Khóa luận tốt nghiệp Quản trị kinh doanh: Building "Made in Vietnam" lean management model for primary school

The goal of this study is investigating the interpretation of “Made in Vietnam” lean principles in the studicd primary school management and daily practices in order to find out differen

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS

FACUTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

BUILDING “MADE IN VIET NAM” LEAN MANAGEMENT

MODEL FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL

Supervisor’s name: Dr Nguyen Dang Minh Student’s name: Nguyen Thi Nguyen

Student ID: 12050079 Intake: QH2012-E

Class: QH2012E-QTKD

Program: International Standard Program

Hanoi — May 2016

Many works were conducted over the last three months with the instructions andsupports of many people around me I greatly appreciate the contributions of theseinfluential people and take the opportunity to thank them

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr NguyenDang Minh - Lecturer and Deputy of Business Administration, University of Economicsand Business — VNU, for his great guidance and encouragement not only in thesis workbut also in daily life | am so grateful for his warm and sincere support and so sorry fordisturbing him many times

Besides my advisor, I would like to thank Tuan Hung Primary School for giving me thechance to do this study Special thanks go to Ms Dao Thi Hoang Yen — Vice Principal

of Tuan Hung Primary School, for letting me have chance to access to the schoo! andproviding me with all information I need to do the research

[also thank all nice teachers and staff of Tuan Hung Primary School who are very

supportive and friendly to me while I was at the school doing this research In addition,

I want to give a warm thank to all cute students of the school for being so kind and

participative whenever I worked with them during my time at the school

I am in debt to Hanoi National University of Economics and Business for providing

me four unforgettable years of my student life with full of priceless experiencesand memories with a lot of lectures and friends in Faculty of Business Administration.lam greatly indebted to my family and especially my parents for their endless sacrificesand love

With the deepest gratitude from my heart, I wish all of you health and happiness.

Ha Noi, May 2016

INTRO DU GION swcssnacasesnencwgnsto H0 uitansatanlonnn issdne sa 13818380001 45.63084835 Edit SigHE0L 20180 780 18510581 1

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3.2.1, OVerproductiOn CLOT sc snsacrzsanersesnsaosensonsnesesnanaaronnnsnessousensnive sosweonaveuennnweiot 45Bideds, Waste OF Talent nsec evaumasvaree 46En/ số na 47BDA “THOS mnnrarrarnoatntiittrfdifBiseeseeceskeseeseasroeeeeeenreseuetkee nai sa tre dylsgs vod 483.2.5 Processing handling tIme + t2 1 v21 11321121215 1111111111111 xe 493.2.6 ASSCt aỒỒ 49Suul: ‘CAPAC arene sesensermsmasemnes ava memset TORN ATEN TRTAAenondmennenenna nenonen aeement anne 503.2.8 Knowledge oo ai 51n2 52,

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3.3.2 Wastes in working approaches ce ccceeccccceeseeeeeestsnsesessscsceeteceescsescsceeecees 533.3.3 Wastes in missing developing opportuniti€S -:s.ccccccccvsccsces 543:4: SOUPCES OF WASTES ss sessnscnersnensussn sens enapaoncn enna nhìn ho iettbonintatnnnsovays nghe ueenseeoes 54

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4.2.9 Wisual managements caconssscasssscesxscasianea vaneana sacesanseetscansnsnsneventsesesvanrerdavencenes 73

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4.3 Conclusion of chapter 4 c2: t2 v2 n1 21 1511111121112 01 10g rrey 77

REPERENCES TT Sẽ nh ẽ.ố.ố.ốốẽ.ẽ 81

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: “Made in Vietnam” SS method S22: 2552 2S 121 1121112111112 14

Figure 1.2: The proposed model with the role of TAM THE in MADE IN VIETNAM

lean management I1OđeÏ, eee cee ee cài ces ces tae cee see ses tests tassseseseesses ts s xá váy Ủ

Figure 1.3: The lean school ImodelL tee cee cee tee c2 cette eevee dd

Figure 2.1: The research DIOC€SS cà cee và cà tee tee see teste cesses seo.

Figure 3.1: Tuan Hung primary sCÌhOỌ ce ces cee ces tae tae tee cá cà cá các 39

Figure 3.2: Tuan Hung primary school SH'HCÍHF€ cee cee cá ven veneer 40

Figure 4.1: Tuan Hung primary SCHOO ccc ccc ccc ccc cee ccc sà cà eee veces sev vee sec

Figure 4.2: Tuan Hung primary SChOỌL cee và tes tae ee ceva tas tse cee su see cac s4

Figure 4.3: Tuan Hung primary s€chOOlÏL cà ce cà sev si severe su viec dD

Figure 4.4: Tuan Hung primary schooÏL ce cà cee tenes crs center 59

figure 4.5: Lean ClaSSrOO Miss «snes wus vases HA TRUẤNG 3E 381A SE 18286 288 sid 448 tasunts aneronessarzave vmncanamndD Ol

Figure 4.6: Lean CÏASSTFOOHH cee cee cee cà tee sae te tee senses cae testes senses sec các c cá cà Ơ

Figure 4.7: Consensogram used itt CÏ4SSFOOIH cee tee cee te cĩc các các cĩc Ơ2

Figure 4.8: Plus and Delta ChAFt tee cà see see cà cà cà cà và sec cv Ơf

Figure 4.9: Affinity đỉ4gTđIH cà ce tee ces ces ces testes tes testis se se cà sec các cc se OD

