It is not surprising that hostility toward lean results when its real and perceived
demands are framed against the perspective of expected job security regardless of operational performance. Regardless of whether there is a union, realizing the full
potential of lean is impossible if the relationship with management is framed in an
adversarial way as “us versus them” and quality and efficiency improvements are
framed as activities for someone other than frontline workers to do rather than the
responsibility of everyone. Lean companies frame issues from the perspective of
how employees can work together as a team to provide value for the customer. To
prime workers and management and facilitate the framing of a single team identity,
NUMMI eliminated special parking and eating facilities for managers and
introduced uniforms for everyone (Adler, 1993). Framing everything from the
customer’s perspective is reflected in the common lean use of pull-based production.
Because production only begins as a result of customer demand, it provides a
constant, subtle framing effect of the supreme importance of offering value to the
customer, and thus, actions are more likely to be linked with customer wants and
needs to drive continuous improvement.