Lean management practices perception and their influence on organizational performance in a public Higher Education Institution

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of Lean management practices by public servants of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and its influence on the organizational performance. The underlying assumption is that Lean management practices may have perceived even without a whole dissemination of the Lean Thinking way in the institution, and they exercise a positive influence on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire of Lean management practices applicable to HEIs was developed and a survey was carried out in a public HEI in Brazil. A valid sample of 748 respondents was obtained.FindingsThe results demonstrate that some Lean management practices (leadership support and employee involvement, focus on the internal customers, long-term thinking, community services value, elimination of waste and continuous improvement) have a positive influence on the organizational performance of the studied HEI. These results extend the applicability and foster the initiation of Lean management practices in the public service scenario and HEIs.Practical implicationsThis study supports HEI leaders and managers in developing and/or promoting better management practices to improve organizational performance. In addition, it promotes the advancement of Lean initiatives in the organizational environment of the HEI, allowing for a better quality to the “beneficiaries” of the services provided.Originality/valueDespite the broad evidence of Lean in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, this study advances by exploring the perception of Lean management practices in the HEIs context and their influence on organizational performance. This paper also initiates and fosters the discussion of internal costumers and community services value as basic practices of an HEI.

The impact of Lean adoption on organizational performance in a public service: the case of the Greek citizen’s service centers

“…An e-survey was carried out similar to the research studies conducted in the public sector by Hamza et al (2021) and Klein et al (2022). The uniform resource locator (URL) of the questionnaire survey was sent via e-mail nationwide to all CSCs, i.e.…”

“…The uniform resource locator (URL) of the questionnaire survey was sent via e-mail nationwide to all CSCs, i.e. a total of 1,060 CSCs (Safari et al , 2020; Klein et al , 2022). The e-mail invitation also contained a brief explanation of the purpose of the study, as well as an explicit instruction to the recipient to forward the e-mail to all employees (from all hierarchical levels) of the specific CSC (Madsen et al , 2017; Angelopoulos and Pollalis, 2019; Pollalis and Angelopoulos, 2021).…”

“…The measured variablesquestionnaire items of the selected dimensions of organizational performance were drawn from the studies of Madsen et al (2017), Bakar et al (2017), Zefaj (2020), Leyer et al (2021) and Vadivel et al (2021). An e-survey was carried out similar to the research studies conducted in the public sector by Hamza et al (2021) and Klein et al (2022). The uniform resource locator (URL) of the questionnaire survey was sent via e-mail nationwide to all CSCs, i.e.…”

Assessing internal organizational pathways to reduce knowledge waste: a Lean thinking perspective

“…, 1990) and include practices such as continuous improvement, employee training, and management/leadership support (Bortolotti et al. , 2015; Salhieh and Abdallah, 2019) that also promote better performance (Klein et al. , 2022a) and may foster knowledge generation at all organizational levels, and thereby reduce knowledge waste.…”

“…Therefore, organizations that systematically manage their knowledge by capturing, storing, sharing, and using it within their boundaries obtain improvements in productivity and overall efficiency and performance of operations (Israilidis et al, 2015). Similarly, the Lean system also has precepts such as employee engagement and respect for each other (Womack et al, 1990) and include practices such as continuous improvement, employee training, and management/leadership support (Bortolotti et al, 2015;Salhieh and Abdallah, 2019) that also promote better performance (Klein et al, 2022a) and may foster knowledge generation at all organizational levels, and thereby reduce knowledge waste. However, the point that remains little explored is the causal relationships between Lean practices and knowledge waste reduction.…”