Search results

The purpose of this paper is to implement an integrated activity-based costing (ABC) and theory of constraints (TOC) approach to enhance decision making in a Lean company.

Based on the literature, this paper proposes an integrated ABC and TOC approach and applies it to a Lean plastic manufacturing company to improve its product-mix decision.

The results of the case study show that the current conventional product-mix decision used by the company and the proposed integrated approach can give significantly different results concerning the optimal product-mix and the associated bottlenecks. Moreover, the paper suggests that managers who implement Lean production without utilising a supportive management accounting system may experience disappointing financial results.

The validation of the suggested method is based on a single case study with an action research approach. For future research, the authors suggest the implementation of the approach in different industries.

Overall, the integration of ABC and TOC provides managers with an accurate, timely and reliable tool that can help in making decisions about pricing, production line development, process improvements and product-mix.

This paper contributes to Lean and management accounting literature by demonstrating the value of a method of integrating ABC and TOC. Also a case study is chosen for the empirical aspect of the study as there are no case studies available in the literature that illustrate a real life case of integrating ABC and TOC within Lean companies as an alternative to the current used cost accounting systems.

The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot study on lean awareness and implementation using the survey data collected from about 32 industries situated in western and eastern region of India.

A survey instrument containing 45 statements was designed to assess respondents’ attitude and awareness toward lean practices and to explore the level of lean implementation in the organization. The instrument was distributed personally or through mail to the employees of 32 industries and they were supported for any query about the questions. Descriptive statistical analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze the data with SPSS statistical software.

The research uncovers the fact that the current status of lean implementation and awareness in Indian industries is not so encouraging and the reason for that is, the human-related issues are not tackled properly. Quality and process technology, are the two key areas where industries are indicating inadequate efforts and poor insight.

The study conducted was limited to 32 industries situated in the eastern and western region of India. The data collected for few industries rely on only one respondent.

The study identifies the lean implementation status based on nine lean assessment key areas and uncovers the major roadblocks for lean practices in Indian industries. It provides key insights to lean practicing industries and lean practitioner about the major barriers and key areas for the improvement.

The paper reports comprehensive insights on current awareness and implementation of lean manufacturing (LM) in India. It also highlights the initiatives taken by Government of India to increase the competitiveness of the Indian industries, specifically of manufacturing sector, through the adoption of LM techniques. This would provide a platform for carrying out a detailed research in LM in Indian context.