sustainable lean system adoptions and (2) add new depth to our theoretical explanation of the success and failures of lean system adoptions.

This paper contributes an original integrated theory perspective on lean and action learning.

Explains how systems thinking was used to help pull a decision support consultancy through the recession. Through a series of workshops, problems were identified and analysed before solutions were generated.