Case studies: lean and learning in service businesses
Here are two examples to show how this cycle of unlearning and relearning can work for organizations that, unlike Toyota, are starting from scratch. Whilst both are service providers, which operate very differently from manufacturing, the same systems principles drive improvement and learning.
1. The loss adjusters with a ‘people problem’
A firm of loss adjusters was organized in a traditional way with a head office, regional management and local branches. The branch administrative staff had low morale and the chief executive thought he had a people problem. The work organization began with instructions to adjust losses arriving in central claims, where staff logged them on to the central computer. Managers focused on getting the logging done by lunchtime, and sent out electronically to the appropriate branch office. Branch administrators were targeted to make appointments with customers within one day of receipt of the work, and the paperwork (claim forms, insurers requirements and so on) would follow the electronic message, arriving two to three days later. Branch-based loss adjusters were targeted to visit the customer within four days, and to write a preliminary report to the insurer within a week. Subsequently the adjuster would seek the necessary information about replacement costs and/or relevant services. Once the adjuster had determined the settlement, a further target was that customers should receive their cheque within a week. Branches were meeting all these targets at 95% or better. Service was therefore apparently good; procedures were clear and well understood. So why was there a morale problem? Using their traditional management framework, managers were unable to ‘see’ what was wrong. To make it visible, they had to learn a new way of looking: they had to understand the organization as a system. A team of managers and staff undertook a learning and action process via the ‘check–plan–do’steps below and revealed a number of counter-intuitive facts.
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دراسات حالات إفرادية: العجاف والتعلم في شركات الخدماتفيما يلي مثالين لإظهار كيف يمكن أن تعمل هذه الدورة من نبذ و relearning للمنظمات التي بدأت من الصفر، على عكس تويوتا،. بينما كلاهما من مقدمي الخدمات، والتي تعمل بطريقة مختلفة جداً من التصنيع وتحسين محرك مبادئ نظم نفسه والتعلم.1-الخسائر مع مشكلة الشعبA firm of loss adjusters was organized in a traditional way with a head office, regional management and local branches. The branch administrative staff had low morale and the chief executive thought he had a people problem. The work organization began with instructions to adjust losses arriving in central claims, where staff logged them on to the central computer. Managers focused on getting the logging done by lunchtime, and sent out electronically to the appropriate branch office. Branch administrators were targeted to make appointments with customers within one day of receipt of the work, and the paperwork (claim forms, insurers requirements and so on) would follow the electronic message, arriving two to three days later. Branch-based loss adjusters were targeted to visit the customer within four days, and to write a preliminary report to the insurer within a week. Subsequently the adjuster would seek the necessary information about replacement costs and/or relevant services. Once the adjuster had determined the settlement, a further target was that customers should receive their cheque within a week. Branches were meeting all these targets at 95% or better. Service was therefore apparently good; procedures were clear and well understood. So why was there a morale problem? Using their traditional management framework, managers were unable to ‘see’ what was wrong. To make it visible, they had to learn a new way of looking: they had to understand the organization as a system. A team of managers and staff undertook a learning and action process via the ‘check–plan–do’steps below and revealed a number of counter-intuitive facts.
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