There are a set of determinants that must be taken into account when applying continuous improvement, and these determinants are represented by the factors for the success of continuous improvement and its obstacles. Continuous improvement is an ongoing process that aims to achieve permanent excellence in performance, and here the participation of employees in all steps of the continuous improvement process is one of the most important factors for its success [i]. The main factors for the success of continuous improvement are: availability of resources, commitment and support from management, employee participation in identifying tasks that need improvement, the presence of clear and realistic goals for improvement, the presence of a responsible or leader for continuous improvement [ii], supportive leadership, a culture of participation, organizational culture: the presence of shared goals and values that create the appropriate environment for the application of total quality management, and in order for continuous improvement to succeed, it is necessary to shift from informal decision-making structures to formal structures that lead to professionalism in work, and update training programs in line with the values and culture of the organization, which leads to the establishment of supportive structures and a strategic plan to ensure the smooth implementation of continuous improvement [iii].
As for the obstacles to continuous improvement, previous studies have indicated a large number of obstacles, and the most important of these obstacles can be identified through the following:
Table (1): Obstacles to continuous improvement
| Study Name | Obstacles |
| *Singh and Singh, (2013: 84) | Poor planning, poor management commitment, employee resistance, poor training, lack of acceptance of teamwork, use of inappropriate programs, failure to change organizational philosophy, lack of resources, lack of effective quality management measures, insufficient knowledge or understanding of continuous improvement, inability to change organizational culture, lack of training and continuing education, inability to build a learning organization that supports continuous improvement, incomplete organizational structure, isolated individuals and departments, inappropriate reward system, inappropriate measurement techniques, short-term vision, lack of customer focus, inappropriate use of empowerment and teams, lack of a strategic plan for change, poor internal communication, lack of employee confidence in senior management, viewing the quality program as a quick fix, focus on short-term financial goals, policy problems, lack of time allocated for improvement contributions, poor leadership. |
| *McLean et al, (2015: 6:15) | Motives and expectations: Before starting to implement continuous improvement, there must be serious thought and evaluation of the motives for implementing the contributions and their expected results. Starting to implement continuous improvement contributions for the wrong reasons will often lead to failure/ Organizational culture: The lack of the appropriate environment and culture to support continuous improvement leads to the failure of continuous improvement contributions/ Administrative leadership: The absence of commitment and support from the administrative leadership in the organization often leads to the failure of continuous improvement contributions/ Training: A certain level of training must be provided before and during the implementation of continuous improvement contributions, otherwise these contributions will fail/ Project management: Choosing the wrong project and the wrong plan for implementation, as well as weak resources needed for the project/ Low employee participation/ Weak feedback. |
| Sanchez et al, (2019: 5-6) | Lack of time, lack of knowledge about continuous improvement, lack of experience with continuous improvement, inappropriate metrics, weak management commitment, weak employee involvement, lack of monitoring of proposed improvements, lack of resources, employee resistance to change, management resistance to change, low project profitability, weak integration between continuous improvement goals and the organization’s competitive strategy. |
| Galeanco et al, (2020: 208) | Poor alignment between the organization’s strategic goals and continuous improvement goals, poor team motivation, resistance to change. |
| *Tavana et al, (2021: 120-121) | Weak management commitment to continuous improvement activities, limited management support for continuous improvement activities, limited management participation in continuous improvement activities, scarcity of a specific strategy in the field of continuous improvement, limited organizational culture and environment that supports continuous improvement, low employee motivation in the organization, low employee participation in continuous improvement activities, lack of knowledge in implementing continuous improvement, weak culture of knowledge captured by employees, weak culture of knowledge sharing across employees, weak capabilities and skills of teams in solving problems when implementing continuous improvement, lack of cooperation and participation of teams in continuous improvement activities, limited work teams, lack of coverage of all contributions related to continuous improvement, lack of a user-friendly system in the continuous improvement methodology, weak employee reward system, limited definition of roles and responsibilities for each person in the team during the implementation of continuous improvement, weak communication system in the organization. |
| *Jevanesan et al, (2021: 437-438) | Resistance to change either due to social factors or due to fear of change and viewing the contributions of change as a threat, cultural factors such as lack of formal structures and processes, heavy reliance on experience as a substitute for facts and focus on productivity at the expense of the organization’s founding social values, diversity of clients, weak training programs. |
| *: Literature Review Study | |
References
The primary source of the article is: Al-Farhan, Mohannad. (2022). The role of continuous improvement technique on organizational learning process: An applied study on the electrical appliances manufacturing sector. Master’s thesis, Faculty of Commerce – Menoufia University. / The thesis can be obtained by clicking here.
[i] Khalil, A. and Hamid, S. (2021). OPCIT, p1497.
[ii] Galeanco, L. et al. (2020). Key Lessons to Sustain Continuous Improvement: A Case Study of Four Companies. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 13(1), p208.
[iii] Jevanesan, T. et al. (2021). Applications of Continuous Improvement Methodologies in the Voluntary Sector: A Systematic Literature Review. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 32(3-4), p438.
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Read the full series of Continuous Improvement:
1-Continuous Improvement: Introduction.
2-Continuous Improvement Concept.
3-Determinants of Continuous Improvement. (This Article)
4-The Benefits of Continuous Improvement.
5-Continuous Improvement Tools & Techniques.
مدونة فرحان 