Lean Culture in Higher Education:

Towards Continuous Improvement

Justyna Maci■g
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/lean-culture-in-higher-education-towards-continuous-i
mprovement-justyna-maciag/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Continuous Improvement in Higher Education How to Begin

Your Institution s Lean Journey 1st Edition Bonnie
Slykhuis (Author)

https://textbookfull.com/product/continuous-improvement-in-
higher-education-how-to-begin-your-institution-s-lean-
journey-1st-edition-bonnie-slykhuis-author/

Lean Let s Get It Right How to Build a Culture of

Continuous Improvement 1st Edition David Rizzardo
(Author)

https://textbookfull.com/product/lean-let-s-get-it-right-how-to-
build-a-culture-of-continuous-improvement-1st-edition-david-
rizzardo-author/

Leading Continuous Improvement Projects Lessons from

Successful Less Successful and Unsuccessful Continuous
Improvement Case Studies 1st Edition Fernando Gonzalez
Aleu (Author)
https://textbookfull.com/product/leading-continuous-improvement-
projects-lessons-from-successful-less-successful-and-
unsuccessful-continuous-improvement-case-studies-1st-edition-
fernando-gonzalez-aleu-author/

Towards a Philosophy of Caring in Higher Education

Pedagogy and Nuances of Care Yusef Waghid

https://textbookfull.com/product/towards-a-philosophy-of-caring-
in-higher-education-pedagogy-and-nuances-of-care-yusef-waghid/
Mclaughlin and Kaluzny s continuous quality improvement
in health care Fifth Edition. Edition Johnson

https://textbookfull.com/product/mclaughlin-and-kaluzny-s-
continuous-quality-improvement-in-health-care-fifth-edition-
edition-johnson/

Higher Education in the Arab World Building a Culture

of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Adnan Badran

https://textbookfull.com/product/higher-education-in-the-arab-
world-building-a-culture-of-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-
adnan-badran/

Mclaughlin and Kaluzny s Continuous Quality Improvement

in Health Care 5th Edition Julie K. Johnson

https://textbookfull.com/product/mclaughlin-and-kaluzny-s-
continuous-quality-improvement-in-health-care-5th-edition-julie-
k-johnson/

Early equipment management (EEM) : continuous

improvement for projects 1st Edition Dennis Mccarthy

https://textbookfull.com/product/early-equipment-management-eem-
continuous-improvement-for-projects-1st-edition-dennis-mccarthy/

Lean Higher Education Increasing the Value and

Performance of University Processes Second Edition
William K. Balzer (Author)

https://textbookfull.com/product/lean-higher-education-
increasing-the-value-and-performance-of-university-processes-
second-edition-william-k-balzer-author/
Justyna Maciąg

Lean Culture in
Higher Education
Towards Continuous
Improvement
Lean Culture in Higher Education
 Justyna Maciąg

Lean Culture
in Higher Education
Towards Continuous Improvement
Justyna Maciąg
Institute of Public Affairs
Jagiellonian University
Kraków, Poland

ISBN 978-3-030-05685-8 ISBN 978-3-030-05686-5 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05686-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019931938

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse
of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein
or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Ania, Kasia, Asia and my Parents.
 Preface

Observations of the higher education sector indicate that despite numer-

ous attempts at reforms, universities change more slowly than is expected
by their stakeholders. A considerable emphasis is put on changes in the
organisational and technical spheres, while too little attention is paid
to their social dimension, including organisational culture. Changes
are usually implemented on a top-down basis, hence they are met with
misunderstanding and resistance on the part of university employ-
ees. Therefore, more and more higher education institutions make use
of the change philosophy, methods, and tools offered by the concept of
Lean Management. They believe that Lean Management has the poten-
tial for change in higher education organisational culture towards the
continuous improvement of the processes which create value for stake-
holders. A true change in a university management model is possible
only if the new approach becomes a part of a given school’s organisa-
tional culture, culture of everyday work manifesting itself in employees’
proper behaviours and attitudes. Thus questions are posed as to whether
the implementation of the Lean Management concept changes aca-
demic organisational culture, how such changes can be diagnosed and
managed, and also how the meaning and understanding of the Lean