Figure 4.10: PDSA CVCÏ€ à cà cee tee tee tee tee tee tee tee tee casas esses se se sese se ese e166

Figure 4.11: Class mission SỈ4f€IH€HIS cà ce ces tes tee tee cee cà tae cee sec cc 2Ơ

Figure 4.12: Visual aids in CIASSPOOIM Ln oo .0 ccc coc ccc cc cee coc cee cee cov cà cee sev ee scenes sec Ơ

LIST OF TABLES

Table: LL 3 9 Wastes THỊ SCHOO bass sue ase se won vax sow ane asa ae soa wap tì up nee ngs 618kg nn ana 38x50 siena se 22

Table 2.1: Semi-structured interview qH€SfÏOHS cà cà ces cà và cà si

Table 3.1: Tangible wastes in Tuan Hung primary school and sources of wastes 4]

Table 3.2: Intangible wastes in Tuan Hung primary school and sources of wastes 51

Table 4.1: Solutions and suggestions to eliminate wastes in Tuan Hung primary

ABSTRACT

Applying lean thinking and principles in improving education has gained many

successful results around the world The adoption and implication of appropriate leanprinciples and tools help schools and educational institutions gain efficiency and

effectiveness in many aspects, such as students learning, instructional practices, resource

administration and support, Lean application enables schools and educationalinstitutions to adapt with dramatically changing, demanding world of education

However, Vietnamese education system has its own natures and weaknesses that differ

from other countries in the world, therefore; it is impossible to apply the same leanprinciples as western countries in Vietnamese schools In this context, “Made inVietnam” lean management would be the answer for the question of finding appropriate

lean principles which are suitable with Vietnamese existing education situation in order

to improve its educational services “Made in Vietnam” lean management in educationwould be defined as the philosophy of gaining progress or creating added values for the

schools by utilizing the employee’ intellectual to continuously improve the schools’

process to minimize costs and cut down wastes

The goal of this study is investigating the interpretation of “Made in Vietnam” lean

principles in the studicd primary school management and daily practices in order to find

out different types of wastes, the causes of those wastes and then building a “Made un

Vietnam” lean management model as a suggestion for this school to improve its currentoperation and quality [1]

The deductive approach, the qualitative research method, and semi — structured

interviews, survey methodology were employed to conduct this research Besides all theresults derived from conventional lean principle, this thesis mainly contribute solutions

for the studied primary school based on “Made in Vietnam” lean management of author

Nguyen Dang Minh

Key words: “Made in Vietnam” lean principles, nine wastes, education management,lean tools

1 Background statement

Education is an important tool that is applied in the contemporary world to succeed, as

it mitigates the challenges which are faced in life The knowledge gained through

education enables individuals’ potential to be optimally utilized owing to training of the

human mind This opens doors of opportunities enables individual to achieve better

prospects in career growth Education has played a paramount role in the modern

industrial world This is attributed to the fact prospective employees must be qualifiedadequately to perform various tasks effectively Industries entail resources that aresufficiently equipped with the modern technology to suit the needs and wants of the

society The foundation of the society is based on education since it brings economic and

social prosperity Gaining education enhances an individual to live a respectful life inthe society This is because education offers a setting in which culture and values of asociety are developed In this respect, education in modern society provides a forumwhere the society examines its issues and identifies solutions The advancement of asociety both economically and socially is by gaining education which consequentlyenables them to run a modern society [24]

From the significant importance of education, schools and educational institutions haveplayed critical role in the society However, Today’s educators around the world faceunprecedented challenges Formerly setting the standard for excellence, schools now

chase it with sobering implications for the future Amid societal calls and governmentmandates for improved student performance, educators find themselves tasked withmeeting annually increased performance expectations but doing so with diminishingfinancial and political influence — essentially, doing more with less In order to succeed

in such a dynamic and demanding world, schools must be both stable and responsive tochanges as well as always focused on delivering value to the society in which they

are taking place Therefore, schools around the world are highlighted the importance ofeffective quality management [2]

Nevertheless, many schools are now still under old, ineffective management especiallythose belong to underdeveloped and developing countries That fact leads to many

wastes and poor function in those schools

As a developing country in South East Asia, Vietnam is currently trying to overhaul itseducation system, with the importance of internationalizing the education system tomaintain the rapid economic growth of the last two decades However, Vietnameducation system still remains many weaknesses in the quality of teaching, studying andmanagement [3]

The entire higher education system of Vietnam is facing several crises, such asoutdated curricula, a lecturer-centered method of teaching and learning, a lack of linkage

between teaching and research activities, and a large discord between theory andpractical training, that leads to a large number of graduates being unable to find a job,while skills shortages drive inflation to double-digit levels According to the survey on

graduate employment in 2009-2010 conducted by Center for Policy Studies andAnalysis- University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University,Hanoi, among 3000 respondents, 26.2% are still unemployed with the majority unable

to find a job Among those employed, 61% said they lacked sufficient working skill,42% lacked experience and 32% cited insecure professional expertise [3]

Aside from degrees offered by foreign universitics, qualifications from Vietnameseuniversities are not recognized worldwide

Teaching methods delivered in the public system are teacher-oriented Class discussionsare uncommon, and students are expected to be studious and passively attentive in the

classroom This method is a manifestation of Confucian culture, and is a sharp contrast

to American and British pedagogy, where interaction and debate are more prominent

