Topher Stills
MGT502
Case Study Chapter 16

The following case study examines an inquiry about lean training from a production manager to a professor. Although the case is short, the responses from both parties imply hidden concerns about lean management and philosophies. It is important to note that numerical data is not present and the analytics of this case is based of behavioral and philosophical indications from the involved parties. The backbone of this paper is to acknowledge the barriers of lean management benefits and implementation. It will consist of a brief introduction on lean philosophy, dissection of the case study, an overview of lean management results, and recommendations for the case situation.

Just like a manufacturing plant, lean philosophy is transformative approach to a systematic operation. The general idea is to produce more with less. Rarely has there been an entity that progresses without producing waste. A car, for example, uses gasoline to create combustions within an engine to accelerate the car forward. In doing so it produces emissions from the consumed gasoline. Humans need to eat for functionality. Through the digestive and metabolic systems, food is broken down and the body takes carbohydrates and proteins for energy and then discards what can't be used. Trees, cells, and businesses all have a system that transforms inputs into outputs. All of these systems produce some form of waste. The idea behind lean philosophy is to analyze the systems process and improve waste reduction throughout the chain. It is important to note that a lean philosophy implementation works more effectively with a relativistic approach. The examples listed above can all benefit from a lean philosophy, but it is important to realize that each system functions differently. The dissection of the case will show how there are probably two competing