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01/07/2009 05:11 PM
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Hello -
Given the increasing numbers of federal, state, and local government agencies that are using lean to improve their processes, it could be useful to set up a separate forum/category for discussions about lean implementation in the public sector. (For example, see EPA's Administrative Lean website for information about environmental agencies that have used lean and six sigma methods to improve permitting and other agency processes.)
Cheers,
Jennifer Tice
Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd.
www.ross-assoc.com
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01/08/2009 08:35 AM
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Would love it. Been trying to get people to talk about this for years., since politics seems to creep into the convesation by people with special interests.
My Question is of course then.....
If there are an increasing number of federal, state, and local govt agencies that are using lean, the why does govt debt continue to skyrocket? All these Lean activities have no influence on the bottom line, due to that the fundamental role of govt currently is flawed. Improving individual parts of a flawed system does not make the system work better. People get the false impression that the EPA alone will fix the environment. The EPA is just one part of a large govt beauracracy that has great intentions, but in the end, the rest of the govt actually works against environmental protection thru other govt regulations in other departments that work in contradiction to protecting the environment. Such as subsidies and legal protections for the auto industry, chemical plants, etc., that continue to produce cars,and products that pollute, and hinder the development of new products, due to the enormous regulatory costs, and capital redistribution in the US that hinders the development of new and clean free market solutions.
For example the govt can only transfer wealth (it does not produce anything), so when they bailed out the auto industry/banks they basically took capital from the efficient working companies and transferred that capital to the failing companies. Those billions of dollar now will not be loaned out to effficient companies that can use it properly, so then efficient companies suffer from lack of working capital that can be borrowed from the bank to continue their efficient growth, or develop new products. This is an "unseen" burden or cost of govt activity and in the end a negative result to properly functioning companies and our economy. Sure maybe Ford will develop and new car, but it does not solve the 'moral hazard" of govt intervention. Why are they protected and others not?
Improving Permitting... is the permitting actually necessary? What value does it create? How does it affect the whole economic value stream. Has the environment improved from this activity? These would be my first questions, not how can we make the process quicker, or how can we make socialism inefficiency faster? I currently live in Poland, and I wish you could spend some time here with govt agencies, and you will quickly understand why I dont want the US to continue down this path. In fact Poland is trying to get rid of these activities as well, but once they are in place, very hard to eliminate. Hurts Poland from really developing much faster.
So if we are going to open up such a forum, then I would love to see a Value Stream Map of exactly what it is that govt is actually doing and then a Future State Map, or as I like to say, a "Back" to the Future State Map detailing what the govt is supposed to be doing. I think the Founding Fathers did something similar.
A good understanding of economic principles and theory will also have to be included in the discussion. Since I believe the role of govt is to improve the quality of life of its citizens, in which one part of this qaulity of life principle is based on wealth creation.
The battle between Keynesian and Austrian economic theory is a great start, and its my belief that it is truely the starting point of Lean understanding.
John Podlasek
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01/09/2009 01:46 PM
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Susan Thompson
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I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Podlasek.
I learned about Austrian Economics years (decades, actually) before I learned about Lean, and once I began to understand Lean, it occurred to me that Lean might well be the greatest practical application of Austrian Economics.
Since government (bureaucracy) does not have customers but does have "interest groups" (a customer of an entrepreneur is not under compulsion to deal with that entrepreneur, but try not dealing with a bureaucrat!), there is no meaningful concept of "pull". Farm subsidies, to take an easy target, are lobbied for by the recipients. Non-farmers would probably prefer to spend their money elsewhere, but we'll never know for sure because they are compelled to pay their taxes. Bureaucrats can only follow procedures.
See http://mises.org/freemarket_de...&sortorder=articledate
and http://mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy/section2.asp for more information.
Susan Thompson
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01/16/2009 03:23 PM
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I also agree. As a DoD employee and L6S Program Manager for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Business Transformation Office, I would argue that, it would be "value added" to establish a Government specific forum. Collaboration is the key to organizational and stakeholder success. In addition, we could leverage "lessons learned" from industry. Just my two cents.
Wava Johnson
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01/19/2009 04:27 PM
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You talk, we listen! Based on this thread, as well as input from others in the lean community, we have added a forum category for Government! Thanks for your input and continued participation in the LEI Forums. Here is the new category link: Government
Rachel Regan
LEI Forums Moderator
moderator@lean.org
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02/19/2010 10:06 AM
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Rachel:
Thanks for opening the forum on Government. I'm sending the link to that forum to my state legislator, and will be providing it to others in my precinct and at our county and state political conventions.
Could you please make it accessible to people who don't have an account with you (like my legislators and their staffers)? I don't want to scare off any early adopters, and think this is an area where LEI's reputation and referent authority would have an enormous impact.
v/r;
John Albrecht
john.albrecht@navy.mil
360-396-2065
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