Advanced and specialized high school students are generally expected to study

additional courses, which can amount to a total of nine periods a day Parents also enrolltheir children into extensive tutoring sessions, which is not to be confused with cramschools, because the tutoring sessions are taken regardless of any upcoming tests orexams The average monthly salary of local Vietnamese public teachers is between60USD and 100USD, so many supplement their income by moonlighting, working inthe private sector or teaching in these tutoring sessions Students who do not attend thesesessions are always at a disadvantage, as materials appearing on tests and exams areoften covered only in tutoring sessions [3]

Public schools are underfunded Currently, only primary schools are subsidized by the

government, to 50% of the total tuition cost Enrollment rates may be high; however,

primary education quality, particularly in poor areas, is below the required standard

Moreover, the drop-out rate after fifth grade is also high, especially in rural andmountainous area since most students cannot afford to attend secondary school oruniversity, due to poverty Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs) found that formany poor households, child labor is considered much more valuable than school

attendance Regular school absenteeism also leads to poor academic performance Forpoor families, the opportunity cost of sending their children to school is perceived to behigh and the long-term benefit of education cannot outweigh the short-term economiclosses [3]

In these circumstances, many Vietnamese schools from all levels are trying to improve

their own process by adapting new way of teaching, learning and administration, but

they still face many difficulties, especially for public schools with underfunding and

ineffective management Tuan Hung Primary School is one of those public schools Theschool has put on a lot of efforts to increase the quality of its work Through years ofchanging and adapting new approach in all aspects, the school has become much better

than the past and built stronger belief in the heart of students and parents in the area.However, Tuan Hung primary school is still struggling to find and try new ways to

progress itself to be updated with the increasingly changing environment and demand of

the society for primary education In the same situation with Tuan Hung primary school,

other schools of all levels should consider quality of their educational services is the

most important factor to successfully manage their schools

2 Problem statement

As mentioned above, schooling systems around the world still remain many wastesincluding both tangible and intangible wastes such as wastes in overproduction efforts,time, asset, capacity, knowledge These wastes can lead to poor quality of educationalservices and dissatisfaction for customers The reasons for these wastes may come fromlimitations of management, budget, professional knowledge and government policy.According to several lean thinking experts in education including Dr Neslihan Alp,

Betty Ziskovsk, Jams Bond, and many others, traditional education with ineffective

management create wastes They suggest that lean thinking provides ways to eliminate

these wastes Lean Management is not a new concept, but it is new for the educationindustry There is no question that differences exist between the products of amanufacturing assembly line and those of an education service But a huge similarity

exists in the delivery systems of these organizations, delivery systems made up ofthousands of complex processes As such, many aspects of Toyota’s process

improvement methodologies and other Lean tools can and do apply to improving the

processes of delivering education [2]

Accordingly, there is a growing body of literature not only documenting case

studies but also investigating specific elements of Lean, like flow However, manyscholars and people still think that Lean is not really appropriate for education as students

do not enter the educational system as raw materials and end up as finished goods

Actually, educational institutions and factories have a lot in common Public schools

have traditions, routines and ways of thinking grounded in the “factory model.”

Certainly, current reform and improvement efforts are designed to steer schools into

cultures, structures, instructional delivery models and pedagogy distinctively different from the factory floor The common voice of educational thought leaders today would

say that lean as a manufacturing application is not appropriate for schools And, they

would be right Schools are not manufacturing facilities Educators do not consider

students, their graduates, as products From these facts, researching about applying Lean

principles to education and schools is necessary to develop and improve educational

services in the future [4]

In Vietnam only some private, semi-public, and people-founded schools and educationalinstitutions have successfully applied lean thinking and lean principles into their

operations During the internship at Tuan Hung primary school as a researcher doing

study on applying lean principles to improve the quality of primary schools, the authorhad opportunity to observe the school’s situation and discuss with many teachers, staff,the principal, students, and students’ parents of the school about their awareness andperception about lean and its implication At the same time, the author recognized the

limitation of the community’s awareness and knowledge of lean management and

lean practice in education due to the lack of in-depth research on the adoption of lean

management methods in Vietnam and the limited exposure to lean knowledge of

Vietnamese

Consequently, the author has strong desire to study practices of applying “Made

in Vietnam” lean principles in Tuan Hung primary school and further build a “made inVietnam” lean management model for primary schools The study aims at providing thegeneral overview of “Made in Vietnam” lean management adoption in Tuan Hungprimary school and offering some suggestions for successful application of “Made inVietnam” lean management in Vietnamese primary education

3 Related works

In 2008, Shannon Flumerfelt published a White Paper addressing a question, “Is leanappropriate for school?’’ The answer was, “Yes, but lean has to be understood as asystem and implemented with clarity!” The paper indicated that the lean system provides

a good model for education, as it integrates well with the work of professional learning

communities that bring together educators and school leaders on an ongoing basis for

collective problem identification and problem solving Similarly, “lean approaches”impact the way people think about and carry out work throughout an organization This

means that familiar processes, such as budget planning or instructional technology

support, come under continuous corporate examination with the intention of

improvement Lean is not a theory, but a system that targets one or more organizationalprocesses for improvement, specifically selected based on key principles and using key

tools Schools are in a good position to consider lean thinking and applications [4]

A White Paper On Process Improvement in Education was published by Lean Education

Enterprises, Inc in 2007 presented a brief overview of Lean management principles and

their applicability to education It also presented examples of how Lean ProcessImprovement had been used to improve education delivery and student performancewhile simultaneously saving costs [5]

