Organization, Systems and Culture

Posted on February 13, 2006  Comments (0)

Organization, Systems and Culture by S. M. Lane, G. J. Garrett, with contributions from R A. Long:

Traditional methods of how companies are organized, staffed and managed have become obsolete. The purpose of this paper revolves around those things most companies can do to remain successful, in spite of changing times, changing economies, global competition and customer needs. The information contained within is not new and is not radical, but it is a different way of handling things. Leaders of today cannot rely on successful past practices to guarantee future success. A new global economy requires a different philosophy that supports the new economic age and a different philosophy must take hold in order to survive and prosper in it.

This paper does a good job of pulling together ideas and present them is a simple manner. It is also refreshing to read an article where many sources are given credit and the author does not attempt to “sell” their unique ideas. Management improvement is mainly about using great ideas that have been around for years and decades.

Useful, innovative new management ideas are great. But far too much effort is placed in trying to package “systems” (or copyrighted terms) as some new breakthrough in management when most often they offer little of value. This article points to a number of very useful sources, in my opinion such as: The Leader’s Handbook.

Army – Lean Six Sigma

Posted on February 13, 2006  Comments (0)

Army Adopting Lean Six Sigma

“We’ve already identified well over 20 processes that are Army-wide processes that we want to take on using Lean Six Sigma. . . We’re on the very beginning of making Lean Six Sigma, and the disciplined approach that comes with that, a major part of the way the Army does business,” said Maj. Gen. Ross Thompson III, Army G-8.

The Army Materials Command has long practiced Quality Management methods.
Read more

Lean Thinking in Scotland

Posted on February 12, 2006  Comments (0)

The man who would save Scottish industry by Terry Murden

Ross says: “Lean thinking can be applied to almost any process, but the key is the involvement of those who actually do the work. I passionately believe that companies, councils and the NHS can make major improvements across all their key measures once they learn how to involve their staff in the elimination of wasted time.”

The article offers few details but is another example of “lean” ideas being voiced in the popular media.
Read more

Single Piece Flow

Posted on February 9, 2006  Comments (0)

Single Piece Flow by Rich Weissman:

The transition from batch and queue to lean manufacturing involves converting to single piece flow…

In traditional manufacturing, specific operations were done in batches by departments that specialized in individual manufacturing tasks like machining, welding, assembly, and test. Through the integration of lean induced cellular manufacturing processes, cross-trained employees produce just the amount of completed products that are required by other internal operations or the end customer. By eliminating complex set-ups, buffer stock, and large batches, lean companies are able to reduce lead times, increase flexibility, reduce inventories, and improve product quality.

More lean manufacturing and lean thinking articles

Management Glossary, lean terms: Takt Time – Kanban -

Leading Six Sigma

Posted on February 8, 2006  Comments (0)

Leading Six Sigma: Launching the Initiative by Roger W. Hoerl and Ronald D. Snee. An excerpt, of a chapter of their book, Leading Six Sigma: A Step-by-Step Guide Based on Experience with GE and Other Six Sigma Companies discussing the deployment process for Six Sigma.

The project must be tied to the bottom line in some way. The project scope should be for improvements that are attainable in the four to six month time frame. An unrealistic scope (often referred to as a “boiling the ocean” project) is probably the most commonly encountered cause of project failure. Projects that are not connected to business priorities or that have too many objectives also need further refinement. Projects with an “identified solution” should be handled by a project manager instead of Six Sigma, or as mentioned earlier, be redefined to omit the specified solution in favor of allowing the Six Sigma methodology to identify the best solution.

More articles by Roger Hoerl

Lean Accounting article from SME

Posted on February 8, 2006  Comments (1)

Keeping score with lean accounting cost management by Jerry Solomon:

We changed the format of our income statements. We made them simple. For each value stream, all of the payroll expense is in one bucket called processing costs. There is another bucket for all of our variable costs. We exclude elements outside the value stream, like property taxes or insurance.

Now the income statements allow the folks to clearly see and understand what was spent on labor, how many units were produced, and the labor cost per unit. It’s pretty easy.

Learning, Systems and Improvement

Posted on February 6, 2006  Comments (3)

A Major Mistake That Managers Make by Russell L. Ackoff

Once again Ackoff provides great ideas:

Errors of omission, lost opportunities, are generally more critical than errors of commission. Organizations fail or decline more frequently because of what they did not do than because of what they did.

Page 4 and 5 explore the method to effectively learn from decisions the organization makes. The idea seem simple but they are powerful.

Preparing a record of every decision of any significance, ones that involve doing something or (of particular importance) ones that involve not doing something. This record should include the following information:

• The justification for the decision including its expected effects and the time by which they are expected…
• The assumptions on which the expectations are based…
• The information, knowledge, and understanding that went into the decision.
• Who made the decision, how it was made, and when…
Read more

← Newer posts

  • Recent Trackbacks

  • Comments