Factors to Consider in Selecting an Organisational Improvement Initiative: Survey Results

¹ Industrial and Systems Engineering Focus Group, Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
² Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University - Technical Institute of Al-Mussaib, 54003, Kufa, Iraq
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Diploma Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: mmusli@uthm.edu.my

Abstract

Organisations should select the appropriate improvement initiative that will fit with the context of organisation and provide value to the organisation. This paper presents 18 factors to be considered when selecting an organisational improvement initiative. Organisational improvement initiatives are approaches, management systems, tools and/or techniques that can be used for managing and improving organisations, such as Lean, ISO9001, Six Sigma and Improvement Team. A survey was conducted to identify the level of importance of these 18 factors as criteria for selecting an improvement initiative. Purposive sampling was used for this survey involving practitioners, managers, engineers, executives, consultants and/or academicians, who have been involved in the selection and/or implementation of organisational improvement initiatives in Malaysia. Two factors were rated as ‘very high importance’, which involve: (1) The ability to gain top management commitment and support to introduce and implement the initiative successfully, and (2) The initiative is aligned to the vision, mission and/or purpose of the organisation. All these factors can be adopted by the organisations as decision criteria to assist in the selection of the most appropriate improvement initiative based on rational decision making.