Assessment of the relationship between organizational culture and lean implementation in the aerospace industry

The aerospace industry is facing a wide range of economic and global challenges that are working together to put tremendous pressure to become more efficient. These challenges are forcing organizations to utilize the skills and competencies of its human resources more effectively. Firms must encourage behaviors and work practices that help elicit the organization’s potential. For most aerospace organizations, lean—a total quality management approach—has become a tool for addressing these challenges and meeting expectations. Many researchers see lean as a general system to improve the profitability of manufacturing, but there is some discontent in implementing lean manufacturing. Some researchers explain that implementing lean requires creating a particular culture. The purpose of the quantitative study is to examine the role that organizational culture has on successful lean implementation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and determine if there is a relationship between the organizational culture type (Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy, and Market) and culture dimension (Flexibility versus Control, and Internal versus External), as the Competing Values Framework and the 3 lean implementation elements (Support, Utilization, and Infrastructure) define. Understanding the relationship between organizational culture and lean implementation elements will provide leadership with useful knowledge to facilitate the implementation of strategies that enhance the effectiveness of their lean initiatives. An exhaustive literature review on the academic and practitioner research provides a foundation for understanding lean manufacturing practices. The study uses a quantitative research approach to analyze the data gathered from an aerospace organization. The researcher utilized an online questionnaire to assess the 3 components of lean implementation and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument to assess the organizational cultural type. A sample of 83 completed responses were received and analyzed using one-way ANOVA tests with accompanying eta coefficients for the 3 lean implementation elements with culture type. No significant relationship was found between culture type and support (p = .26), infrastructure (p = .24) or utilization (p = .15)