A Quantitative Study Examining the Relationship between Management's Leadership Style and Lean Six Sigma Implementation Results.

摘要

The use of continuous improvement processes in manufacturing has increased dramatically as businesses look to gain efficiency and improve financial return in an increasingly competitive world market. The problem examined in this study was a lack of understanding regarding the impact of various leadership styles on the implementation of the continuous improvement technique Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational dissertation study was to examine the relationship between manager's leadership style and the success of Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement implementation in multiple manufacturing facilities in the United States. The participants were 157 front-line supervisors from a large, multi-facility, industrial and defense products manufacturer, with locations across all geographic areas of the United States, that have implemented Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement techniques with both successful and failed implementations. The results included that (a) a manager's level of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership did not correlate with cost reduction in Lean Six Sigma implementations and (b) a manager's level of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership did not predict the achievement of desired cost reductions in Lean Six Sigma implementations when controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and years in the organization. Recommendations for future researchers include (a) needed examination of various types of manufacturing environments separately rather than combined in a single group, (b) evaluation of other similar continuous improvement methods, (c) examination of the impact of leadership style on Lean Six Sigma implementation in non-manufacturing environments, (d) development of more comprehensive models of leadership style and program success that take into account additional variables, and (e) further exploration of why managers with less tenure in the organization may be more able to facilitate change. Organizational managers should look beyond or outside of leadership traits when selecting managers and should understand that managers who have less experience with the organization may be in a better position to implement cost reduction programs.