Can lean principles be applied to so-called knowledge work? This issue is addressed in the following article: D. R. Staats and D. M. Upton, “Lean Knowledge Work,” Harvard Business Review, October 2011, pp. 101–110 (available at: https://hbr.org/2011/10/lean-knowledge work). After accessing and reading this article, respond to the following set of questions.

Required

1. Define what is meant by the term lean (or lean management). To date, what types of organizations have successfully applied lean? Why have these contexts proven fruitful for the application of lean? What is the role of lean (or lean management) in terms of helping an organization implement its strategy successfully?

2. According to the authors, what is meant by the term knowledge work? Why is it more difficult/challenging to apply lean principles to this work context?

3. Based on their own research, what do the authors claim to be the primary benefits of applying lean principles to knowledge work?

4. Based on their experience with more than 1,800 projects, the authors developed six principles that they say could be used to guide the implementation of lean in regard to knowledge work (such as software and IT-development projects). Provide an overview of each of these principles.

5. Of what relevance is the above discussion to the work of the management accountant?