Purpose – The paper aims to explain how the culture of UK shop‐fitting manufacturer Crusader Displays has been transformed by award‐winning training in the principles of lean manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on information provided by Crusader Displays...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the Start Lean program, run by the Manufacturing Institute in the UK, which aims to introduce apprentices to the principles of lean manufacturing and to instil a lean way of thinking early in their careers. Design/methodology/approach –...

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the benefits from lean production at the UK manufacturing plant of Graphic Packaging International. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines the origins of the reforms, how they were introduced and the results they have achieved. Findings – The...

Purpose – Describes the three‐year Production to Maintenance training scheme at Toyota UK, which is training experienced production‐line workers with no technical qualifications to become multi‐skilled maintenance technicians, fully able to meet the challenges of lean manufacturing....

Purpose – The paper aims to analyze the cross-cultural reasons underlying the extreme industrial unrest experienced during the first seven years of Toyota’s operations in India. Design/methodology/approach – It draws on information obtained from 30 personal interviews, field notes,...

In today’s highly competitive business environment, all functions in an organization are increasingly expected to justify their existence by the contribution they make to that organization’s competitive advantage. This is especially true for administrative functions: traditional perceptions...