Lean thinking as a learning strategy at the service of global development

Abstract

In recent years, global development has become a strategic issue for organizations. Its measurement criteria are economic, social and environmental. It is interested in contributing to the expectations of all stakeholders. How does the measurement of several criteria generate contradictions within the sustainability of global development? One of the answers to this question is associated with a set of organizational paradoxes. Indeed, paradoxes within organizations create tensions at the level of operational teams. However, human capital is a key to global development. Lean Thinking as a model of organizational learning is an answer to this problem. The sustainability of global development must integrate the fundamental values that underlie Lean Thinking, such as people development, building of a continuous improvement culture, management for problem-solving learning by work teams. This chapter will focus on the "learning by problem solving" dimension of Lean Thinking. This dimension will describe how a learning strategy enables sustainable development. This contribution will deal with an application around the principles of autonomy and responsibility of operational teams. Examples of French companies, that have implemented the concept of subsidiarity by problem solving, illustrate these principles. A new reference model, named "Problem Solving Pull for Learning Organization" incorporates this concept.