Purpose – Quality Circles and Kaizen Events have resulted in productivity and quality improvements for organizations. There is limited empirical research comparing these two approaches. This research study was designed to understand the similarities and differences in the structure and...

This paper presents a new paradigm for conceptualizing the relationship between individual, family, and work. The language and focus of the balance approach is limiting and keeps individuals from creating integrated lives. Based on previous research and the authors’ experiences in facilitating...

Purpose – The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between organizational structure and lean implementation success and to explore the impact of a lean implementation on the development of employee problem-solving skills. Organizations that implement lean manufacturing...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a study investigating the role of organizational context on the effectiveness of engineering work teams. Design/methodology/approach – Previous research was used to operationalize organizational context and work team effectiveness, and a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of an assessment methodology to empirically measure and evaluate the impact of kaizen events on organizational performance, including human resource outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A field study of two kaizen events...