Lean manufacturing performance and organizational culture: An exploratory study

Abstract

Lean manufacturing is an approach to enhancing productivity through lean thinking. The success of the lean manufacturing application is influenced by various factors, one of them is the organizational culture. This study aims to explore lean manufacturing and organizational culture in an Indonesian aircraft manufacturer. Ninety workers in three production divisions (i.e., Detailed Part Manufacturing/DPM, Component Assembly/CA, Final Assyline & Delivery Center/FAL & DC) in the aircraft manufacture are involved in this study voluntarily by filling out a set of questionnaire. Lean manufacturing performance is observed using Lean Manufacturing Benchmark, whereas organizational culture is evaluated using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument. The result shows that lean performance for DPM is 57%, CA is 61%, FAL & DC is 59%. All divisions have no dominant culture. However, the increased of lean performance is along with the increased hierarchy and clan culture, and the decreased of market and adhocracy culture. Implications of the results are discussed.