Central Queensland University: SINTEF Lean Implementation Report

This report, prepared for SINTEF Ltd, analyzes leadership styles to facilitate the implementation of lean principles within the organization. It compares and contrasts various leadership approaches, including transformational, transactional, servant, interactional, laissez-faire, and charismatic styles, evaluating their suitability for the project. The report identifies transformational leadership as the preferred style, emphasizing its ability to manage complexities and drive employee engagement. It outlines the characteristics of valuable team members, such as strong communication, problem-solving skills, and an understanding of lean principles. The report also suggests tools and techniques to facilitate lean business operations. The report concludes by underscoring the importance of disciplined implementation for project success.

0SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
SINTEF’s lean implementation initiative
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The main objective of the paper is to help the management team of SINTEF to build a team for
the enactment of the lean principles in SINTEF organization. The wide range of leadership styles
which can be used in the enactment process of the SINTEF will be discussed in this report. The
preferred leadership style for SINTEF will also be provided in this report. The characteristics to
become a valuable project member of the new team will be discussed in the paper briefly. The
tools and techniques which can be used to facilitate lean business operations will also be
presented in this paper with a list of assumptions and justification behind choosing the tools.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................0
2.0 Compare and distinguish various leadership styles...................................................................1
3.0 Preferred leadership style..........................................................................................................3
4.0 Characteristics to become a valuable team member of “The A Team.......................................4
5.0 Tools and techniques to facilitate lean business operations......................................................5
6.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................8
Reference.......................................................................................................................................10

SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
1.0 Introduction
The notable determination of the paper is to help the senior management team of SINTEF
Ltd to identify a team for the enactment of the lean principles in the business environment of this
corporate establishment from the perspective of a project management consultant (Zhou, 2016).
The team which will be helping in the enactment process of the lean principles have 3-4 project
members and led by a project manager and the name of this team will be “THE A TEAM”.
2.0 Compare and distinguish various leadership styles
The different categories of leadership styles which can be adopted by the project manager
of “The A Team” in SINTEF are discussed in an organized manner in the below table.
Leadership styles Explanation
Transformational leaders The transformational leaders are very much useful to encourage each
of the project team members, any kinds of change can be done in a
professional manner using the transformational leaders (Bhutta et al.,
2017). The emotional intelligence of the transformational leaders are
very much important in SINTEF, each of the project team members
of “The A Team” can be significantly benefited of the project
managers uses the transformational leaders. Willingness, Courage
and confidence are the prime characteristic features of the
transformational leaders which can be effectively used in the business
environment of SINTEF (AlManei, Salonitis & Xu, 2017). The other
essential characteristic features of the transformational leaders are
adaptability and self-management which can be used by the project
manager of the “The A Team” of SINTEF. The main drawback of
this leadership style is employee burnout and the assumption of
motivation.
Transactional leadership
style
The project team members and the project manager of “The A Team”
in SINTEF can be significantly affected if transactional leadership

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qualities are considered by the project managers of SINTEF
(Chowdary, Ojha, & Alexander, 2018). The performance of the
project team members of “The A Team” can be tracked and
monitored using this leadership style. It can also be said that most of
the supervision activities of the project team members by the project
manager can be done using this leadership style (Yang et al., 2015).
The errors as well as the deviations of “The A Team” can also be
significantly identified if the project manager uses this particular
leadership style. Standardization of the practices in SINTEF is
possible using the transactional leadership style. All the routine as
well as the daily activities of the project team members can also be
tracked by the project manager using this leadership style.
Emphasizing the setting of goal for the project team members of
“The A Team” is possible using the transformational leadership
styles. This leadership style can be increases the productivity of the
project team members as well as the project manager of the “The A
Team”. The efficiency of each of the operations of the project team
members of “The A Team” can also be enhanced if the project
manager uses this leadership style(Babalola, Ibem & Ezema, 2018).
The most significant limitation of this leadership style is the rigidity
issues of the manager who will be considering this leadership style.
Servant leadership style The incorporation of the servant leadership style by the project
manager of the “The A Team” can be very much beneficial for
SINTEF as the productivity as well as the efficiency of the project
team members can be improved using this leadership style. It can be
said that the mind-set of the project team members can be
significantly benefitted using this leadership style. Personal growth of
the project manager as well as the project team members can also be
significantly enhanced using the servant leadership style.

