Lean management in globalization era:

Productivity growth comes from technological change and better organisation of production. Both processes operate simultaneously and, in practice, it is difficult to distinguish between the effects of each process. The processes are dynamic and affect individual activities differently over time. These years, manufacturing functions have been transferred rapidly and globally from mature countries to emerging countries. This paper is about the lean philosophy and the critical elements for successful transfer of lean management among sites and countries.

INTRODUCTION

The lean philosophy is all about eliminating waste and synchronizing necessities in order to, on the short and long term, meet the requirements of the market. The lean philosophy is expressed in several different statements: achieving more with less people, reducing non-value-adding activities, slimming etc. Lean is often associated with efficiency, reducing surplus. This however, is only one side of the lean philosophy. An essential aspect of the lean philosophy is a continuous striving for flawless products, that can be delivered on demand, customer specific, without wasting material, labor hours, and other resources in a safe working environment. The lean philosophy is a continuous improvement philosophy. There are several methods and techniques that can be used to become leaner.

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

The purpose of this paper has been to contribute to the knowledge base concerning the transferring of management concepts with a specific focus on Lean Production. The underlying ambition has been to take a holistic perspective on the matter and demonstrate how different theoretical perspectives can be combined to form a model for analyzing these processes of transferring.