In a study of Dr Neslihan Alp in 2001, “The lean transformation model for theeducation system”, he developed a model, which shows how the lean principles can be

used to transform the university system to a lean organization According to his study,

Lean thinking not only changes the way of manufacturing, but also can be the way toimprove any kind of organizations as service and construction Educational system isone of these organizations that consider using lean principles to improve theorganizational system [6]

A report written by AtoZ Business Consultancy, first published in 2011, “Analysis of

Lean Implementation in UK Business Schools and Universities”, showed it was still

relatively early days regarding the implementation of Lean in Higher Education

However, what it would also show is that the appetite, potential and opportunity for Lean

is large with many individuals recognizing that the need to deliver more efficiency and

effective services to both students and for academics is critical There are some risks toimplementing Lean as recent examples in Toyota and even Mid Staffordshire GeneralHospitals NHS Trust have shown it can mean the organization focuses on the wrong

thing exposing safety and quality However, these risks currently are outweighed by the

benefits and, as the case studies within the report illustrated create real opportunity Thereport has been considered as a ‘baseline’ for Lean implementation in Higher Education.The illustrations and examples of the approaches from the case studies framed aroundthe ‘House of Lean in Public Services’ could be regarded as tips and ideas of what and

how to develop a Lean program within a Higher Education institution [7]

4 Research objective and research questions

With the thesis title, “Building made in Vietnam lean management model for primary

school”, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how “Made inVietnam” lean principles can be applied to primary schools and how can lean principlesimprove the recent educational service of Tuan Hung primary school based on “Made in

Vietnam” lean principles The study is mainly aimed to build a “Made in Vietnam” lean

management model for improving Vietnamese primary schools.

The aim of this study is to answer the following research questions:

» Research Question I: How are “Made in Vietnam” lean principles interpreted in

primary school?

» Research Question 2: What are the wastes and problems in Tuan Hung primary

school’s operation and daily practice?

> Research question 3: How can “Made in Vietnam” lean principles eliminate

those wastes and solve those founded problems in Tuan Hung primary school?

5 Research objects and scope

This study focuses on two objects including “Made in Vietnam” lean principles andprimary education The research scope is limited in the educational service and dailypractices of Tuan Hung primary school due to the limitation of time and lack ofexperiences of the author Besides, the time to carry out interviews, survey, collect as

well as analyze data was limited Therefore, some analyses and conclusions are

subjective and can be continuously improved

6 Research Methodology

This research is a result of two — month internship as fellow in investigating the applying

lean management to primary school and also working as an English teacher assistant inTuan Hung primary school Referring to the main research questions, this study is more

descriptive of the current practices of lean principles in primary education andeducational service quality management in Tuan Hung primary school Therefore, thisresearch used qualitative approach with direct observation, and semi-structured

interview method The data was collected from both primary and secondary resources

All primary data are provided by and gathered directly at the school through aquestionnaire survey and direct interview that was asked to the school’s principal,teachers, staff, students and students’ parents Secondary data, such as theoreticalframeworks and literature, was obtained from reference books, scientific books,

scientific articles and peer reviewed journals The analysis will be conducted base on the

collected data and then those data can be displayed and visualized as results Eventuallyfrom the analysis of the collected data, conclusions of the wastes and problems in theschool’s operation and management and recommendations of Lean solutions for TuanHung primary school were made

7 Research contributions

This study contributes to both the theoretical and practical dimensions of applying

“Made in Vietnam” lean principles to schools The study is important to review andunderstand the interpretation of “Made in Vietnam” lean principles in primary schools’context Through the issues studied in this paper, practitioners and researchers may have

a background of how to apply “Made in Vietnam” lean principles to Vietnamese schools

In addition, the study may be a reference document for Vietnamese schools that arepursuing a purpose of being sustainable and strong in the increasingly demanding andchallenging world Findings from this study will significantly provide several positive

contributions to the studied school, which desires to catch up with the need and demand

for educational service in the recent society and also improve itself to look ahead for thefuture Through this research, it may help the school to actively implement andsignificantly improve its current operation and management

8 Research structure

Apart from the acknowledgement and the introduction, this study is carried out in fourmain chapters including:

Chapter 1: Literature review: This chapter will provide theoretical framework for the

research It includes fundamental concepts about “Made in Vietnam” lean principles andprimary education as well as the interpretations of “Made in Vietnam” lean principles in

primary education context

Chapter 2: Research methodology: This chapter will describe the context where theresearch is conducted In addition, it will also provide detail research method from

preparing for collecting data to analyzing data

Chapter 3: Research analysis: This chapter will give description of data collected, andthen show analysis results about the wastes and problems in Tuan Hung primary school

Chapter 4: Findings and further discussion: This chapter will give further discussion

and summarize about the research results Besides, it will also give some suggestionsbased on “Made in Vietnam” lean management to improve the educational service and

management in Tuan Hung primary school.