vii
viii   Preface

Management concept changes in the process of its implementation in

higher education institutions.
These questions became an inspiration for me to carry out in-depth
research on Lean Culture in higher education institutions. The objective
of this book is to present the results of this research in the form of an
original Lean Culture model and a tool based on this model and used
to examine Lean Culture maturity in higher education institutions. It is
difficult to assess changes taking place in organisational culture. Such an
assessment requires going beyond the traditional functionalist research
perspective and adopting a new research approach based on the inter-
pretative-symbolic paradigm. This makes it possible to broaden research
on Lean Culture with the humanistic perspective. Man becomes a point
of interest, and Lean Culture is created in the networks of various rela-
tions and meanings, in people’s interpretations.
The book is the effect of many years of research, and particularly a
research project carried out in twenty-three higher education institu-
tions in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, and
Poland. In the book, I discuss the external and internal conditions for
implementing process-based management concepts in higher education
institutions, present the Lean University concept, define a theoretical
framework for research on Lean Culture, present a Lean Culture model,
characterise in detail the dimensions of Lean Culture, propose a new
research tool for assessing Lean Culture maturity, as well as a programme
for building a mature Lean Culture in higher education institutions. The
book allows a better understanding of what Lean Management contrib-
utes to university management models in their organisational, technical,
and cultural dimensions; which areas are compatible and where con-
tradictions may appear between the Lean Management principles and
higher university management models (collegial, bureaucratic, enter-
prising); what Lean Culture is, how it can be diagnosed and shaped
by means of organisational culture change programmes; how the Lean
Management concept can be enriched by using experiences of higher
education institutions.
The character of the book is both conceptual and applicative. It antic-
ipates the expectations of the institutions which are already in the pro-
cess of implementing Lean Management or are about to make binding
 Preface   ix

decisions in this respect. The book makes it possible to systematise

and supplement the knowledge of the subject; offers concepts, models,
methods, and tools to implement changes in university management
models on the basis of Lean Management and other process-based man-
agement concepts. The book is addressed to the theoreticians and prac-
titioners of managing higher education institutions. The theoretical and
applicative solutions proposed in the book can be also used in public
organisations and service businesses.

Kraków, Poland Justyna Maciąg

 Acknowledgements

Many people have contributed to the writing of this book, inspiring

me to undertake research and supporting me in its performance. First
of all, I would like to thank Professor Grażyna Prawelska-Skrzypek
and Professor Marek Bugdol from Jagiellonian University in Cracow,
Poland. The execution of my research project would have been impos-
sible without the support of the members of the international net-
work LeanHE Hub, in particular Ms. Rachel McAssey from University
of Sheffield, Mr. Stephen Yorkstone and Mr. Brent Hurley from
Edinburgh Napier University, Mr. Mark Robinson from University
of St Andrews, Ms. Marilyn Thompson and Ms. Kimberley Snage
from University of Waterloo, Dr. Tammi Sinha from University of
Winchester, Mr. Svein Are Tjeldnes from Arctic University of Norway,
Ms. José Franken from University of Twente, and Mr. Vincent Wiegel
from HAN University of Applied Sciences. Furthermore, I want to
thank the Rectors of Polish higher education institutions for allowing
me to conduct my research in their respective, particularly, Jagiellonian
University in Cracow, Medical University of Łódź, Wrocław University
of Science and Technology, Wrocław University of Environmental
and Life Sciences, and University of Wrocław. My special thanks go

xi
xii   Acknowledgements

to all those people who agreed to share with me their knowledge and
experience during the conducted interviews. An important contri-
bution to the development of the research tool presented in the book
was expert opinions; for these, I would like to thank Dr. William K.
Balzer from Bowling Green State University, Professor Bob Emiliani
from Connecticut State University, Professor Grażyna Prawelska-
Skrzypek, Professor Marek Bugdol, Professor Łukasz Sułkowski from
Jagiellonian University in Cracow, as well as Dr. Iwona Burka and Ms.
Rachel McAssey. The execution of the research project and the prepa-
ration of the book for publication would have been impossible with-
out financial support from the National Science Centre provided under
the Miniature I programme (Decision No. 2017/01/X/HS/00619)
and from the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Jagiellonian
University in Cracow.

December 2018 Justyna Maciąg

 Contents

1 Research on Lean Culture in Higher

Education—A Theoretical Framework 1

2 Lean Management as a Concept of Management

in Higher Education 27

3 Lean Culture in Higher Education—A Model Approach 117

4 Maturity of Lean Culture in Higher

Education—Research, Assessment, and Improvement 247

5 Summary, Conclusions, and Directions of Further

Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education 347

Index 355

xiii
 List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 The stages of the own research on Lean Culture in higher
education institutions (Source The author’s own work) 12
Fig. 2.1 The structure of a process (Source Prepared on the basis
of PN-EN ISO 9001:2015 [2016, p. 7] and Dumas et al.
[2013]) 48
Fig. 2.2 The concept of university management based
on the process approach (Source The author’s own work) 68
Fig. 2.3 The essence of the Lean Management concept
(Source The author’s own work) 86
Fig. 3.1 The external context for the building of the maturity
of Lean Culture in higher education—the results of the
author’s own research (Source The author’s own work) 158
Fig. 3.2 A summary list of the preliminary codes
(Source The author’s own work) 165
Fig. 3.3 Lean Culture in higher education—a cloud of words
associated with the Lean Management (Source The
author’s own work) 166
Fig. 3.4 Lean Culture from the perspective of the interpretative-
symbolic paradigm (Source The author’s own work) 167
Fig. 3.5 Lean Culture from the perspective of the functionalist
paradigm (Source The author’s own work) 169

