Adaptation of the Lean Culture to Collaborative Work

Abstract

In a global world characterized by competitiveness and speed, agility of change represents a key element of success in any organization. Versatility and the capacity of re-adaptation in changing contexts require an acceptance of the reality of the moment and an optimization of the processes within organizations. Given this situation, within the context of Higher Education we asked ourselves if education is adapted to changes, and if students were prepared for market reality. In previous researches we identified that specifically the students of the Degree in Architectural Technology face mixed feelings at the end of their academic stage, specifically during the development of their Final Grade Work. Instead of facing this last phase of the degree with attitude for learning, entrepreneurship, ambition and satisfaction for what has been achieved –that is, attitudes and characteristics of success in the 21st century- we have noticed that a high percentage of this students shows individualism, demotivation, insecurity and fear. According to this situation, as a continuation of previous work this work focuses on the application of business tools that foster the development of attitudes and aptitudes in students of Architectural Technology during the development of the Final Grade Work, bringing them closer to the competitive reality of the current global market. The work is based on the application of tools for improving performance that come from the business sector under the lean manufacturing paradigm applied to the project management and people management and the measurement of these performance indicators. This implementation will allow students to obtain better attitudes and aptitudes in order to achieve the proposed objectives. This application is validated through a case study of a final grade study group. This case study consists of the analysis of behaviours and the evolution of the projects and goals of all the participants during a specific period of time and its variation after the implementation of improvement tools for the project and team management. This evolution is analysed through specific key performance indicators.