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Lean fundamentals

1.1.1 The origin of lean

The concept of “Lean” is most commonly associated with Japanese manufacturing,particularly the Toyota Production System (TPS) But Lean foundations lie in theSocratic Method of questioning, the development of hypothesis and data driven analysis

in the Scientific Method, Henry Ford’s empowerment of people to improve the processesthey perform, and the principles of creating a world class organization through

continuous improvement developed by quality expert W Edwards Deming Toyotarecognized the implications and applied the collective genius of these predecessors to itssmall manufacturing operation It then refined and expanded its process-improvement-through-waste-elimination focus to include enterprise-wide operations Today, the TPS

philosophy and methodology — commonly known as LEAN and also referred to as The

Problem Solving Approach - has become synonymous with the dedicated pursuit ofexcellence [2]

This basic principle is of course transferable to many other domains/situations and is

applicable outside the production, as well According to Shannon Flumerfelt (2008),

educational institutions and factories have a lot in common Public schools havetraditions, routines and ways of thinking grounded in the “factory model.” Lean is notthe "one" system by any means that will solve education's problems, but, the philosophyand tools of lean systems approaches are useful in education

1.1.2 Lean terminology

The core idea of lean is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste Simply,lcan means creating more value for customers with fewer resources A lean organizationunderstands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it.The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value

creation process that has zero waste [8]

To accomplish this, lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizingseparate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of productsand services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies,assets, and departments to customers [8]

Eliminating waste along entire value streams, instead of at isolated points, createsprocesses that need less human effort, less space, less capital, and less time to makeproducts and services at far less costs and with much fewer defects, compared withtraditional business systems Companies are able to respond to changing customer

desires with high variety, high quality, low cost, and with very fast throughput times.

Also, information management becomes much simpler and more accurate Lean is more

a way of thinking about, or a mental approach taken, to a particular process or set of

processes According to Christopher e tal (2000), Lean is about achieving more with less,

or producing in one-third the time, at one-third the cost, and with one-third the defect

rate [8]

1.1.3 Main tools of lean

There are many different lean tools for manufacturing industry that have been applied

successfully in many companies and institutions around the world In this study, the

author just mention about some essential lean tools which will be applied for educationalcontext in following sections such as: 5S, Kaizen, Visual management, PDCA, SMART

goal, Standardized work

1.1.3.1 5S

5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanesewords: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke Transliterated into Roman script, theyall start with the letter "S" The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiencyand effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area anditems, and sustaining the new order The decision-making process usually comes from adialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of howthey should do the work [10]

« Remove unnecessary items and dispose of them properly.

e Make work easier by eliminating obstacles

« Reduce chances of being disturbed with unnecessary items

e Prevent accumulation of unnecessary items

« Evaluate necessary items with regard to cost or other factors.

» Remove all parts or tools that are not in use

» Segregate unwanted material from the workplace

¢ Need fully skilled supervisor for checking on regular basis

« Don't put unnecessary items at the workplace & define a red-tagged area to keep

those unnecessary items

« Waste removal

Set in order

e Arrange all necessary items so they can be easily selected for use

« Prevent loss and waste of time by arranging work station in such a way that all tooling

/ equipment is in close proximity

e Make it easy to find and pick up necessary items

e Ensure first-come-first-served basis

» Make workflow smooth and easy

e All above work should be done on regular basis

Shine

e Clean your workplace completely

e Use cleaning as inspection

e Prevent machinery and equipment deterioration

« Keep workplace safe and easy to work

¢ Keep work place clean and pleasing to work in

e When in place anyone not familiar to the environment must be able to detect

problems in 5 seconds within 50 feet

Standardize

e Standardize the best practices in the work area

e Maintain high standards and workplace organization at all times

« Maintain orderliness Maintain everything in order and according to its standard.

e Everything in its right place

se Every process has a standard.

Sustain

e To keep in proper working order

« Also translates as "do without being told"

e Perform regular audits

¢ Training and Discipline

s Training is goal oriented process Its resulting feedback is necessary monthly

In Vietnam these terms mean Sang loc, Sap xep, Sach se, Chuan hoa (S1, 52, S3) and

Tam the (Nguyen Dang Minh, 2013)

Source: Nguyen Dang Minh., “Made in Vietnam” lean management — The road to

success, 2015

1.1.3.2 Kaizen (continuous improvement)

Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement Kaizen was originally introduced tothe West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success

in 1986 Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of anorganization’s long-term competitive strategy [11] Kaizen is continuous improvementthat is based on certain guiding principles:

Good processes bring good results

Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation

Speak with data, manage by facts

Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems

Work as a team

» Kaizen is everybody’s business

e And much more!

One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from many small

changes accumulated over time However this has been misunderstood to mean that

kaizen equals small changes In fact, kaizen means everyone involved in makingimprovements While the majority of changes may be small, the greatest impact may bekaizen that are led by senior management as transformational projects, or by cross-functional teams as kaizen events [11]

1.1.3.3 Visual management

Visual management is a concept that is a part of lean Visual Management has emergedduring the past decades within manufacturing and service organizations, as a system thatthrough visualization enables the employees to better understand their role andcontribution in relation to both their own organizational values and costumer needs [12]

Visual management is a workplace that is a self-ordering, self-explaining, self-regulatingand self-improving environment where what is supposed to happen docs, on time, everytime because of visual solutions

Visual management can be used in many different ways for many different things like

understanding the capacity of a project team, knowing the progress of a major project,what is the status of a machine, do I have too much inventory and the list can go on and

on When people can understand what is going on without having to dig and ask

questions, they gct engaged The employees gain an understanding; therefore, can

engage in the problem solving easier [12]

management, project management, human resource management, supply chainmanagement and many other areas of business [13]

PDCA was popularized by Dr W Edwards Deming, an American engineer, statistician

and management consultant Deming is often considered the father of modern quality

control Deming's theories form the basis for (Total Quality Management) and ISO 9001quality standards Demings himself credited Walter Andrew Shewhart as the creator of

the cycle, however Shewhart was an American physicist, engineer and statistician who

is often considered the father of statistical quality control [13]

TQM processes are often divided into the four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and

act.

