Lean production, employee learning and workplace outcomes: a case analysis through the ability‐motivation‐opportunity framework

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12010
• Author: Amanda Sterling,Peter Boxall
• Date: 01 July 2013
• Published date: 01 July 2013

Lean production, employee learning and workplace

outcomes: a case analysis through the

ability-motivation-opportunity framework

Amanda Sterling and Peter Boxall, University of Auckland

Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 23, no 3, 2013, pages 227–240

This study examines an implementation of lean production in fast-moving consumer goods

manufacturing, analysing how it has affected employee learning and job quality. We find major variation

in these outcomes. Where line managers have relinquished significant control, and workers have had the

requisite levels of literacy, more powerful forms of learning have occurred, and the outcomes are mutually

beneficial. However, deeper learning has yet to take hold where production pressures are high, line

managers are not enabling and workers lack self-efficacy because of low literacy. Better outcomes depend

on greater investments in the development and ongoing support of front-line managers and in literacy

development. The study shows how the ability-motivation-opportunity framework can be used to organise

relevant theory and throw light on the systemic nature of workplace learning.

Contact: Professor Peter Boxall, Department of Management & International Business,

University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand. Email:

p.boxall@auckland.ac.nz

INTRODUCTION

Lean production is increasingly dominant in manufacturing plants, but research on how

it affects workers remains controversial. To what extent does it improve opportunities for

employee learning? Can it be implemented in ways that enhance outcomes for both

companies and workers? In this article, we address these questions through a case study in a

fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturer, whose performance depends on better

quality, cost and delivery. We apply relevant theory within an ability-motivation-opportunity

(AMO) framework to analyse variations in what and how workers have learned and to assess

outcomes for the company and for them. This enables us to answer some questions, and raise

others, in respect of how lean production can simultaneously improve manufacturing

performance and the quality of working life.

We begin by outlining the essential features of lean manufacturing and discuss their

implications for employee learning, placing emphasis on the way that opportunities for

learning are affected by the structure of work, not simply by training activities, which have

more ambiguous outcomes. We then describe our case study organisation and the lean practices

it implemented. This leads into our analysis of worker responses and our conclusions about

learning and mutuality.

LEAN MANUFACTURING AND EMPLOYEE LEARNING

Epitomised in the Toyota Production System, lean manufacturing aims to generate better value

through eliminating waste, whether in excess inventory, poor quality, production bottlenecks or

unnecessary work (Womack et al., 1990). These changes imply a significant reform of traditional

mass production with its ‘just-in-case’ buffers and prioritisation of output over quality.

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doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12010

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL 23 NO 3, 2013 227

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Please cite this article in press as: Sterling, A. and Boxall, P. (2013) ‘Lean production, employee learning and workplace outcomes: a case analysis

through the ability-motivation-opportunity framework’. Human Resource Management Journal 23: 3, 227–240.