Could lean and green be the driver to integrate business improvement throughout the organisation

Purpose It seems to be the consensus (Zhang et al, 2012, George et al, 2003, Arumugam et al 2013) that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has become a beneficial improvement initiative used in a variety of industries. There is a move towards integrating any high level business improvement methods holistically throughout the whole organisation. Indeed Hoerl (2014) explored the idea that when using Lean Six Sigma for business improvement the programme should engage the whole organisation in much the same way as the financial function is present throughout each department. This paper posits that using the Lean and Green agenda may be the driver to achieve integration. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a subjective ontological perspective with the researcher using participant observation as the main research instrument. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) note that it is now common for scholars to argue that the only relevant data are those based upon the personal experience of the researcher, this served as an inform...

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