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Commitment of the project team members as well as the project
manager can also be significantly improved using the servant
leadership style. Even though it can be said that this leadership style
have a disadvantage as it cannot be used in any tasks oriented
environment.
Interactional leaders style The incorporation of the interactional leadership style can be very
beneficial for “The A Team” project team members and the project
managers. The value communication of the project team members
can also be significantly improved using this leadership style. The
social interaction which is required from the project team members of
“The A Team” can also be enhanced using the interactional
leadership style. The trust factors which are required between each of
the project team member of “The A Team” can be achieved using the
interactional leadership style. Thus, it can be said that professional
relationship between the project team members and the project
manager is possible using this leadership style. The most significant
disadvantage of this leadership style is the over dependency of the
project managers who considers this leadership style.
Laissez-Faire leaders Most of the project team members of “The A Team” are given huge
freedom in this type of leadership style. Some of the important
business decision are taken by the project manager can be improved
significantly using the Laissez-Faire leadership styles (Coetzee, Van
der Merwe & Van Dyk, 2016). Skill level of the project managers
and the project team members of “The A Team” should be very much
high as compared with the skill level of the other leadership styles if
the entire team follows this leadership style in their business
environment.. All the project team members of “The A Team”
including the project manager must be experienced as well as
trustworthy in order to use this leadership style. At the same time it

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can also be said that this leadership style has few drawbacks as well
in terms of the lack of co-operation between the project manager and
the project team member
Charismatic leadership It is defined as the type of leadership styles where commitment level
of each of the project team members along with the project managers
are very much required (Wagner, Herrmann & Thiede, 2017).
Communications between each of the stakeholders of SINTEF along
with the project team members are very much required in this type of
leadership skill. Confidence, style and flair are the main
characteristics features of the charismatic leaders which can be very
much beneficial for the project team members as well as the project
manager of of “The A Team”. However, there is a limitation of this
leadership style as well in terms of the lack of clarity and vision.
Table 1: Comparison of different leadership styles
(Source: Created by the author)
3.0 Preferred leadership style
Considering the explanation of each of the different categories of leadership styles it can
be said that the transformational leadership style can be very much suitable for the enactment of
the lean principles in SINTEF. The enactment of the lean principles requires complete control in
each of the departments of SINTEF (Jasti & Kodali, 2015). It can be said that the complexities of
the enactment of the lean principles can be managed in an organized as well as structured manner
using the transformational leaders. Most of the ideas and the judgments required to make the
employees of this organization know about the effectiveness of the lean principles can be done
using the transformational leaders as well (D’Andreamatteo et al., 2015). The transformational
leaders may play a significant role to manage each of the business functions of SINTEF.
The power of the transformational leaders can be very much useful as it can help the
project manager to bring the best out of each of the 3-4 project team members (Dora, Kumar &
Gellynck, 2016). The implementation of the lean principles has a very little margin of error, thus

