Title: Lean-based workforce management in Jordanian manufacturing firms

Authors: Mohammad D. AL-Tahat; Omar M. Bwaliez

Addresses: Industrial Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan ' Industrial Engineering Department, School of Applied Technical Sciences, German Jordanian University, Amman 11180, Jordan

Abstract: Workforce management system (WFMS) has gained enormous attention in manufacturing organisations. In this paper, the relation between WFMS and lean production (LP) is statistically investigated for ten Jordanian manufacturing sectors. The main lean practices affecting WFMS are identified into five main categories. A structural equation model is proposed. Hypotheses are formulated. Thereafter, an exhaustive statistical analysis is carried out using IBM SPSS statistics version 20 and IBM SPSS Amos version 20. The results show that the selected sample of Jordanian firms can be described as 'very good' implementers for the considered lean practices. The best implementation level has been accomplished by 'construction' sector and the worst implementation level has been accomplished by 'engineering industries' sector. Findings of this paper can be used to manage challenges opposed to the execution of lean-based WFMS in many manufacturing firms.

Keywords: lean management; structural equation modelling; SEM; workforce management; Jordan; multifunctional workforce; employee training; employee empowerment; employee appraisal; manufacturing industry; construction industry; engineering industries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLER.2015.071744

International Journal of Lean Enterprise Research, 2015 Vol.1 No.3, pp.284 - 316

Received: 26 Feb 2014
Accepted: 21 Nov 2014
Published online: 17 Sep 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article