MODERATING ROLES OF EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT, EFFECTIVE CHANGE LEADERSHIP AND BENCHMARKING IN THE SUCCESS OF LEAN MANUFACTURING - A FUZZY LOGIC APPROACH

摘要

Fuzzy Logic Expert System (FLES) can be successfully applied to the exploratory examination of the expert knowledge. This knowledge will be gathered from top lean manufacturing businesses using factors presented below. FLES can be used to examine the intricate interplay of expert knowledge among several lean manufacturing success factors based on the data gathered from successful organizations and respective academic sources (literature) in the lean manufacturing field. This study focuses on the factors influencing the success of lean manufacturing in organizations, with the help of a FLES model, with special focus on the moderating effects of employee empowerment, effective change leadership, and benchmarking. In addition seven critical factors must be examined by FLES first as they hold the key towards the success of lean manufacturing in organizations, and have been identified as: practice of Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophies - namely continuous improvement and process management, effective resource management, organizational commitment, human resource management practices - namely employee training and evaluation, pull production control, top management support, and strategic supplier partnerships. It is proposed that the moderating effect factors, would enhance the association between the seven critical factors as identified in this paper, that are responsible for the success of lean, and the lean manufacturing success.