Why Do Larger Companies Have Problems With Lean Management?

In a perfect world, employees collaborate to create the most efficient working environment. This is not always the case, especially in larger companies. Large companies tend to force their employees and departments to adapt to their processes instead of adapting to an employee’s way of doing things. Inefficient processes have been developed over time and have been in place for so long that no one has taken the time to question them.

Large companies, by definition, are usually older, larger, and more structured. There is a lot of history, processes, and systems in place. Often, these systems have been in business for so long that no one knows how they got there or what purpose they serve. This poses problems for Lean management training because it is meant to solve issues and make changes. Suppose you try implementing Lean Six Sigma into an organization where the people don’t understand the reasoning behind their company’s systems (or don’t know why those particular systems exist). In that case, the problem only gets worse.

Let’s explore in what ways larger companies have problems with Lean Management and Six Sigma.

Fails to Understand the Value of Lean Management

This is not a surprise because the senior management has never used this six sigma in business management before, so they do not know anything about it except what they have heard from their peers and from reading books on the subject.

The problem is that many senior managers believe that Lean Six Sigma training is just another name for Kaizen (continuous improvement) or TQM (Total Quality Management), or ISO 9000—all systems designed to improve businesses by improving processes.

What these managers fail to realize is that all of these other systems are problem-solving methodologies. At the same time, Lean Six Sigma is two separate things: It’s both, a process improvement methodology and problem-solving methodology rolled into one system! The two parts come together as follows:

• If we improve our process, then we will solve our problems better;
• If we solve our problems better, we will improve our processes even more because fewer problems are preventing us from doing so!

Fails to Make the Required Commitments

There is a matter of senior management commitment and accountability. The team at the top needs to be fully engaged in making the required changes, which will require a significant investment of their time, energy and resources–that means your time too!

They must be visible on-site so that employees understand how serious they are about Lean management’s deployment within their organization. They need to make themselves accessible so employees can easily approach them with questions or concerns about how slight changes may affect them personally.

The senior management team also needs to hold themselves accountable for moving forward on Lean Six Sigma initiatives—and if they don’t, then perhaps it’s time for new leadership.

Fails to Lead by Example

A company’s senior management should be the first to lead by example. They need to show the value of Lean Six Sigma and communicate it to employees, but do they really understand what they’re doing? Do they see how Lean Six Sigma is helping them? You will find that many companies have a hard time getting support from their senior management and other departments because they aren’t educated on what Lean Six Sigma is or why we need it, whereas with companies that use six sigma. You must ensure your senior leaders know about Lean Six Sigma before implementing any programs at your company!

Fails to Support the Project Managers and the Executive Sponsors

• The senior management team must provide the project managers and executive sponsors with the necessary resources and support.
• The project managers and executive sponsors need to be able to use the resources and support provided by the senior management team.
• The senior management team needs to communicate with the project managers and executive sponsors.

Conclusion

The problem with larger companies is that they are big and complex. As a result, it is not easy to see where you need to improve. Companies that use lean management are proven success! In addition, Lean management can be challenging for those who have not been trained in this process or simply don’t understand how it works. However, if you keep these things in mind when planning your program and follow the steps outlined above, you should have no problem implementing Lean Six Sigma within your organization.

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