Lean Higher Education: A Model Based On Knowledge Management Experts From The Ministry Of Science, Research And Technology Headquarters

Background/Objectives: Over the past few decades, lean thinking has emerged as a method for optimizing and continuously improving organizations, ensuring their sustainable development when successfully implemented. While rooted in Taiichi Ohno’s lean philosophy within Toyota’s automotive industry, lean principles are now gaining traction in educational institutions and universities as a strategy for continuous improvement. Universities and higher education centers, facing shifts from traditional paradigms, grapple with numerous challenges, including: inconsistent or delayed implementation of appropriate academic actions, evolving stakeholder needs and expectations (and a corresponding lack of responsiveness), industry demands and declining output quality, flawed understanding of university processes, technological advancements, changing university processes over time, rising costs of university outputs, insufficient government funding, and persistent pressure from society, employers, students, and other stakeholders (Cudney et al., 2020; Cox et al., 2020). Consequently, universities require staff familiar with lean approaches (Bumjaid et al., 2019) who can transform challenges into opportunities through continuous process improvement and the pursuit of excellence (Sfakianaki et al., 2019).Given the advantages of lean thinking in higher education, its adoption in universities is crucial. A key initial step is developing a lean higher education model and assessing its alignment with the core dimensions of the university as a learning and knowledge-driven organization (Balzer, 2020). While characteristics and components of a lean model have been identified in some universities, this model has not been designed and developed from the perspective of experts in the central headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. This ministry is responsible for policymaking, planning, oversight, and evaluation of university affairs and should provide the necessary platform for universities to become “lean.” Understanding the perspectives of managers and experts at the Ministry headquarters is therefore very important and influential. By accessing a model from the perspective of these headquarters experts, it can be compared with past studies conducted “in the field” (at universities), and similarities and differences can be identified from the viewpoint of headquarters and field personnel. It’s also important to recognize that becoming lean in organizations, especially in universities as educational and research institutions, requires organizational changes, including changes in structures and work processes, perspectives, culture, the style of leadership support, and, ultimately, the development of information and communication technology. Of course, these changes should be focused on a continuous improvement approach (NaranjiSani et al., 2017). Lean thinking, as an operational and improvement-oriented approach, utilizes critical thinking to provide the basis for eliminating waste and enhancing value in educational systems through in-depth analysis, identifying the root causes of problems, and continuously evaluating processes. A literature review revealed limited research on developing lean higher education models in Iran. Therefore, given the importance of the lean approach and the numerous benefits of implementing this method in higher education, this research aims to answer the question: What is the lean higher education model, and what is the prioritization of lean higher education dimensions from the perspective of experts in the central headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology?
Research Methods: This research aims to present a model for lean higher education from the perspective of experts in the central headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. To achieve this goal, detailed qualitative data is required. Therefore, a qualitative approach was chosen for the study. This study also falls under the category of exploratory-analytical methods. The statistical population of this research includes all experts in the headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology who have educational backgrounds related to education, especially higher education, and also have executive and managerial experience in the headquarters of the Ministry. Purposive sampling was used in this research. Experts were selected for interviews who have experience in teaching and training in the field of lean management, as well as executive and managerial experience in higher education and human resource management at the university and ministry levels. The number of samples in the qualitative phase was determined based on the principles of theoretical saturation. Based on this principle, theoretical data saturation was achieved by conducting interviews with 12 experts in the central and executive areas. In this study, semi-structured interviews consisting of five questions were used to identify the components of lean higher education and develop a suitable model for lean higher education. The analysis of the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews focused on the Strauss-Corbin method, which was performed by establishing a connection based on questioning and continuous comparison. In axial coding, the variety of extracted codes indicates the type of relationships. For example, to compare one category with another, the question might be asked: Is category “A” a consequence of the strategies for category “B”? When the data confirmed the question, the relationship between the two categories was determined and could be converted into a proposition, thus the coding process was formed. After ensuring that no new code could be extracted from the experts’ responses and the coding process led to the repetition of results, the stage of theoretical saturation and coding cessation occurred.
Research Findings: Through the coding process, components related to lean higher education in public universities were identified, and its conceptual model was developed. According to the results of thematic analysis of interviews with key stakeholders, experts, and key experts, the proposed model for the implementation of lean higher education in the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology has been schematically drawn. The findings obtained in the target community showed that five components – structural, managerial, human resources, financial-economic, and infrastructural-technological – are the most important factors of the lean higher education model from the perspective of experts and managers of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. The managerial dimension includes five components: quality monitoring, university-community interaction, independent decision-making, needs-based services, and university management and leadership. The structural dimension includes four components: structural reform of the university, higher education planning and reform of faculty promotion regulations, governance of lean attitude and thinking, and reduced dependence on the government. The human resources dimension includes three components: recruitment, development and empowerment, specialized capabilities, and individual and personality characteristics. The financial-economic dimension includes two components: securing financial resources and strengthening links with industry. Finally, the infrastructural-technological dimension includes two components: infrastructure development and the use of innovative and transformative technologies. To analyze the data obtained from semi-structured interviews, the focus was on the Strauss-Corbin method and the theme analysis technique was used, which was done by creating a connection based on the question design and making continuous comparisons, and NVivo software was used.
Conclusion: The human resources component, with 49 codes, the structural component, with 35 codes, the managerial component, with 24 codes, the infrastructural-technological component, with 19 codes, and finally the financial-economic component, with 12 extracted codes, were the most important and prioritized, respectively. The findings of the structural dimension are consistent with the results of the research of (Ijtihad & et al., 2007) and QureshiKhorasgani, 2016), and clearly show that the inappropriate structure in the higher education system can cause tension and conflict in the organization and prevent the initiative and creativity that is necessary for an academic organization. The findings of the managerial dimension are in line with the results of studies (Emiliani, 2015), which show that components such as the spirit of cooperation with employees and problem-solving skills are key factors in the lean university. Also, the results of research (Hajkhazimeh & et al., 2019; Jafari & et al., 2007; Akbari & et al., 2020) emphasize that the use of participatory management, empowerment and meritocracy is directly consistent with the components of the role model and participatory management. The findings of the human resources dimension are consistent with the results of the research of (Kucheryavenko & et al., 2019; Cano & et al., 2020; Moore & et al., 2007) and show the importance of the budget and financial and economic resources components in the readiness to implement the components of the lean higher education system. Finally, in the infrastructural-technological dimension, the analysis of the findings shows that the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence can have significant effects on the lean transformation of the higher education system. In other words, considering the influence of technology in society and its impact on the structure of infrastructure, the higher education system and its related processes have faced structural changes, alignment with these changes seems necessary in the current situation.
Originality/Value: By presenting the lean higher education model from the perspective of experts from the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, this research provides the necessary platform for localizing international theoretical models in order to implement the principles and approaches of lean higher education in the country's universities, and helps bridge the gap between macro policymaking and operational implementation.