Managing preschool the Lean way. Evaluating work processes by numbers and colours

Abstract

The management model Lean, originating from the car industry, has in recent years spread like wildfire in the public sector. One important component in the model is to set targets that are measurable to show results, visualising how taxpayers' money is used. The article examines how Swedish public-sector preschool staff handle evaluative techniques in the form of numbers and colours within the Lean model. The article shows their eagerness to comply with the ethics of evaluation, while at the same time resisting what they understand as hard-core statistics by, for example, introducing monitoring that includes feelings and experiences.

Warehousing asylum seekers: The logistification of reception

“…First developed in the automotive industry as a management model focused on the creation of efficient flows in production processes (Womack et al, 1990), the 'lean model' has been subsequently introduced in the public sector. This expansion is part of a broader process of 'rationalisation' of management practices in public administrations (Thedvall, 2015), which reflects the appeal of entrepreneurial concerns and performance indicators following the diffusion of the 'new public management' paradigm in the Global North and beyond since the 1990s. 6 In the Swedish asylum context, the introduction of 'lean management' involved the reorganisation of Migrationsverket's work into phases, each one featuring measurable objectives and distributed along well-defined time limits, thus facilitating evaluation and subsequent improvement.…”

“…The ‘lean model’ is an organisational structure that is ‘based on performance management, standardisation of processes and visual management with the aim of efficiency and streamlining of production processes in the name of the customer’ (Thedvall, 2015: 45). First developed in the automotive industry as a management model focused on the creation of efficient flows in production processes (Womack et al., 1990), the ‘lean model’ has been subsequently introduced in the public sector.…”

“…First developed in the automotive industry as a management model focused on the creation of efficient flows in production processes (Womack et al., 1990), the ‘lean model’ has been subsequently introduced in the public sector. This expansion is part of a broader process of ‘rationalisation’ of management practices in public administrations (Thedvall, 2015), which reflects the appeal of entrepreneurial concerns and performance indicators following the diffusion of the ‘new public management’ paradigm in the Global North and beyond since the 1990s. 6…”

Production, consumers' convenience, and cynical economies: The case of Uber in Buenos Aires

“…Organized as lists of bullet points, the recommendations included opening the door for the passenger; having water bottles, sweets, and cell phone chargers of various kinds at hand; noticing whether passengers wanted to chat, listen to music, or stay silent; and keeping the vehicle free of smells (including car deodorants in case of allergies). Uber's ratings worked simultaneously as evaluation and sanction (Rosenblat 2018; see also Thedvall 2015): “the system” would aggregate and average out ratings constantly, and should a driver's rating fall below 4.5 stars, “the system” would call the driver in for a training session before suspending his or her profile. After almost three weeks of Uber rides, Mariano's ratings were an impeccable 5 out of 5.…”

Taking Policy for Granted in the Context of Scientific Innovation

“…Ethnographers have documented and analyzed how these new principles of social action influence and affect people in their everyday work situations. Thedvall (2015) and Tamm Hallstro ¨m and Thedvall (2015) have described it as a new way of soft power, whereas Garsten and So ¨rbom (2017) point to the corporate influence on policy through lobbying and campaign contributions. According to Torrance (2008), qualitative researchers should become engaged with policies and policy making in order to acknowledge limits of knowledge production or to generate different forms of knowledge (Torrance, 2016).…”