Lean på Menyn - En fallstudie av en rörlig personalstyrkas påverkan på en implementering av lean i restaurangbranschen
Today, the management concept of lean has stretched far from its origins in the Japanese automobile industry. When reaching the Swedish restaurant industry, the conditions for a successful implementation of lean change as a result of the high employee turnover and the significant amount of part-time employees characteristic for the industry. Combined with a high-end service profile, these workforce characteristics seem inconsistent with some of the basic principles of lean. By conducting a case study, this thesis aims to investigate the effects of a variable workforce on the enablers for a successful implementation of lean in a high-end service industry. Using a theoretical framework consisting of enablers for an implementation of lean in services, the study finds that the variable workforce inhibits an implementation of lean by complicating the effects of traditional training, as well as the possibility of understanding the lean concept at all levels of the organization. However, in contrast to what theory suggests, it reveals that a variable workforce facilitates an implementation by creating a perceived need for lean among management, which results in increased commitment throughout the organization. Consequently, the study concludes that the implementation of lean in a high-end service company with a variable workforce requires a modification of the implementation approach in order to be successful.