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it can be said that the efficiency and the professionalism of the transformational leaders can be
very much useful for “The A TEAM”. Adverse business conditions such as the unavailability of
resources, financial breakdowns and adverse market conditions such as inflation and recession
can be managed in an organized manner using the transformational leaders. (Vashi et al., 2018).
The discipline and order required for the application of the Agile can be given only by the
transformational (Jasti & Kodali, 2016). The difficulties faced by the project team members can
also be solved purposefully using the transformational leaders.
4.0 Characteristics to become a valuable team member of “The A Team
Each of the 3-4 project team members must understand the advantages as well as the
limitations of both the lean principles as well as the Agile. Each and every project team members
should be critically evaluating the theoretical along with the practical implementation of the lean
principles (Lamm et al., 2015). The difficulties which can come up during the enactment
procedure of the lean principles have to be understood by the project team members in the first
place (Tortorella & Fettermann, 2018). The concept of lean principles and the effectiveness of
the lean principles must be understood in the first place by the project team members (Sommer &
Blumenthal, 2019). There should not be any communication gap between each of the 3-4 project
team members as well as with the project managers, thus good communication skills are very
much desired to be a valuable member of “THE A TEAM”.
It must be said that each of the team members must be having quick decision making
skills so that the project team members can guide the project manager if necessary. Problem
solving skills can be the other desired quality which is required from the project managers
(Moeuf et al., 2016). Each of the team members must understand the role of the management
team of SINTEF and abilities of the project manager in a detailed manner. Waste elimination
skills are also expected from each of the project team members of “THE A TEAM” (Sanders,
Elangeswaran & Wulfsberg, 2016).
The other essential characteristics of team members in an agile environment are discussed below:
 The approach if every project team member must be people centred.

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 Ideas and concepts of the project team members must be given to the project manager of
SINTEF so that the productivity of the project is maintained.
 Feedback of the project team members can also be very much beneficial for the
successful completion of the project.
 Each of the project team members must be aware of the activities of the other team
members and the activity of the project manager so that the project is completed on time.
 The concept of knowledge sharing must be there among each of the project team
members of “THE A TEAM”.
 Collective effort from both the project manager as well as the project team members is
very much required so that the deliverables of the project can be maintained.
 Most of the plan of action required in this project must be understood by each project
team members.
 Increased receptiveness is the other desired quality of the project team members.
 Holistic approached must be there within each of the team members of this project.
 Maintaining a workplace culture is also very much desired to be a valuable team member
of the “THE A TEAM”.
5.0 Tools and techniques to facilitate lean business operations
There are different categories of tools and techniques which are required to facilitate each
of the leans business operations such as the Kanban, Value streaming mapping, PDCA Cycle, 5
why technique, Kanban technique, Gemba Walks and A3 report (Roy et al., 2018). Detailed
description of each of the tools which can facilitate the lean business operations are presented in
the following table.
Tools Description
The 5 Whys The weakness or the complexity of the enactment of the lean principles can
be addressed using the 5 Why questions in “THE A TEAM” (Mrugalska &
Wyrwicka, 2017). The productivity of the project team members can also
be understood by the project managers as well as the top level management
team of SINTEF using this tool.

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Quality Management
concepts
The principles of Quality management can be very much beneficial for
“THE A TEAM” to understand the service provided by SINTEF. All the
process approach can be monitored using the principles of quality
management (Netland & Ferdows, 2016). The leadership style of the
project manager and its effectiveness can also be determined using the
principles of quality management.
7 Quality control tools Quality management tools such as the check sheet, Pareto chart,
stratification chart, scatter diagram, histogram, control chart and the cause
and effect diagram can be very much useful in SINTEF as it can measure
the quality of service provided to the consumers. Most of the complexities
and the uncertainty of the lean business operations can be identified and
addressed using these quality management tools.
Kaizen events The lean business operations of SINTEF can also be improved using the
Kaizen event. The delivery performance of SINTEF can also be measured
using the Kaizen events. The inventories of SIBTEF can also be
significantly reduced using the Kaizen events. The bottleneck issues of the
lean business operations can also be reduced using SINTEF. The
improvement of the quality of service can also be improved using the
Kaizen events.
5S The concept of sorting, setting, sweeping, standardizing and the Sustaining
can be very much beneficial for SINTEF to enhance their efficiency of
services. Optimization of the business lean function of SINTEF is possible
using the 5S tool as well.
Critical Path Method The CPM can be very much useful in SINTEF as it can help the project
manager to plan each of the activities of the lean business functions.
Precedence diagramming
method
This visual representation technique can be very much useful for the
project team members of the “THE A TEAM” to schedule each of the
activities as per the deadlines set by the project managers.
RACI Matrix Each of the stakeholders of SINTEF starting from the management team,

