Lean, Agile, Leagile Impact on Sustainability: Milling Industry Study

This MBA dissertation explores the synergies between Lean, Agile, and Leagile methodologies and their impact on sustainability within the milling industry, specifically in the GCC region. It examines how the integration of lean manufacturing practices, agile organizational structures, and the leagile approach can address challenges such as commodity volatility, rapidly changing customer needs, and increasing competition. The research investigates the potential for creating a quick-responsive and adaptable organizational culture that fosters sustainability by combining speed and stability. It also considers the influence of stakeholder demands for green solutions and the importance of organizational adaptability in adopting agile practices. The dissertation aims to determine whether a leagile strategy is the most plausible way forward for milling companies seeking enhanced productivity and sustainability in a dynamic market environment.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Leadership and Sustainability
An investigation into how Lean, Agile and Leagile impacts sustainability in an Organization.
A study in the Milling industry, GCC
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3/12/2018
Masters of Business Administration, Leadership and Sustainability
Student ID number:

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Abstract
There are separate types of research and studies done on lean manufacturing and an agile
organization. The purpose of this Dissertation will be to determine whether synergies exist
between lean manufacturing practices, methods and an agile organization; and how will it be
possible to sustain these productive synergies if they exist.
The two paradigms lean and agile will be the main focus.Organizations know that lean
manufacturing is to focus particularly on the following:
 Less Waste
 Just in Time
 Elimination of non-value added activities
 Focusing on core competencies
 Minimizing costs through outsourcing
 Cost saving in keeping relatively small inventories
While on the other side agility is:
 Quick response to customer needs
 Rapidly changing production processes using existing equipment, labor and designs
to create new products on short timespan
 Robust IT systems with the ability to give updated information on all aspects of the
organization
If any similarities exist between agile and lean approaches, what would this be?The above will
be looked at specifically aimed at the milling industry in the GCC and what will it take to

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achieve this. With this in mind an in depth study will look at the synergies of the two methods
and what are the benefits for the milling industry in GCC.
Keywords would be the following: Agile Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing, Leagile
Manufacturing, Sustainability and Company Culture

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Background..................................................................................................................................5
History of the Topic.....................................................................................................................5
Brief Overview of the Topic........................................................................................................5
Research Problem......................................................................................................................11
Research Question.....................................................................................................................11
Research Aim.............................................................................................................................12
Research Objectives...................................................................................................................12
Delimitations..............................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Background
The following research is based on the study of the sustainability of the lean and agile
process combined with the different kind of environmental changes that needs to be implemented
in the milling industries. The research starts with a brief history and overview of the topic.
History of the Topic
The term agile and lean management refers to the segregation of a number of large works
into different kinds of small increments. This minimizes the amount of front planning and
design. Instead of aiming for a moving target that is months or years in the future, Agile project
managers work with different types of teams to segregate work into small and manageable
pieces. These changes generally take a number of days or a few weeks to complete, depending
on the amount and type of work. This iterative form of development reduces risk and allows for
ease of flexibility in the process of the development. The goal for each of these iterations is to
create a piece of value, with minimal bugs, at the end of each iteration. In this method, working
software is the primary measure of progress (Mittal et al. 2017). Apart from this the presence of
agile combined with lean management reduces time, increases communication and productivity
for the organization which helps the industry to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Brief Overview of the Topic
Today the challenges facing organizations are: increasing cost savings combined with
instability of economic factors which increase the difficulty in attaining and upholding
sustainability. Especially in the milling industry factors such as commodity volatility, customer
needs for rapidly changing products that will serve their needs and the challenges of competition

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have meant that organizations need to rethink the way they tackle and respond to changes in the
commercial sectors of their business. The quick paced environment has forced many
organizations to look at other methods and ways to cope with this fast paced environment. There
are a number of different challenges that are being faced by the modern organizations. Apart
from these challenges the economic instability due to problems in the economical factors
increases the difficulty to uphold the sustainability of the organizations. The milling industries
especially are affected by means of the different types of the factors that includes the likes of
commodity volatility, the ever changing needs of the customer for the different types of the
products, the demand of the customers to get customized products that matches the trends and
their specific choices and many moiré as such (Bazigos De Smet & Gagnon 2015). Apart from
this the challenges offered by the competition have meant to change the way the organization
performs in the market. The management of the business organizations must rethink on the way
they tackle and respond to the changes in the different sectors of the commercial market where
the business operates (Mittal et al. 2017). The market environment of the modern days has
changed its traditional nature and has made itself much faster and fast paced. This fast-paced
change has made the organization to look beyond the normal levels of the market and engage in
different other ways to ensure success for the business market.
A potential solution to the challenges facing companies trying to adopt a more
sustainable culture could be the agile option combined with lean manufacturing methods.
Therefore, the goal of this research is to determine whether Leagile is indeed the most plausible
strategic way forward for companies in the milling industry. One of the most potential solutions
to the different types of the challenges facing the business enterprises is the way to try to adopt a
much more sustainable culture that can be agile enough to implement the lean manufacturing

