ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to advance the understanding of the complementarity between action learning and lean. Today, this is an underexplored research area, despite the high degree of similarities and syngeneic possibilities between these two research streams. The paper describes an action learning intervention at VELUX, a Danish rooftop manufacturer designed to develop its leaders as lean learning facilitators to cope with the increasing velocity of change stemming from growth, sustainability, and digitalisation agendas. The paper locates the complementary between action learning and lean in the extant literature and presents an account of practice from VELUX for extrapolating five promoting factors for developing leaders as lean learning facilitators. The paper concludes that lean complements action learning with a suite of concepts, systems, practices, and methods for institutionalising ongoing action learning and concepts on how to think and act as a leader to foster a lean learning system consisting of empowered and proficient problem-solvers. Furthermore, action learning complements lean with the underlying learning mechanisms of facilitating and sustaining the change towards instituting leaders as lean learning facilitators and adopting a lean learning system.

摘要

本文旨在推进对行动学习与精益之间互补性的理解。如今，尽管这两个研究流派之间存在高度相似性和同源可能性，但这是一个尚未开发的研究领域。该论文描述了丹麦屋顶制造商威卢克斯 (VELUX) 的一项行动学习干预措施，旨在将其领导者培养为精益学习促进者，以应对增长、可持续性和数字化议程带来的日益加快的变化速度。本文确定了现有文献中行动学习与精益之间的互补性，并介绍了 VELUX 的实践，以推断出将领导者发展为精益学习促进者的五个促进因素。该论文得出结论，精益通过一套概念、系统、实践、以及将持续的行动学习制度化的方法以及关于如何作为领导者思考和行动的概念，以培养由有能力和熟练的问题解决者组成的精益学习系统。此外，行动学习通过潜在的学习机制来补充精益，这些机制促进和维持变革，使领导者成为精益学习的推动者并采用精益学习系统。