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project manager and the team members of “THE A TEAM” can understand
their roles and responsible using this matrix. The co-ordination and the
communication issues of SINTEF can be significantly minimized using the
RACI matrix.
Estimation Techniques
like three point estimate,
bottom up estimate and
parametric estimate
The estimated valuation of the project can be identified using the
estimation techniques such as the three point estimation technique.
“THE A TEAM” can use the bottom up estimation technique to control the
detailed cost and time required in this project. The project manager can use
the parametric estimate to manage the variables of SINTEF. Each of the
activity of the project team members can be managed using the estimation
techniques.
Table 2: Tools/ technique to facilitate business operations of SINTEF
(Source: Made by the author)
Implementation of the tools
All these tools should be implemented in a professional manner as it must be having any
effect on the business performance of the stakeholder. Quality assessment tool must be
considered during the enactment of the tools in SINTEF. These tools should be incorporated in
such a manner so that it creates new business opportunities for this organization. The employees
working in SINTEF should be engaged in this project if possible; as it might help them to
understand the implications of the lean principles. Quality control tools such as the flowchart,
control chart and scatter diagrams can be very much significant to measure the effectiveness of
the leans principles. The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders must not be altered during
the enactment procedure of the lean principles. The enactment of the lean principles must not be
having any undesirable impact on the technologies which are used in the working environment of
SINTEF. Efficiency of the lean principles must also be checked in the first place before the
implementation of these tools.
Assumptions due to the facilitate the choice of tools and techniques

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Assumptions Explanation
The 5 Whys The usability of the enactment of lean principles in SINTEF
considering each of the business parameters can be monitored and
evaluated by the “THE A TEAM” using this tool.
Kanban This scheduling system can be used by the “THE A TEAM” to
schedule each of the activities of the enactment of the lean principles in
SINTEF.
Estimation Techniques The implementation of the estimation techniques must be involving
both the project team member and project manager.
RACI Matrix The chances of project success is improves significantly if RACI
matric is successfully identified.
Precedence diagramming
method
The project planning of “THE A TEAM” can also be improved using
this precedence diagramming method.
Critical Path Method This algorithm based analysis can be very much beneficial for SINTEF
to understand the uncertainties of business leans functions.
5S Waste elimination is one of the key assumptions of this tool.
Quality Management
concepts
Quality policy is the other significant policy of this quality enhancing
tool.
7 Quality control tools Most of the major problems of “THE A TEAM” can be minimised
using these 7 QC tools
Kaizen events Additional project team members may be required for implementing
the Kaizen events.
Table 3: Assumptions due to the choice of tools
(Source: Made by the author)
6.0 Conclusion
This report can be very much beneficial for the senior management team of SINTEF to
identify a team for the enactment of the lean principles in the business environment of SINTEF
Ltd. The report also provided an in-depth discussion of different categories of leadership styles

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which can be used for the incorporation of the lean principles in SINTEF. Based on the detailed
description of the different categories of leadership styles, it can be said that the autocratic
leadership style is very much suited for the enactment of the lean principles in SINTEF. The
desired capabilities of the project team members can also be identified from the paper in terms of
the commitment level, clear concept of lean and agile, excellent communication skills, quick
decision making capabilities, wastes elimination skills and problem solving skills. The tools and
technique which can be used to facilitate lean business operations such as the Kaizen events, 7
quality control tool, 5S, and CPM can also be identified from the paper. The implementation
procedure of the tools can also be identified from this report. The report concludes with a list of
assumptions stated the reasons behind choosing each of the tools.

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