Lean transformation of multinational concerns

Abstract

Competitive pressure demands that companies constantly strive to catch up to world class manufacturing performance and practice. Continuous change is a mode of competition for many companies [1]. This is a departure from the punctuated equilibrium model of change in which change is event triggered. This paper reports on exploratory studies from a multinational company adopting centrally managed pilot projects as a transformation mechanism for continuous change towards a lean business system and an organizational culture of continuous improvements (CI). © 2008 International Federation for Information Processing.