Lean Management Reaction

Lean Management Reaction

  • Submitted By: jobelleln
  • Date Submitted: 01/20/2010 11:00 PM
  • Category: Business
  • Words: 580
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 1

1997-14934 November 19, 2009

This article by Adam Cort highlights the importance of a “balanced approach to blending soft-side human element needs with the hard-side operational execution and performance”. These two essential ingredients of team dynamics have been taught in management trainings in numerous companies all over the world but only a few have been able to execute and benefit from them. A company who has a solid commitment to this principle is the one who will be able to achieve the strong workforce it desires.

I have just been assigned recently to handle the A-team of Die Attach module in the company I work in (Numonyx Philippines). “A-team” is a term used by Numonyx to identify a group composed of operators, technicians and engineers in a particular production area. It is a program aimed at involving grassroots personnel in improving team performance on safety, quality, delivery and costs. Die Attach is a front-end assembly module in the manufacturing process of flash memory products. My previous experiences with A-teams in my former employer (Intel) tell me that this project has the potential to be a great venue where grassroots involvement can solve problems in production and capture ideas for productivity. Although the strength of the workforce essential to our products is not necessarily equal that in manufacturing medical devices, the principle to be employed is essentially the same and the benefits are equally valuable.

Similar to the ordinary problems managers raise during people management trainings, the soft-side human element remains to be the aspect where implementation is weak. A-teams that I have participated in puts almost all of its efforts to the hard-side operational execution and not much on the soft-side human element. Although lip service is constantly given on how people are the most important asset, too little is actually done for them. Lack of initiative, low participation, reluctance to share ideas, being...

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