Closing Case Chapter 4

Angela Burnham
1. What do you think were the underlying reasons for the performance problems that

Virginia Mason Hospital was encountering in the early 2000s?

I think the underlying reasons for the performance problems that Virginia Mason Hospital

was encountering in the early 2000s was inefficiency with the processes that were used to

process patients, refer patients, and hold inventory. Virginia Mason had too many go between

people that were used in the processes for patient treatment and referrals, by cutting out the

middle men they were able to efficiently process and treat patients in a timelier manner and with

higher patient satisfaction. Virginia Mason was also inefficiently holding their inventory

including an overstock of materials that would be mixed in with items that were used daily. By

separating these items from those that were necessary they were able to cut costs and time.

2. Which of the four building blocks of competitive advantage did lean production

techniques help improve at Virginia Mason?

The building block of competitive advantage that lean techniques helped improve at

Virginia Mason would be efficiency and quality as excellence and reliability. By introducing lean

production into Virginia Mason Kaplan managed to bring a more efficient process to the hospital.

Lean production is about using the least amount of resources necessary in order to maximize the

productivity of the company or institution. Kaplan was able to cut costs and time, making the

processes of treating and referring patients more efficient overall to the hospital. Because of

Kaplan’s ability to increase efficiency he increased the overall quality through excellence and
reliability. Having processes that were shorter and provided patients with faster and more

personal care increased the overall satisfaction of the patients.

3. What do you think was the key to the apparently successful implementation of lean

production techniques at Virginia Mason?

I feel the key to the apparently successful implementation of lean production techniques

at Virginia Mason was the inclusion of the staff members of the hospital. By including the

doctors in changing the processes that are used and teaching them lean production techniques

they will be able to recognize other aspects of their jobs that may need to be changed along the

way. I believe the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and

he’ll eat for a lifetime.” The same concept applies here: If the doctors and other employees are

shown the best way to utilize lean production within the hospital they will be able to constantly

recognize any things that may need to be changed along the way.

4. Lean production was developed at a manufacturing firm, Toyota, yet it is being applied

in this case at a hospital. What does that tell you about the nature of the lean production

philosophy for performance improvement?

Lean production being applicable to Virginia Mason Hospital despite the fact that it was

developed in Toyota, a production plant, shows how diverse the technique is. Even though the

techniques were developed within the setting of a production plant, Toyota made sure that there

techniques could be used inter-industrially. This means that though the techniques were

originally designed elsewhere industrial wise they can be used for such industries as hospitals

and even schools.