Here's an example of how PDCA is broken down in TQM :

Plan: Define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, and ascertain theproblem's root cause

Do: Develop and implement a solution; decide upon a measurement to gauge its

effectiveness

Check: Confirm the results through before-and-after data comparison

Act: Document the results, inform others about process changes, and make

recommendations for the problem to be addressed in the next PDCA cycle.

1.1.3.5 Standardized work

Standardized work is one of the key components of a Just-in-Time production system

In order to achieve a balanced work flow, cycle time equal to Takt time, and high quality,work must be standardized at all operations for optimum efficiency and consistency

Standardized work is not equivalent to the typical American concept of production

standards or efficiency standards within a standard cost system Standardized work refers

to the systematic determination and documentation of work element sequence and

process for each operation [14]

The objective is to clearly communicate to the operator exactly how the job should beperformed

Variability and the inefficiency that goes with it is removed from scientific analysis ofthe operation, and by eliminating, adjustment, searching for tools and parts, excessmovements, double-handling, and awkward ergonomics [14]

1.2 “Made in Vietnam” Lean management philosophy

1.2.1 Definition

“Made in Vietnam” lean management philosophy is created by Dr Nguyen Dang Minh

It is the philosophy of gaining profit or creating added values for the company by

utilizing the employee’ intellectual to continuously improve the business process tominimize costs This is presented the equations as below to explain for the concept of

“Made in Vietnam” lean management philosophy [15]

Profit = Revenue — Costs (1)

Cost = Actual Costs + Wastes (2)

Wastes = Tangible wastes + Intangible wastes (3)

The actual costs include expenses that ensure activities for implementing and

maintaining business activities The tangible wastes are popular and easy to identify in

doing business such as unnecessary inventory, over — production, waiting time,

unnecessary transportation and movement, defects, etc In practice, for visible wastes

almost companies have been trying their efforts to optimize and save the costs However,intangible wastes cannot be seen or touched such as wastes in thinking pattern (shortage

of development thinking for business, afraid of thinking changes, conservation andtraditional thinking), wastes in working approaches (methods and processes to operatebusiness), wastes in missing developing opportunities (growth chances and business

By keeping the revenue constantly or minimizing the wastes, enterprises will create

profit (financial added value with A ones) to create and maintain motivation forsupporting company’s development in lean management application The A value can

be allocated following the below formula to motivate all related stakeholder in doing

business [1, 15]

A=AI+A2+A3+A4+ + An

Al, A2 An are components of the A value (benefits from applying lean management)

that are reallocated into the system in the enterprise and society to retain and motivate

the application of lean management For example, A is the total benefits from lean

implementation; Al is the benefits allocated directly to the employees giving the

suggestion of minimizing wastes; A2 is the benefits given to members in company

thanks to lean application such as increasing meal ration and holiday welfare; A3 is thebenefits brought to society or customers such as increasing product quality, reducingprice and implement CSR activities; A4 is the profits retained in enterprises forcontinuous investment and development [15]

In other words, when applying lean management to minimizing wastes as much aspossible, all related stakeholders are benefited The nature of this formula has also shownthat enterprises are not necessary to add more investments for activities of leanmanagement when their systems are designed and established appropriately Benefitsobtained from waste reduction are the amount spent for sponsoring to continuouslymaintain and develop other activities of lean management Therefore, by exploringemployees’ intellectual and motivating them to devote in reducing and minimizing

wastes, lean management will be an effective solution to enhance enterprises’ efficiencyand ensure sustainable development of the company [15]

1.2.2 Application model of lean management “Made in Vietnam”

A Vietnamese enterprise/organization that wants to apply lean successfully should

combine both two parts.

Firstly, in order to apply and implement lean management, the enterprise/organizationshould carry out through 3 stages: (1) Developing implementation process andprocedures as well as criteria set for controlling and evaluating; (2) Implementing pilotlean application at a department/function; (3) Applying lean management in the overall

enterprise In addition, enterprise should pay attention to some important conditionsincluding: (1) top management commitment; human resource policies; training policies;

employee’s commitment and participation [15]

When implementing lean management, an enterprise/organization should practice basicand less demanding financial requirement tools such as 5S, Kaizen, and visual

management Major factor that prevents Vietnamese enterprises from maintaining lean

implementation’s effectiveness is the human mindset and workers’ behavior Therefore,the better implementation model is proposed with the focus laid on the center factor of

“Tam The” that prioritizes the preparation of the mind-set for all people in the

organization before starting lean implementation [15]

1.2.3 “Tam The” concept

Based on the development of “Made in Vietnam” lean management philosophy, Dr.Nguyen Dang Minh proposed the new management concept — “Tam The” in 2014 “Tam

The” is regarded as the heart of “Made in Vietnam’ lean management philosophy “Tam

the” is the central and key factor for successful lean implementation “Tam The” hasbeen recognized as management concept written in Vietnamese publishing on

International Journal of Simulation and Modelling [1, 15]

Tam The ~ a management concept is defined by the following formula:

Tâm Thế = Thấu I + Thấu 2 + Ý (Vietnamese concept)

Tam The = Deep Understanding 1 + Deep Understanding 2 + Consciousness

“Tam The” includes 2 Understandings and 1 Consciousness Deep Understanding | is to

comprehend that a work (job/study) that a person implements benefits himself/herself.

