Submission Page

Applied Problem Solving in the Workplace

[Degree Name]

[Degree code]

[Unit name and level]

[Student name]

[Student number]

[Tutor name]

[Total word count]

Signature: _______________

APPLIED PROBLEM SOLVING

Applied Problem Solving in the Workplace

[Degree Name]

[Degree code]

[Unit name and level]

[Student name]

[Student number]

[Tutor name]

[Total word count]

Abstract

Human factor plays an important role in ensuring lean process management to be successful and provides good proposition for the success of the organization in the long run. One of the main elements of people is their problem solving capability in identifying and eliminating wastages. The purpose of this paper was to review problem solving capabilities in lean process management; and identifying the important factors and needs for lean process management. Beside that the paper also proposed the conceptual framework of people development system which can help organizations to enhance employees' capability in identifying and eliminating wastages continuously and effectively.

Table of Contents

Abstract3

Chapter 1: Introduction5

Background of the study5

Problem Statement5

Rationale of the study7

Significance of the study8

Chapter 2: Literature Review9

Chapter 3: Methodology33

Research Design33

Sample and Data Analysis33

Chapter 4: RESULTS & DISCUSSION34

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION37

References/Bibliography38

Appendix41

Assessment criteria41

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the study

Traditionally an organization is seen as a collection of departments or activities, each managed separately with their own inventories or time buffers between them, while performance is improved by setting targets and budgets. When the targets are not met the management finds an easy way out that is a structural change in the organization, which does not address the real issues such as the underlying processes and cost structures that remain more or less unchanged.

An organization is usually made up a collection of customer processes, design and production processes and many support processes that enable these values creating processes to flow. Therefore the actual task is to identify the values in each of these processes, to see and manage the end-to-end flows and to synchronize the support flows. The main task is to help the managers to see their processes and to uncover the reasons why there is no flow in the process.

This includes the impossibly complex mix of products that flow through the processes by challenging the batch logic of the planning systems; scheduled for every product or batch through every operation. This process creates the conditions where we can begin to flow most products through the entire process and at the same time assures the stability necessary to develop standard operations in every process step, which is the baseline for continuous improvement (Timothy, 2006, 346-358).

Problem Statement

There is a need to identify the individual processes and the flow of the organization as a whole. This exposes the management and employees to more opportunities to improve the process. The distinctive thing about lean thinking is that it derives from observing the best practices in an organization. As such it is the accumulation of the experience of thousands of employees in solving problems that enable processes to flow and in line with customer's demand.

Lean process management then, is to assist any types of organization with a desire to improve the company's operations and become more competitive by focusing on ...