Can a tools-based implementation of lean in the manufacturing industry provide attractive investment opportunities for shareholders

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The concept of a business existing to fulfil the wants and needs of the various stakeholders acknowledges that the prime goal of any commercial business is that of profit maximisation and the resultant stock pri...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hardman, Stephen
Other Authors: Von Leipzig, K. H.
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6169
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Summary:Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The concept of a business existing to fulfil the wants and needs of the various stakeholders acknowledges that the prime goal of any commercial business is that of profit maximisation and the resultant stock price maximisation (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2002:10). Any decision by the senior management or the board of an organisation should be primarily in the interest of its shareholders. It follows that any decision that does not add shareholder value subtracts from shareholder value; in other words, decisions must impact the bottom line financially. The manufacturing sector has seen its fair share of methods, interventions and programmes aimed at cost reduction and profit maximisation through a variety of total quality management (TOM), statistical process control (SPC), right/downsizing, efficiency improvements and yield maximisation. One of the most enduring and successful of these has been the advent of the lean manufacturing philosophy, defined as the complete and thorough elimination of waste to reduce the time line from receipt of customer order to delivery. It is a process-focused philosophy and not results focused, the belief being that the elimination of waste from all aspects of the process will ultimately result in financial success. Toyota have developed, and perfected more than most, the concept of lean manufacturing. They have termed their lean initiative the Toyota Production System (TPS). At the core of TPS is the concept of one piece flow controlled by customer pull. Given the success derived from TPS by Toyota it is only natural that other organisations have shown interest and have attempted, in varying degrees of success, to copy the TPS. But the magnitude of attempting to change the philosophy of an organisation in the short term is a daunting task and it is understandable why adopters of a lean way forward have rather turned to the lean tools as drivers of the process and value. The attraction of lean tools is that they can be applied in many areas of an organisation independent of one another. Organisations have a range of needs that need to be satisfied which include growth, increased profits, cash now and talent retention. The need to decide what interventions to apply when and where and what impact to profit and share value is of paramount importance to decision makers of organisations. By analysis of the results of a global industrial packaging company's efforts to implement lean through a tool-based approach, this study attempts to offer guidance to those organisations interested in implementing lean tools. The tools employed comprise four operational and three commercial tools. A financial model examining the impact of the tools on financial metrics is then developed and tested. The results show that the impact of the applied tools impact directly financial metrics used by investors to assess the relative attractiveness of an organisation's shares for the period 2003 to 2007. Further research should be conducted to determine the performance of the organisation for a ten to fifteen-year period to determine future success. === AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konsep dat 'n sakeondememing bestaan om die verwagtinge en behoeftes van die onderskeie rolspelers te dien erken dat maksimale wins en die gevolglike optimale aandeleprys die primere doelwitte van enige kommersiele onderneming is (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2002:10). Enige besluit deur die senior bestuur of the direksie van 'n ondememing behoort dus primer in die belang van sodanige ondememing se aandeelhouers te wees. Gevolglik sal enige besluit wat geen waarde tot die aandeelhouer bied nie, sodanige waarde verminder en moontlik lei tot disinvestering; met ander woorde, besluite moet finansieel 'n invloed op winsgewendheid he. Die vervaardigingsektor het al verskeie metodes, ingrypings en programme beleef wat gemik is op kostevermindering en winsverhoging deur middel van 'n verskeidenheid van algehele kwaliteitsbestuur ("total quality management"), statistiese prosesbeheer ("statistical process control"), herstrukturering deur middel van sogenaamde afskaling ("rightdownsizing"), verbetering van effektiwiteit en opbrengs. Een van die standhoudendste en suksesvolste van hierdie is die skep van die "spilvrye" vervaardigingsfilosofie ("lean manufacturing philosophy") wat gedefinieer word as: die totale en volledige eliminering van verspilling om die tydsverloop tussen die ontvangs van die klient se bestelling tot die aflewering te verminder. Die aanname word gemaak dat die eliminering van verspilling vanuit alle aspekte van die proses uiteindelik finansiele sukses tot gevolg sal he. Die filosofie is dus gefokus op die proses en nie op resultate nie. Toyota het die konsep van "spilvrye"-vervaardiging ontwikkel en, meer as ander, vervolmaak en verwys na hul inisiatief as die "Toyota Production System" of TPS. Sentraal tot die TPS is die konsep van enkel-aaneenlopende produksievloei beheer deur klienteopdrag en -behoefte. As gevolg van Toyota se sukses met die toepassing van die TPS is dit te verwagte dat ander organisasies belangstelling sou toon en met wisselende sukses gepoog het om die TPS na te boots. Om die filosofie van 'n organisasie in die kort termyn te verander is so 'n omvangryke taak dat dit begryplik is waarom nuwe bekeerlinge tot die "spilvrye" -filosofie eerder "spilvrye"-instrumente verkies as die dryfvere van die proses en waarde. Die aantrekkingskrag van "spilvrye"-instrumente is dat dit onafhanklik van mekaar in baie areas van 'n organisasie deur individue, werkspanne of konsultante aangewend kan word. Insluitend groei, die verhoging van wins, kontantvloei en die behoud van talent, het organisasies uiteenlopende behoeftes wat aangespreek moet word. Dit is van die uiterste belang vir besluitnemers van organisasies om te besluit op toepaslike ingryping, wanneer en waar, asook die uitwerking op wins en aandeelwaarde. As 'n poging om belangstellende organisasies te help, bied hierdie studie 'n analise van die resultate voortspruitend uit 'n globale industriele verpakkingsmaatskappy se pogings om die "spilvrye" konsep deur middel van 'n instrument-gebaseerde benadering te implementeer. Die resultate toon dat die impak van die toegepaste instrumente 'n direkte invloed het op die finansiele meetinstrumente, wat deur beleggers aangewend word om die relatiewe aantrekkingskrag van 'n organisasie se aandele vir die tydperk 2003 tot 2007 te bepaal. Om toekomstige sukses te bepaal behoort verdere navorsing egter gedoen te word ten opsigte van die organisasie se prestasie oor 'n tien- tot vyftien-jaar tydperk.