Uncomfortable truths - teamworking under lean in the UK

CARTER, Bob, DANFORD, Andrew, HOWCROFT, Debra, RICHARDSON, Helen, SMITH, Andrew and TAYLOR, Phil (2016). Uncomfortable truths - teamworking under lean in the UK. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28 (3), 449-467.

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Abstract

A recent contribution in this journal – Procter, S. and Radnor, Z. (2014) ‘Teamworking under Lean in UK public services: lean teams and team targets in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25:21, 2978–2995 – provides an account of teamworking in the UK Civil Service, specifically Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), focused on the relationship between recently implemented lean work organisation and teams and teamworking. Procter and Radnor claim in this work that it delivers a ‘more nuanced’ analysis of lean in this government department and, it follows, of the lean phenomenon more generally. Our riposte critiques their article on several grounds. It suffers from problems of logic and construction, conceptual confusion and definitional imprecision. Methodological difficulties and inconsistent evidence contribute additionally to analytical weakness. Included in our response are empirical findings on teamworking at HMRC that challenge Procter and Radnor’s evidential basis and further reveal the shortcomings of their interpretation.

Item Type:	Article
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018:	Sheffield Business School Research Institute > People, Work and Organisation
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1111251
Page Range:	449-467
Depositing User:	Helen Richardson
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2016 14:54
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2021 00:50
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11738

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