Deep Understanding 2 is to comprehend that by doing the work seriously (job/study) can

he/she improve their thinking capacity (When study) and working possibilities (when

implementing a job), therefore, bring benefits for himself/herself Consciousness is tounderstand that people should have good behavior, attitude and morality with the work

to reflect and implement 2 understandings [15]

“Tam The” - a Vietnamese word refers to the deep understanding of employees and

managers about the benefits of their tasks and lean management for themselves.

Therefore, “Tam The” has played an important role in establishing thinking foundation

for how to apply successfully lean management in Vietnam It means that everyoneshould have 2 understandings and | consciousness (by nature or through training) Forlean management, we should understand that applying and developing thinking and tools

of lean management will help to enhance personal and enterprise capabilities and people

should have good consciousness, attitude, and morality to achieve two understandings

In an enterprise or an organization, lean management can be implemented based on three

basic factors: (1) human, (2) hard part, and (3) soft part Hard part here can be understood

as facilities, capital, ete while soft part includes thinking, mindset, philosophy,

processes, and procedures to recognize and minimize wastes The human factor that is a

special ones and plays the determinant role affect the rest factors as well as the overall

process of applying lean management People are the ones who control the hard part and

inspire the soft part, balance between them to make both of them suitable for the

enterprise When we mention the human factor, the main thing that we should consider

as the most important is “Tam The” When the people in an enterprise/organizationapplying lean management have good “Tam The”, they will actively participate and

contribute to the implementation progress of lean management, thus creating realbenefits for enterprises in a sustainable way [15]

Thus, for the revised model of lean application in Vietnamese enterprise, the core factor

of the proposed model should be “Tam The” to apply lean management successfully in

EMPLOYEES’S PARTICIPATION

POLICIES

Figure 1.2: The proposed model with the role of Tam The in Made in Vietnam lean

Source: Made in Vietnam lean management — The road to success

Copyright 2015 Dang Minh Nguyen

1.2.4 Why is “Made in Vietnam” lean management?

Experiences of applying lean in education in many countries around the world have

proved that lean need to be applied in flexible methods which are suitable for eachcountries, each regions or each school’s context in order to achieve success Vietnam isalso the same In the book “Lean management in Vietnam-The road to success” (2015),author Nguyen Dang Minh said that Vietnamese companies are mostly small and

medium size with limited resources so that they need to use lean to improve their

business From other countries’ lessons, they should fully understand that applying leanmanagement is not simply lying in technical factors but also in the mindset, Tam the of

the whole company from top managers to employees “Made in Vietnam” Lean

management studied the context and situations of Vietnam economy, enterprises and

people, based on the international lean concepts, philosophies, tools and successfullessons to give a suitable approach to lean for Vietnamese enterprises and people.Moreover, “Made in Vietnam” is the philosophy of gaining profit or creating added

values for the company by utilizing the employees’ intellectual to continuously improve

the business process to minimize wastes and costs This philosophy doesn’t restrict users

of lean management within conventional lean tools like 5S, Kaizen, Visual management

Because “Made in Vietnam” lean is using people’s intellectual in order cut wastes then

its tools would be continuously developed and improved Therefore, this is a very crucialthat Vietnamese enterprises and people flexibly use the Vietnamese way to approachlean and gain success From this context, to apply lean principles in Vietnamese school

we also need to use the Vietnamese way

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), providing children withthis education has many positive effects, including:

e Decreasing poverty

e Decreasing child mortality rates

e Encouraging gender equality

e Increasing environmental concern

Primary education provides students with fundamental skills that will be the foundationfor the rest of their academic careers Instructors teach students subjects like: Math,

Science, Language Arts, History, Geography, Art, Music

Lifetime Skills

Primary education institutions provide children with some of their first opportunities to

meet people from different religions, races and socioeconomic statuses, as well as people

with different disabilities Therefore, elementary school teachers have a unique chance

to teach children about tolerance and respect [16]

Students are taught basic lifetime skills like reading, writing, spelling, interpersonal

communication and concentration, according to the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District

in Wayne, Pennsylvania Elementary school students also learn good study habits

including:

e Time management

e Multi-tasking and organization

e Short and long-term planning

U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), elementary school teachers use several different

tools to teach children and keep their attentions including:

Games, Books, Movies, Computers, Artwork [16]

1.3.2 Wastes in Education

There are 9 founded kinds of wastes in education in general and in primary education in

specific

Table 1.1: 9 wastes in school

Source: Lean Education Enterprises, Inc

The 9 Wastes in

Definition of the waste What it can look like Where it can be found

Education

Generating more of * More information than * Sending multiple

something or the parent, information packets home

information than is student or staff member * Redundant

needed right now needs

-= , communications between duplications, ¢ More information than

W staff and

Overproduction | redundancies, the next vị

; between staff and parent

Effort unwarranted changes process requires

for the sake of change * Creating reports no one

reads

* Making extra copies

* Requiring curriculum that

Not fully utilizing or

developing the skills,

training, and passion

of staff and students

Limiting authority and

responsibility for basic

* Under or over utilization

* Don’t use people’s

talents, skills, and passions

* Committee selection/assignment

* Solving

building/scheduling

fe problems

Talent of people’s

Skills * Not meeting student

* Not soliciting or listening | learning/teaching

to other ideas challenges

* Pointless meetings + Limiting opportunities

to contribute

* Staff frustrated with

inefficient processes

Unnecessary physical * Searching for, storing, ¢ Transporting resources

movement, searching, retrieving files or information

or transportation of + Extra computer clicks or | Materials not at hand

item eople which key strok ;sel i dương * Unnecessary moving

do not add value * Taking files to another :

