Incorporating lean management and human resource management practices: The case of a joint-venture company in the Philippines

• Main Author: Tschoepke, Beatriz K.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: Lean manufacturing—Philippines; Personnel management—Philippines; Joint ventures—Philippines; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Human Resources Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/13653
• Institution: De La Salle University

Thriving in today's highly competitive world seems to be what every organization is doing and will be doing nowadays whether it be a profit or a not-for-profit one where better performance requires knowing where the company is, followed by setting the right goals and then taking effective steps to achieve them. One way for an organization to achieve success is by applying what is now called "Lean Management" (LM) (Womack & Jones, 2003). But, as one management practitioner said, "the goal achievement process works best when business managers and human resource (HR) managers partner together to involve everyone in the workplace -- which for many of us is a significant challenge" (Jekiel, 2008). Many attempts to generate better results fail when the management team tries to act on its own. Incorporating Lean to the Human Resources (HR) function can provide a roadmap for how an organization can avoid the common mistake of leaving HR on the sidelines as it develops and executes its strategies. For instance, building performance based strategies into all people-related processes, such as recruitment, training, performance management appraisal and rewards, and the like, is not only the best way an organization can achieve new levels of success, but it prevents failure from leaving the HR out of the equation. This study will investigate how lean management (LM) and human resource management (HRM) can perfectly work together when implementing Lean practices through a case study of a German-Philippine joint venture company that has been operating for more than a decade in the country, and has embarked on a lean transformation program since 2007. The first goal of this study is to analyze the effects of LM practices on HRM policy. The second is to determine whether or not implementation of HRM practices associated with LM has an impact on the company's organizational performance. The conclusion of this paper is 'not yet raising questions about negative effects of LM practices on the company's HRM policy and, it is also too early to determine if indeed HRM practices associated with LM that were implemented have a significant impact on the company's overall performance. The writer argues that not only is a strong HR system instrumental in incorporating LM into HRM practices and vice versa, but also a good and effective HRM department in supporting a successful implementation of the Lean philosophy, concept and practices.