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methods. The implementation of the lean manufacturing methods in this regards can help the
business organization to be successful and productive in nature. The combination of the agile
option along with the lean manufacturing methods can act as one of the best options for the
company to ensure success and be productive in nature (Bazigos De Smet & Gagnon 2015).
Therefore the goal of the research is to ensure on whether the implementation of lean
manufacturing methods is whether the best possible strategy or the best possible strategic way
forward for the milling industries especially for attaining productivity and sustainability in the
market. Agility is termed as the need for the identification of the transformation activities.
However, there needs to be a strong willingness in order to implement the following and let it
happen. The implementation of a large-scale change is difficult in itself especially where the
culture of the company restricts the transformation accordingly. According to, Mittal et al.
(2017) the presence of the restriction due to the cultures of the company can be a cause of great
hamper for the business organization. The management of the companies must therefore learn to
exist in the competitive market by the application of other successful strategies that may be in
line with the culture of the organization as well as lead the company to a proper and successful
path.
Agility is the result of identifying the need for transformation, and then it must gather the
willingness to implement and let it happen. To change is difficult in it especially where company
cultures does not allow for transformation to happen (Bazigos De Smet & Gagnon 2015). For
future existence companies must learn how to create a quick responsive culture which improves
results. Customer driven market has become the norm recently, posingchallenges to
organizations. They have to respond rapidly, in a way which is sustainable to adapt to what the
market wants and needs. This combined with specifically in the GCC region is the link to the

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major commodity that is produced here: Oil. This combined with the already mentioned
challenges makes it even more difficult for Milling Companies to have the advantage and the
edge over competitors.
We will also look at the differences between Agility and being lean, and can these
methods be combined to ensure that companies do get the edge in a changing economic
environment. So how can we describe an agile company? We describe companies that combine
speed and stability as agile(Bazigos, et al., 2015). This is all good and well so the new word is
Leagile to ensure optimal organization performance. It combines the lean approach with the agile
methodology. Different concepts from different eras which is now combined to tackle todays
challenges. All of this will be of no use if it is not sustainable, so how can this new concept or
relative new way of adapting to challenges can be sustained? Being an organization who wants
to grow and be a good performing company the only way forward is to be able to engage in
becoming greener on all fronts. “Many businesses across different sectors have been able to,
directly and indirectly, derive value as a result of engaging in sustainability-related
activities.”(Acquaye, 2017)
Different stakeholder’s demands that companies are now engaged in green matters that
will be of benefit to them. These demands for green solutions could stem from the Shareholders,
the company employees, the community, the media and the local government. This include the
Shareholders, the company employees, the community, the media and the local government to
mention a few.
“The organizational culture can greatly influence the ability to absorb change. Because
Agile methods introduce a great deal of change, organizations that “have always done it this

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way” may not easily adopt Agile. Organizations whose culture encourages trying new things and
learning from them may find Agile adoption easier.”(Larson & Larson, 2011)
When organizational structures are set in stone and are difficult to change, it stops any
speedy delivery of innovation. Red tape and bureaucracy, the silo affect, company cultures of
fear to change and resistance is other factors that prohibit companies to progress into the agile
environment. “Processes, structures, culture, and even management models must evolve
continuously to enable what we call “Organizational Adaptability”(Rudd, 2006)Smaller fast
moving players in the market place grab share away from the organization which is slow in
implementing the agile culture. Organizations have no choice in adapting an agile learning
culture to act fast and counter losing market share.
“In short, learning organizations epitomize business agility”(Rudd, 2006)
The present study attempts to progress the discussion of how to link lean and green and
extend it towards a sustainable production approach by incorporating not only recent advances in
lean thinking, particularly its embracing of ‘agility’ as a concept, but also the recognition of the
limitations inherent in an eco-efficiency approach. In the process, an attempt will be made to
summarise developments in lean and agile thinking and then extend this to apply it to a model of
potentially more sustainable production of automobiles at lower volumes.(Nieuwenhuis &
Katsifou, 2015)
The new trend in the business market is the formation of customer driven markets. The
presence of different kinds of customer driven markets is one of the most important trends in the
modern markets. According to, Sindhwani and Malhotra (2018) the presence of the customer
driven markets has rather became a norm. This norm generally produces a large number of

