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Abstract
Lean and Lean Six Sigma business transformation initiatives have become a business imperative for many organizations in almost every industry sector. While many companies are attempting to implement Lean methodologies; the vast majority of these organizations fail to meet their business transformation objectives and/or fail to sustain their business transformation gains. One of the most commonly sighted reasons for failing to sustain their transformation is the lack of commitment of the organization's leadership team and lack of focus on the organizational culture. The research presented in this paper discusses the application of culture modeling techniques used to supplement the Lean tools and techniques employed to help an organization deploy and sustain its transformation effort. This model is called the Lean Transformational Leadership model (LTL model). This paper identifies and describes the relationship between the organization's culture and the transformational leadership styles through conceptual, mathematical and empirical analysis. Using this objective analysis, an organization's Lean deployment strategy is better equipped to achieve the set objectives of its transformation. In addition, the LTL model will also provide 'what-if' capabilities to organizations to align the leadership styles with the organization's preferred culture. The application of the LTL model will also be presented through illustrative and empirical evidence through a case study.
Keywords
Lean transformation, transformational leadership, organizational culture, high-performing organization
1. Introduction to Research
The culture of an organization is described as the basic assumptions, shared values and beliefs that guide the way organizational members behave toward each other and approach their work [15]. An organization's operating culture can be assessed and measured, and this information can provide valuable insight into the primary behavioral styles that will enable a business transformation initiative. There are several methods being used today to measure the 'health' of an organization's culture. Most methods use a survey-based approach to evaluate those deep rooted organizational beliefs and values that influence the behaviors of its members [Dennison, OCAI, etc]. Of particular interest in this research is the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI), which is being used extensively within IBM to diagnose an organization's behavioral tendencies, or operating culture. An Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI) developed by Human Synergistic, Inc. [13] is used to measure those behavioral norms exhibited by a business or organization. Additionally, the...