Page 204 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

182 Cha pte r Ele v e n

able to learn much from the football coach and apply it directly to his culture. What is
appropriate for a football team is not necessarily appropriate for a manufacturing
plant.

Cultures and Dependence, Independence and Interdependence
When we are little children, we are totally dependent upon our parents. This depen-
dence, coupled with our survival instincts, goes a long way towards shaping our per-
sonality. But as we grow and get older, we are expected to become far more independent:
being able to dress ourselves, later keep our rooms clean, and still later do some work
around the house. Becoming independent is also a sign of maturity, and is often equated
with maturity. We are so enamored by independence, we coined the phrase, “rugged
independence” to somehow capture the American spirit. Well some of us just don’t buy
into this as the highest of ideals.
In fact, I for one, do not even think it is an accurate description of reality. A far more
accurate representation of reality is the concept of interdependence. It is the concept
that gives recognition to the reality that all things are intertwined, and if one aspect of
an entity is changed, almost without fail, sympathetic changes occur in other aspects.
It is a key aspect of “systems thinking.” For example, at the human level, if you change
your exercise habits, your patterns of eating and sleeping will naturally change because
your body is an interdependent system. At the family level, if one person gets sick,
frequently all are affected, because the family is an interdependent system. At the busi-
ness level, production lead times cannot change without a resultant change in inventory,
overtime, or delivery performance. Thus, your business is an interdependent system
as well.
Some call this “systems theory,” as I mentioned, and parts of it are taught in engi-
neering, business, and medical schools. Systems theory implies that whenever one part
of a system changes, other parts must also be able to adjust or the entire system will
break down. This adjustment requires several characteristics.

• The system must be able to recognize that a change is occurring, and it must
have a conscious awareness of its state.
• It must be flexible enough to make the change.
• The system must be responsive.
This is true of all systems, including human systems.
I still find a large number of managers who either do not understand this or do not
believe in it. For example, I still see managers deciding that to improve bottom-line
profit, all they need to do is cut labor. As if there is no impact other than to reduce the
overall costs.

• What happens to the overall skill level? Is it affected?
• What about the morale? Will it cause a reduction in productivity when they see
the layoffs?
• What about the effect of working as a team now that some members are gone?
Certainly this has an effect.

But it is easier for the manager—not better, just easier—to ignore the impacts and do
some simple straight line mathematics, as if that represented reality.