Lean-goeroe Bob Emiliani betoogt in zijn artikel The Equally Important "Respect for People" principle het niet zonder risico's is om het Lean-principe van continu verbeteren (continuous improvement) eenzijdig toe te passen. 'Eenzijdig' wil in dit verband zeggen, los van het principe 'respect voor de mens' (Respect for people). Binnen het Toyota Productie Systeem ('The Toyota Way') gaan deze twee principes juist 'hand in hand'.

Emiliani geeft aan dat de voorkeur van het management voor continu verbeteren begrijpelijk is gezien de wens van het management de efficiency en productiviteit te verhogen. Toch deze eenzijdige focus niet zonder risico's. Emilani beschrijft in zijn artikel de herkomst en ontwikkeling van het Respect for People-principe. Hieronder een aantal fragmenten:

Toyota’s top-level representation of the “Respect for People” principle consists of two parts: “Respect” and “Teamwork,” and is as follows:

• “RESPECT: We respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility and do our best to build mutual trust.
• TEAMWORK: We stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development and maximize individual and team performance.”

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James Womack, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute, recently sent an e-mail note to the Lean community titled “Respect for People”. In it he spoke of this principle in the context of the manager-associate dyad, which is what most people think of when they hear about the “Respect for People” principle. While this is a very important dyad, it is not the only relationship that matters.

The “Respect for People” principle encompasses all key stakeholders: employees, suppliers, customers, investors, and communities. Thus, rather than representing a single dyad, the “Respect for People” principle is a multilateral expression of the need for balanced, mutually respectful relationships, cooperation, and coprosperity with these key stakeholders. So in the context of Lean management, the “Respect for People” principle is anything but trivial to understand.

(...)

Taiichi Ohno, former Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation, said in the Preface of his 1988 book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production:

“The most important objective of the Toyota System has been to increase production efficiency by consistently and thoroughly eliminating waste. This concept and the equally important respect for humanity that has passed down from the venerable Toyoda Sakichi (1867-1930), founder of the company and master of inventions, to his son Toyoda Kiichiro (1894-1952), Toyota Motor Company’s first president and father of the Japanese passenger car, are the foundations of the Toyota production system.”

(...)

Masaaki Imai, founder and chairman of the Kaizen Institute, made significant efforts to reinforce respect for people, cooperation, etc., in his 1987 book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success, and in his popular late-1980s kaizen training seminars.

In 1991 Michael Husar, who was an assembly coordinator at NUMMI, the General Motors-Toyota joint venture in Fremont, California, wrote an internal company paper titled: “Corporate Culture: Toyota’s Secret, Competitive Advantage”. The paper presented in a very concise and efficient way the differences between GM and Toyota corporate culture. It was intended for GM management, who was Husar’s employer at the joint venture, as a way to help promote needed changes in GM’s corporate culture. The paper, based largely on Toyota internal training, contained a section titled: “Respect for the Value of People.” In it, Husar says:

“Toyota believes its growth as a business enterprise comes through the growth of its people. This means to be successful, Toyota must utilize its employees' abilities as effectively as possible, and help each person develop the ability to think and execute the job more effectively Toyota has plants, equipment, and capital resources, but these things do not build cars. Its team members build the cars. Its team members also add value to its products by suggesting ways to improve their work and the production process. Toyota realizes that it is responsible for providing its employees the opportunity to contribute their ideas, as well as their labor.

Toyota also believes that to get the best from its employees, it must respect their competence, and provide them with jobs that use and challenge their abilities. Toyota realizes the value of its people, and wants them to think of the company as a place where everyone can learn from one another, and grow as individuals, rather than just as a place to work.”

Another section titled “Mutual Trust Between Employees and Management” says: “Mutual trust means that management and the employees have confidence in one another. Management and their employees have different jobs and different responsibilities in the company. Mutual trust comes from the belief that everyone is, however, striving for the same purpose...
Toyota realizes this kind of mutual trust is not a given condition between management and the employees. It must be earned through many mutual efforts that create confidence. Toyota values and tries to maintain mutual trust, because it is the foundation for the growth of the company and its employees.”


Bron: The Equally Important "Respect for People" principle, in Real Lean: the Keys to sustaining lean management (2008), Bob Emiliani