Prototyping a Routine Building-Intervention to Develop Towards a Lean Organization

Abstract

This paper prototypes an intervention based on the premise that to develop towards a lean organization, organizational routines need to be built in lean operations and continuous improvement (CI). We draw on organizational routine theory to develop four intervention principles covering the interplay between the performative aspect (refers to enacting), the ostensive aspect (related to understanding) and artefacts of lean operating and CI routines. The intervention aims to identify suitable lean operating routines and then build CI routines to improve lean operating routines. The intervention consisted of five workshops and several coaching sessions for managers and employees of a small manufacturing company. The data support our intervention principles; building CI routines developed understanding of lean operating routines and implemented related artefacts. Subsequently, both improved lean operating routines. These findings support the premise of building organizational routines for lean management and suggest that the prototype intervention helps to develop towards a lean organization. Practitioners can use these findings and the intervention to reflect on their own development towards a lean organization. Consultants and educators can use them to reflect on their activities, educational programs and belts and incorporate organizational routine-building into their approach.