Lean and key related Organisational Concepts

 Any business / company can be viewed at three levels: the overall business / organisational level, the process level and the individual employee level.  At the business / organisational level there are aspects such as legal & insurance / corporate affairs, planning, regulatory compliance to be dealt with, as well as organisational matters which, like any human institution / group of people, require focused attention to help ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the business. These organisational matters closely complement and interact with the Lean / Process management perspective on improving corporate performance. This is why we include these matters within the scope of the service that we provide. Specifically, these matters include:

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is a key starting point for any organisation to map out / create its future and is a particular form of Change Management for an organisation. A correct strategic focus is very possibly the single most important element in an organisation's success. Strategies are the means by which you add value to an organisation and strategies have to be integrated into action and metrics in order to ensure the delivery of those  strategies and subsequent corporate performance .  The alternative is an Alice in Wonderland situation – if you don't know where you are going, then it doesn’t really matter how you get there!!

Strategic planning means doing the right things. There is there a definite purpose in mind; we know the forces affecting our general environment and what are we doing about our future. It asks many fundamental questions about your organisation, including:

Answer these questions in an effective manner and you are on your way. Hoshin planning, which forms part of Lean Thinking concepts, is a particular form of strategic planning that includes / integrates shop floor level employees involvement in continuous improvement activities into the overall strategic planning process. This means that continuous improvement becomes an integral part of strategy. 

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18)

Organisational infrastructure (incl. accountability and responsibility)
Organisational processes as an integral part of the organisational infrastructure is fundamental to the effective and successful functioning of any organisation.

The infrastructure of an organisation is based on the nature of the work within that organisation. The components of the organisation are dependant on the level of task complexity and individual capability within the organisation. An organisation is a living "system" with its own dynamics, characteristics and capabilities. The following components are vital to sound organisational infrastructure, including:

Mission and Main Functions is concerned with articulating a mission & vision that is sufficiently clear enough to identify the main functions that are required.

Functional alignment is concerned with the nature of the functions needed at the various levels of an organisation, both corporate and operational. It is also concerned about the integration of functions within organizational levels, role descriptions, organisational processes and the people in the organisation. Functions can be broadly classified as line, specialist, resource “sustainment and enhancement”, and shared services. Functional alignment requires performance measures to ensure proper alignment of the work of given positions with the mission of the organisation.  

Organization structure is primarily concerned with the roles and respective levels at which managerial and operational work is undertaken in accordance with the respective work complexities and time horizons. It also addresses role relationships, including task assignment and task initiation. The key link between the structure and the people of the organisation lies through the role, responsibilities (the doing part of an individual’s work up to the point of decision) and accountabilities (being answerable for your actions / personal performance – the element of work after a decision is made) of its people.

Organisational processes are concerned about the planning, information, control and risk processes in an organisation. For example, all decisions involve risk, which concerns managing opportunities as well as losses. Risks need to be managed, not just identified. Internal controls are some of the mechanisms to manage such risks, while governance focuses on direction and control. Risk, controls and governance are closely interlinked and are a key part of performance management within any organisation. "By your controls shall you be known".

Organisational Culture
Organisational culture is the established ways of thinking and doing things in any organisation e.g. policies, rules, procedures, customs and practices, shared values and beliefs, traditions and assumptions, communication language. The components of an organisational culture include:

Having established this, it becomes possible to determine the nature of and timeframe required to effect Change and Improvement.

Systems Thinking

Systems’ thinking was originally outlined in Senge's book "The Fifth Discipline".  It focuses on organisations as a product of human interaction and behaviour that act in accordance with a number of principles based on ”human living systems”, including:

This last item may be clear in the private sector, particularly in the context of ownership, but is not so clear in the public or even the voluntary sector – the concept of stewardship comes into play here.

If an organisation is not being kept up-to-date / relevant to the current environment, it will generally ossify / go out of existence within a time span of approx. 25 years.

System thinking can have a profound impact on the design of processes, and these principles above must always be kept in mind.