LEAN IMPLEMENTATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY: A REVIEW OF LEAN PRACTICES IN HEALTHCARE, BANKING, AND MANUFACTURING SECTORS IN CALIFORNIA, USA
Description
Niche drive in California's healthcare, banking, and manufacturing sectors are affected by contingency situations which creates uncertainty on the relevance of lean strategy for organizational survival and development. This study examines the need for value stream mapping, inventory control, and continuous improvement practices as enablers of organizational efficiency in the sectors. The Theory of Constraint (TOC) affirmed the need to effectively manage constraints to improve profits in the sectors. A qualitative research method was adopted to elicit appropriate information on lean implementation. The outcome of the survey revealed that in the healthcare sector, the success of lean implementation is driven by low cost and lead time, identification of non-value-adding activities, restructuring of business processes, automation reordering and data gathering, digital-based inventory, right leadership, training, and supportive coaching. In the banking sector, the success of lean implementation is driven by organizational structure, self-service banking, cloud technology capability, bank-integrated inventory, real-time inventory monitoring, inventory financing, shift in the mindset of the employee, and employee involvement. In the manufacturing sector, the success of implementation is driven by state-of-the-art technology, identification of inefficiencies, lean manufacturing process, work-in-progress, digital technology, employee empowerment, and transparency. The study concluded that collaborative goal attainment for organizational efficiency required effective management of constraints in materials, finance, and capacity. It recommended that organizational leaders in healthcare should prioritize improvement by adopting different methodologies and techniques to enhance competitive performance capacity. The commitment to lean practice in the banking sector should be to streamline work processes and improve the satisfaction of customers. The leaders in manufacturing industry are recommended to commit to maximizing the availability of resources with efficient use of materials at the right time.