Jonas A. Ingvaldsen

Autonomous work groups and the challenge of inter-group coordination

In work systems based on autonomous work groups, the effort of different autonomous groups needs to be coordinated to produce desirable system-wide effects. The existing literature on organizational structures for inter-group coordination is limited. In this article, the authors explore two different structures for inter-group coordination, which are alternatives to traditional hierarchical control. These structures are rotating group spokespersons and shared leadership. The main conclusion of this article is that inter-group coordination becomes a major challenge when groups enjoy high levels of autonomy. Our argument builds on a case study of a manufacturing company, analysed through the lens of modern socio-technical theory. The difficulties associated with inter-group coordination have implications for debates on organizational performance and may help explain why autonomous work groups are not widely used in industry.

Bypassing the dinosaurs? – How middle managers become the missing link in lean implementation

Failure or unsatisfactory results from organisational transformations aiming at excellence are often attributed to lack of management support and commitment. Why these issues become problematic has only been superficially explored in the literature, and typically no distinctions are made between different layers of management. This study explores why management support and commitment become problematic in lean transformations in public service organisations. Based on multiple case studies, we argue that lack of support and commitment are most prevalent among middle managers, and that this lack can be explained by the organisations’ choice of transformation process. While top management is the sponsor of lean, the details of the transformations are worked out by external and internal lean experts along with front-line employees. As a result, middle managers are effectively bypassed and never get involved. This approach to lean transformation is not recommended. We suggest that lean transformations would benefit from earlier and more intensive involvement from middle managers.

Organizational Learning: Bringing the Forces of Production Back In

Under the influence of the ‘communities of practice’ perspective, research on organizational learning has lost sight of the role of science and technology. As a result, theory development in this field too often takes archaic work forms as its starting point. Based on a structural and materialist interpretation of Marx, this paper proposes an alternative approach that theorizes organizational learning as an outcome of contradictory processes in which the productive forces are progressively socialized, albeit unevenly. This approach leads to a very different perspective on tacit/explicit knowledge, work formalization, identify formation and the roles of managers and engineers. This structural-Marxist theory of organizational learning offers a more fruitful account of learning in technologically advanced, competitive sectors such as the manufacturing and process industries. Increasingly, it also applies to private and public service provision.

Lost in translation? The role of supervisors in lean production

Lean production is commonly associated with a small number of hierarchical layers – the lean organization is supposedly a flat one. The belief that ‘flatter is better’ appears to have become a truism in many academic and managerial circles. However, several empirical studies point to a completely different conclusion – namely that the prototypical supervisory hierarchy under lean production is characterized by narrow spans of control. This article reviews the empirical literature on the lean supervisors, and based on that, offers a functional analysis of the prototypical supervisory hierarchy. Findings suggest that narrow control spans support core practices of lean production, such as just-in-time, multi-skilling and, particularly, continuous improvement. Managers who implement lean production are discouraged from simultaneously pursuing de-layering of the supervisory hierarchy. Alternatively, they need to develop functional equivalents to fulfil ‘supervisory’ functions.

Lean thinking: outside-in, bottom-up? The paradox of contemporary soft lean and consultant-driven lean implementation

Lean has evolved from an operational tool to a complete management concept that incorporates softer aspects such as participation, learning and leadership. This evolution challenges the traditional way in which large management consultancy firms intervene in the lean implementation process; an outside expert cannot easily install a soft, participation-oriented form of lean. To explore this challenge, we report a longitudinal, qualitative case study of how a large consultancy firm supported lean implementation in a public service organisation. Our findings show that although the consultants’ rhetoric had been adapted to the contemporary ideal of soft lean, their practice had not: implementation remained tool-centred and external consultants took the roles of experts. We posit that the business model of large consultancy firms and the nature of conventional client–consultant contracts may explain this mismatch between consultants’ talk and action. Hence, this challenge is difficult to overcome in practice, and managers are advised to consider critically what management consultants can and cannot effectively deliver in lean implementations.

Local adaption and central confusion: decentralized strategies for public service Lean implementation

There are a number of arguments for implementing public service Lean in a decentralized fashion, characterized by employee participation and local adaptions of the concept. This paper reports on a longitudinal case study of decentralized Lean implementation in a large Norwegian public service provider. The analysis points to unintended consequence of communication and co-ordination difficulties. The authors suggest ways of striking a reasonable balance between centralized and decentralized strategies of Lean implementation.

Graphical profiling of team working through participatory research

Purpose – Companies desire to improve their team organization by learning from other companies in their sector and adopting “best practice”. Researchers and consultants, who are called on to facilitate these learning processes, are confronted with the real world ambiguity and multiple meanings of “team” and “team organization”. A shared understanding of team organization is a precondition for learning and knowledge transfer between companies. This paper seeks to ask how this common understanding can be constructed.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses participatory research and a literature review. Based on a research project involving Norwegian manufacturing companies, the paper presents and discusses a participatory process, in which a graphical profiling tool was developed and applied in order to make sense of different forms of team organization.Findings – The paper finds that companies were actively involved in deciding what the relevant dimensions of team working were. In reflection seminars,...

Unlocking work standards through systematic work observation: implications for team supervision

Purpose – Companies with routine operations often pursue team‐based continuous improvement in the context of standardized work. Continuous improvement requires that work standards are periodically “unlocked”, i.e. made objects of reflection and improvement. This paper aims to theorize and empirically explore a method for unlocking standards which has received little attention in the literature: systematic work observation. It identifies which factors constitute and promote a work observation practice that supports continuous improvement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents an explorative, qualitative case study of an industrial company in which systematic work observation is practiced. Empirical material was collected from two principal sources: company documentation and teaching material; and interviews with workers, managers and work design experts from three of the companys major plants.Findings – Systematic work observation supports continuous improvement when there is genuine two‐way com...

Debate: Changing to Lean public services

© 2017 CIPFA for help from public services. Estimates of the financial savings vary from 5% to 40% of operating budgets in the conventional services. We work to the principle that cost savings cannot be predicted and are emergent; conventional cost/benefit analyses are merely guesses. Having said that, one analyst has estimated that extrapolating the savings we have seen across the entire public sector could save in the order of £16 billion (Locality and Vanguard, 2014, p. 44). The accuracy of the prediction is not the important thing. When the costs of people helped in this new design are compared to previous expenditure patterns, large savings are a given. But much more importantly, as lives get back on track, overall demand falls. Think about that, demand falls; happier people, happier families, stronger communities. Shouldn’t that be the purpose of public services?

Emergent HPWS: why HRM may not be needed to build a high-performance work system

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents of high-performance work systems (HPWS). HPWS promise workplaces that are both highly productive and offer employees high levels of job satisfaction. The existing literature tends to see HPWS as outcomes of planned change initiated by management as part of an human resource management (HRM) strategy. We question this assumption and show that under favourable conditions, HPWS may emerge from workers’ self-organization. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study of a department producing automotive components was conducted. Empirical material was collected through participant observation. The material was coded for recurring themes and used to construct an explanatory model. Findings – HPWS may emerge in the absence of managerial or HRM interventions. The emergence and reproduction of HPWS can be explained by a shop-floor culture of craftsmanship, worker solidarity and jobs with high levels of task significance and task identity. ...