N-due to disorganization

person ;

- ; * Searching for

- * Going to get a signature ;

Motion information or materials

* Moving student

groups/teachers/meetings

* People

Idle time created when

actions, information, people or equipment are not ready; excess or

unwise use of time

Extra or unnecessary | + Unclear directions or | * Unclear or duplicated

steps, reviews, expectations roles and responsibilities

approvals, or * Repeated manual entry of | , Information/money requirements, confusion | data gathering/distribution

Processing * Use of outdated standard

physical resources, or worked on * Instructional resources information than needed | * Open projects * Use/misuse of materials

Assets or their misuse * Office supplies » Obsolete:

* Unread E-mails

books/equipment/stored

* Unused/inadequately l

¬ information used facilities - ;

* Negative public image

The failure to realize * Students who fail to * Students who drop out

full potential and dream, set goals, of school, repeat a

grade, or are ill prepared

for college or entering

+ Failure to meet AYP

and other learning goals

* Non-aligned scope &

sequence, failure to complete assigned curriculum, infrequent

person

* Choosing short term

cost reductions that result

in the loss of employee cooperation on future

improvement efforts

Knowledge

Re-creating already

existing knowledge

* Going through training

you have already had

+ After searching and

+ Creating a new report

when the data

* Failure to meet deadlines

* Quality issues, unmet AYP

1.3.3 Lean in education

1.3.3.1 Lean in school

According to the The Le? School Success Program of Lean Education Enterprises, Inc,

schools those implement lean in their operations can earn many benefits in learning,teaching, and resource administration and support [5]

Lean learning

Most schools fall short of actually teaching students how to learn (Teaching occurs, but

is learning accomplished?) Often, without even a basic understanding of their uniquelearning processes, students are expected to perform well and remain engaged until theygraduate from high school That’s like requiring a new employee to do a job well withouttraining [5]

Through the Lean Learning component of the Le? School Success Program, students are

empowered to control and manage their own personal learning process First, teachers

are given tools for helping students to discover and refine the ways they learn best Then

they are coached through a simple series of improvement strategies until they becomecomfortable and adept at using them In this way, students gain the tools to dramaticallyimprove their learning processes for the rest of their lives [5]

Lean teaching

The Lean Teaching of the Le? School Success Program builds on the knowledge gained

by and about students Using straightforward improvement strategies, teachers learn how

to more effectively assist students and simultaneously improve their own teachingpractice As a result, teachers reduce re-teaching time, deliver assigned curriculum,significantly improve student performance, and preserve discretionary time [5]

Lean resource administration and support

School operations are composed of a vast number of processes that cross departments

and are interdependent Each process represents an opportunity for improvement With

lean guidance, school operations are streamlined, resulting in substantial performanceincreases and cost reduction [5]

1.3.3.2 The lean school model

A lean school has many advantages and it is lean in all aspects:

* Focuses on improving people first

* Respects, involves and serves its people, its community, and the common

social good

* Values learning, where everyone learns and improves every day

* Pursues a common vision and clear goals

+ Anticipates, identifies and solves problems throughout the student, teaching,

and support workplace

* Effectively and efficiently achieves continuous and sustained progress through

ongoing and involved process improvement by students, teachers, support

staff, and administration

Systematic x | People

STABILITY

Figure 1.3: The lean school model

Source: Lean Education Enterprises, Inc

THE LEAN SCHOOL MODEL

A structure of any kind has several key components without which it will collapse Basic

tenets of sound construction call for a solid foundation upon which the structure will be

built, a strong upright framework, and a cap or roof which the strength of the foundation

and framework will support These tenets are as true for figurative structures as they are

for tangible ones [5]

FOUNDATION LEVEL | - STABILITY

A solid foundation is one that is anchored and not subject to shifts which could displace

it or the structure it holds up In the case of a Lean School, the required solid foundation

is two tiered The bedrock foundation is STABILITY as demonstrated through:

* Shared vision and clear mission/goals

Without the shared focus, common values, the commitment and discipline to uphold

them, a comprehensive understanding by everyone of the big picture and everyone’s

integral contribution to it, the authority to improve, and absolute trust in humane

treatment and support, no school can really sustain progress Fear, apathy, shifting

values, and forced change prohibit sustained progress in any enterprise A Lean School,

by definition, constantly seeks greater levels of progress by engaging and supporting allemployees in active and continuous process improvement [5]

FOUNDATION LEVEL 2 - GROWTH AND SATISFACTION

The second level of foundation upon which the structure is built is GROWTH ANDSATISFACTION This foundation level guarantees that all framework will be built upon

each individual worker’s and learner’s fundamental need and desire to learn, grow, and

feel satisfied and fulfilled in their work Personal growth and satisfaction involve

meaningful endeavor and the knowledge of its results, the opportunity and

encouragement to expand skills, the feeling of belonging to and working with a team

who shares a common value focus, as well as the granting of responsibility andautonomous control in problem solving to make work and the workplace better [5]

THE PILLARS OF SUPPORT

Two pillars form the upright framework of the Lean School Each pillar is a composite

of two inter-related components

THE LEFT PILLAR