The Integration of Lean and Socio-technical Practices in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract: Though has its origin in the Toyota Production System (TPS), it has become popular across various industries. During this process, a striking situation has occurred in Sweden, particularly in its service industry. This paper aims to discuss the background and context of this phenomenon. In Sweden, work and management styles based on the tradition of socio-technical systems (STS), as embodied in Volvo's Uddevalla plant, used to be competing with as a collection of practices observed in the Japanese automobile industry. However, once was viewed as a management approach that aims to create a smooth flow of value towards the customer, the integration of the two occurred. To illustrate this point, a case of a school is considered. It shows that reflection by autonomous teams of teachers play an important role in problem solving that accompanies the implementation of Such an integrated style draws out workers' intrinsic motivation through involvement in problem solving, and thereby embodies the for the people philosophy in TPS. It is expected to be suitable particularly for the service context.Keywords: socio-technical systems, lean, Toyota Production System, reflection, respect for people1. IntroductionThis paper aims to describe the integration of and practices of socio-technical systems (STS) in Sweden while considering its background and context.Toyota Production System (TPS) was formulated and developed in a high-mix, low-volume environment in post-war Japan, and a quarter century has passed since it was conceptualized in the West as production (Womack, Jones, 8s Roos, 1990). Lean has not only been an important paradigm in manufacturing, but has also been transferred to a wide range of industries (Hines, Holweg, 8s Rich, 2004). For instance, its applicability has been reported in supply chain, banking and insurance, healthcare and other social services, and software services since the latter half of the 1990s.Although the concept has become influential throughout the world, circumstances in Scandinavia, and especially Sweden, deserve particular attention (see Sederblad, 2013). After the initial boom in the early 1990s, there has been a renewed interest in lean at a national level. Particularly, lean has been implemented in the large public sector that is in need of efficiency improvement. As of 2012, 80% of healthcare organizations and 30% of municipalities implemented lean in one form or another. In addition, critical government agencies such as the immigration office, tax agency, and police department are a part of this movement (Hillberg, 2012). Currently, labor unions are also starting to participate in it (Johansson, Abrahamsson, 8s Johansson, 2013).Why has lean been implemented to such an extent in Sweden, particularly in its service industry? Sweden is a country known for specific work and management styles based on principles and practices of STS (Trist 8s Bamforth, 1951) that emphasize the humanization of work and quality of working life. Furthermore, STS and have traditionally been viewed as competing concepts. Therefore, the above circumstances seem paradoxical and confusing to Swedish researchers (see Sederblad, 2013). This paper examines this paradox based on the literature and the author's own observations. Specifically, this paper focuses on conceptualizations of lean. Initially, U.S.-based researchers of the International Motor Vehicle Program (I MVP) viewed characteristics of the in the Japanese automobile industry, typified by TPS, as minimum waste, and labeled it as lean (Womack et al., 1990). Since then, however, there has been no agreed-upon definition, resulting in conceptual confusion (Shah 8s Ward, 2007). In order to deal with this issue, this paper focuses on the flow-management aspect of Japanese manufacturing that is at the heart of minimum waste operations. …