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different challenges to the business organizations. The main task of the management of the
business organization is thus to ensure a rapid response in a certain way that is sustainable
enough to adapt to the different needs and the decisions of the business market. The combination
of this particular item with the business organization thus provides a deadly combination
especially in the GCC region in order to produce the main commodity that is produced in these
kinds of business organizations. The main commodity that is now produced here includes Oil.
The combination of these kinds of challenges along with the already mentioned challenges for
the milling companies makes it even more difficult for these organizations to gain a competitive
edge other competitors in the business market.
The following research has also put extra effort in order to give focus on the differences
that exists in between the organizations on being agile and on being lean in nature. The research
has also discussed on whether the combination of the following methods has the ability to
combine together in a business organization in order to ensure that they edge over the other
similar rivals in the business market and create a competitive advantage of their own. As
mentioned earlier, an agile company can be best described as the Company that has the
capability to combine the factors of speed along with that of stability in an effective and perfect
manner. According to, Aydınoğlu et al. (2017) the new word that comes in the forefront as a
result of the combination of these word is termed as Leagile, which thus qualifies Companies
that have the capability to combine both lean manufacturing along with an agile set up to
increase their productivity and enjoy a superior competitive advantage in the business market.
The Leagile organization combines all kind of challenges and is always equipped to face
different types of business challenges that are trendy as well as highly complex in nature.
However, the absence of promoting sustainability by the Leagile strategies will lead to automatic

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discontinuation of such strategies (Mittal et al. 2017). The management of the business
organizations especially the milling industries must need to ensure a great Leagile strategy in
order to ensure success for the business organization.
There has been a steady rise in the demand for green solutions and the organizations has
to extra careful in the modern days to ensure the implementation of the green laws in order to
ensure a green and safe future. According to, Sindhwani and Malhotra (2018) the green laws
must be implemented in a scientific way by involving all the stakeholders, employees, the top
level management (Sindhwani and Malhotra 2018). Apart from the above mentioned parties, the
organization needs to involve the local governments as well as the different sources of local
media to promote a safe and green environment. Thus change must not be limited to only
physical transformation, but must be responsive in nature. Adoption of agile culture can thus be
one of the best possible ways to ensure success and make the business enterprises future ready
(Nieuwenhuis & Katsifou 2015). The following study is aimed at the development of a scientific
highlight into lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing. Though, the main theme of the study
is based on the above said manufacturing process, the study is aimed at the discussion of the
ways to link the green manufacturing processes along with lean and agile manufacturing
processes.
Research Problem
The problem that has been addressed in the following research includes whether the lean
and agile combined with a green manufacturing methodology is sustainable for the future or not.
The increasing addiction of the management of the milling industries and the presence of tough
laws in the industry had made the management of the organizations to apply an overall change to
ensure success for the business enterprises.

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Research Question
Some of the research questions that has been addressed in the literary review part of the
following study are as follows;
1. What are the most volatile challenges that milling industries encounter when striving to
become a Lean and agile organization?
2. How can the physical changes combined with the environmental changes lead to
sustainability in the milling industries?
3. How can Leagile Manufacturing improve the overall productivity of the business
organizations?
Research Aim
The aim of the research is to identify and specify selected inputs that are relevant in the
milling industry in order to gain agility that allows the organization to be lean in nature and on
the other hand supports green manufacturing process and financial stability.
Research Objectives
The objectives of the research are as follows;
1. To determine the most volatile changes that milling industries encounter
2. To determine on how physical changes combined with environmental changes lead to
sustainability in the milling industries
3. To determine on how Leagile Manufacturing improve the overall productivity of the
milling organizations

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Delimitations
The research has been based on one of the most interesting as well as important part of
the business industry. The discussion on lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing can
provide important references and act as the source of quality information for the future
researches.

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References
Aydınoğlu, N., Hatipoğlu, T., Esen, H. and Fığlalı, N., 2017. Application of lean production
techniques in the manufacturing industry. International Journal of Services and Operations
Management, 27(3), pp.324-344.
Bazigos, M., De Smet , A. & Gagnon, C., 2015. Why agility pays. Mckinsey Quarterly, 1(4), p.
28.
Larson, E. & Larson, R., 2011. Seven questions to ask to determine if your organization is agile
ready. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2011—North America, Dallas, TX. Newtown
Square,. North America, Dallas, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.. ()
Mittal, V.K., Sindhwani, R., Kalsariya, V., Salroo, F., Sangwan, K.S. and Singh, P.L., 2017.
Adoption of Integrated Lean-Green-Agile strategies for modern manufacturing systems. Procedia
CIRP, 61, pp.463-468.
Nieuwenhuis, P. and Katsifou, E., 2015. More sustainable automotive production through
understanding decoupling points in leagile manufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 95,
pp.232-241.
Nieuwenhuis, P. and Katsifou, E., 2015. More sustainable automotive production through
understanding decoupling points in leagile manufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production,
Volume 95, pp. 232-241.
Rudd, C., 2006. SolutionsIQ. [Online]
Available at: https://www.solutionsiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Unlocking-Business-

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Agility.pdf
[Accessed 25 11 2018].
Sindhwani, R. and Malhotra, V., 2018. An integrated approach for implementation of agile
manufacturing system in an Indian manufacturing industry. Benchmarking: An International
Journal, 25(4), pp.1106-1120.