In June of 2001, I visited Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan and asked the General Manager of final assembly, Mr. Kuzuhara, the following question: "What is the mechanism or process for maintaining discipline to 'The Toyota Way?'" He replied: "There was nothing on paper. It was just passed on to … [Read more...] about The Toyota Way for Outsiders
Archives for September 2013
Lean Teaching Q&A #6
Question: How do you evaluate weekly graded assignments when you have 300 students in a class? Answer: One way to do that would be borrow a few Lean concepts such as single-point learning lessons and go/no-go plug gauges. Whether you have 30 or 300 students, the idea is assure that the weekly … [Read more...] about Lean Teaching Q&A #6
From Quantity to Quality to Value
Where did the credit hour unit of measurement in higher education come from? It came from Morris Llewellyn Cooke, in a report he wrote in 1910 titled: "Academic and Industrial Efficiency: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching," Cooke was a close colleague of Frederick … [Read more...] about From Quantity to Quality to Value
Make the Connection
In my books I have written much about a connection that most leaders and academics ignore: bad processes lead to bad leadership behaviors. This is a critically important connection because it reveals the time and information function of leadership. What leaders believe in and how they behave largely … [Read more...] about Make the Connection
Sharing Student Feedback
At the end of each semester a survey is distributed in class for students to fill out. The professor typically receives the completed surveys a few weeks later, after they have been reviewed by the department chair and head of the faculty evaluation committee. I have always found the feedback … [Read more...] about Sharing Student Feedback
The Back Story – Better Thinking, Better Results
This is the back story to the award-winning book, Better Thinking, Better Results. The Wiremold Company's Lean transformation was featured the book Lean Thinking (published in 1996). It was one of five short chapters highlighting successful Lean efforts. At that time, Wiremold's Lean … [Read more...] about The Back Story – Better Thinking, Better Results
Textbook Games
The article 'Required reading': As textbook prices soar, highlights triple-digit inflation and many other problems associated with the college textbook business. Since becoming a professor in 1999, I have always sought to avoid textbooks for many of the reasons cited in the article. Most large … [Read more...] about Textbook Games
The Academe and the “Real World”
"The Real Truth About the Real World" is an interesting and informative essay that argues against faculty making comparisons between the academy (the "ivory tower") and the "real world." While the article makes many good points, I found it unconvincing, perhaps because I have spent equal number of … [Read more...] about The Academe and the “Real World”
Henry Gantt and Lean Accounting
I would like to share with you some important words of wisdom from Henry Gantt (1861-1919), an esteemed associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor, the father of Scientific Management, the predecessor to Lean management. The following excerpts about financiers and accountants are taken from Mr. Gantt's … [Read more...] about Henry Gantt and Lean Accounting