The International Motor Vehicle Program's Lean Production Benchmark: A Critique

Lean social care and worker identity: The role of outcomes, supervision and mission

“…Though these practices may also appear to be consistent with the teamwork aspects of lean management, in actuality, given their emphasis on building relationships of respectful care and everyday democracy rather than on locating the cost savings and efficiencies characteristic of lean work (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2002;Lewchuk and Robertson, 1997;Shadur et al, 1995), these alternate practices are fully consistent with the idealised nonprofit values of full social participation, equity and care (Van Til, 2000). Indeed, Robertson (1996, 1997) and others (Rinehart, 1999;Rinehart et al, 1997;Schenk and Anderson, 1999) note that the 'empowerment' aspects of team work within lean production are largely ideological, rarely filtering through to those on the front-lines of manufacturing, or in our case, care work Armstrong, 2002, 2011;Baines, 2004;Smith, 2010) and often contributing to staffing cuts and other reductions.…”

“…While earlier models of manufacturing work organisation known as ‘Fordism’ were characterised by repetitive, standardised and de-skilled labour, contemporary lean forms of work organisation feature: tighter managerial control of the labour process; ongoing intensification of the work; reduction of costs and waste; increased standardisation; the use of targets, outcomes, just-in-time deliverables; flexible practices and labour forces; close monitoring of all aspects of work; and a greater reliance on contracting-out (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2002; Harley et al, 2007; Lewchuk and Robertson, 1996, 1997; O’Neill, forthcoming; Rinehart, 1999; Schenk and Anderson, 1999; Shadur et al, 1995). In care organisations, lean work is characterised by these same aspects and accompanied by an array of quantitative metrics (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2002; O’Neill, forthcoming).…”

Is High‐Tech Manufacturing Resocialing Work in Appalachian Kentucky?

“…Lean manufacturing uses a just‐in‐time inventory, in which component parts are ideally not kept in stock and products are made as orders come in. The system is structured upon the principle of removing barriers to the global market (Liker ), and workers may face rapid changes in work intensity and shift as new orders arrive (Rinehart ; Yates ). GIA's discourse of global teamwork is thus focused on shaping workers who are personally responsible for quality and personally accountable to quickly changing demands of the global market.…”

El sindicalismo tras la reestructuración productiva

“…Independientemente de las críticas que se han realizado a estos casos y enfoques concretos (Rinehart, 1999), autores como David Gordon han señalado que se trata de una evidencia selectiva, ya que el grado de adopción de los denominados «centros de trabajo de alto rendimiento» ha sido mucho menor y más superficial de lo que se ha dejado entender. Ahora bien, suele suceder que los árboles (mejor, el árbol) no dejen ver el bosque: tanto énfasis en los mismos supone que se conoce mucho más de ellos que de los que siguen funcionando como siempre o peor; es decir, de aquéllos en los que los salarios se han rebajado, recurren sistemáticamente a mano de obra temporal, etc.…”