xv
xvi   List of Figures

Fig. 3.6 Lean Management values in higher education—a cloud

of words associated with the value (Source The author’s
own work) 170
Fig. 3.7 The principles of Lean Management in higher
education—a cloud of words associated with the
Lean Principles (Source The author’s own work) 179
Fig. 3.8 Lean leadership in higher education—a cloud of words
associated with Lean leadership (Source The author’s own
work) 182
Fig. 3.9 People in higher education—a cloud of words associated
with the people/employees (Source The author’s own work) 203
Fig. 3.10 A model of Lean Culture in higher education—a
theoretical framework (Source The author’s own work) 230
Fig. 4.1 The Lean Culture maturity assessment matrix
(Source The author’s own work) 279
Fig. 4.2 Lean Culture maturity assessment based on the adopted
assessment scale (Source The results of the author’s research
conducted within the framework of the project) 280
Fig. 4.3 Maturity assessment in the particular Lean Culture
dimensions by means of a cultural gap
(Source The author’s own work) 281
Fig. 4.4 Lean Culture maturity assessment based on the assessment
scale discovered during the benchmarking process
(Source The results of the author’s research conducted
within the framework of the project) 282
Fig. 4.5 The factors influencing a high assessment of maturity
in the Lean Culture dimensions—multiple regression
analysis results (Source The author’s own work) 294
Fig. 4.6 A theoretical framework for the stages of executing
a programme of cultural change in a higher education
institution (Source The author’s own work) 303
 List of Tables

Table 1.1 Detailed objectives, research questions, theses

and hypotheses, research methodology 6
Table 1.2 The relations among the research objectives 10
Table 1.3 The structure of respondents in the researched higher
education institutions 15
Table 2.1 The number of publications on BPM in higher education
institutions according to EBSCO as at 21 October 2018 46
Table 2.2 A characterisation of processes carried out in higher
education institutions 55
Table 2.3 A business organisation versus a university—the
internal context of implementing management
concepts based on the process approach 65
Table 2.4 The factors of the external and internal contexts of
managing higher education institutions vs. the process
approach 75
Table 2.5 The number of publications on Lean Management
in higher education institutions according to EBSCO
as at 16 October 2018 79
Table 2.6 An analysis of articles on Lean Management in higher
education 80

xvii
xviii   List of Tables

Table 2.7 The Lean Principles in higher education—essence,

application barrier, implementation techniques, and tools 92
Table 2.8 The Lean University—a characterisation 95
Table 3.1 The elements of organisational culture according
to Schein, as developed by Ott 126
Table 3.2 A review of approaches to Lean Culture in higher
education—the results of an analysis of the literature
on the subject 140
Table 4.1 The number of publications on maturity of Lean
Management and Lean Culture in higher education
institutions according to EBSCO as at 1 December 2018 256
Table 4.2 The models of assessing Lean Management and Lean
Culture implementation maturity in organisations—the
results of a systematic analysis of the literature on the
subject 257
Table 4.3 The methods of assessing Lean Culture maturity
in higher education 263
Table 4.4 The factor loading matrix 269
Table 4.5 The values of Cronbach’s alphas 275
Table 4.6 The descriptive statistics of the results
of the questionnaire research on Lean Culture maturity
in higher education 277
Table 4.7 Lean Culture maturity levels—a preliminary
characterisation 284
Table 4.8 Independent (explanatory) variables—a description 290
Table 4.9 Multiple regression analysis 291
Table 4.10 Organisational solutions related to the implementation
of the Lean Management concept in selected higher
education institutions 311
Table 4.11 A characterisation and culture creative dimension
of selected Lean Management methods and tools 314
 1
Research on Lean Culture in Higher
Education—A Theoretical Framework

1.1 Reasons for Undertaking Research on Lean

Culture in Higher Education
The contemporary university is an organisation full of tensions
(Geppert and Hollinshead 2017), “suspended” between tradition and
modernity (Leja 2013; Kwiek 2015; Antonowicz 2015; Sułkowski
2016). Some researchers are of the opinion that in the globalising eco-
nomic, cultural, and social environment, the mission of the university as
an institution dedicated to the education of the nation for the purpose
of strengthening the state is being exhausted (Kwiek 2001). The sever-
ance of the strong connections between knowledge and power causes a
change in the nature of knowledge and the process of its creation, accu-
mulation, and transfer. Knowledge becomes the subject of commercial-
isation, a mainly private product/service provided based on competitive
conditions and in the quasi market conditions. The market viewpoint
manifests itself through the shared conviction of the adequacy of the
concepts of New Public Management (NPM) and the enterprising uni-
versity for the understanding of the nature of the contemporary uni-
versity and the manner of its management. Universities implement

© The Author(s) 2019 1

J. Maciąg, Lean Culture in Higher Education,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05686-5_1
2    
J. Maciąg

process management concepts coming from manufacturing enterprises

(Maciąg 2016). It is assumed that these two concepts will be as effective
in universities as they are in business organisations, despite the funda-
mentally different character of the former. However, it may be problem-
atic to maintain the continuity and permanence of introduced changes.
This may result from the fact that universities often implement pseu-
do-changes in order to appear more attractive to stakeholders (Alvesson
2013). Their lethargy, inertia, and focus on self-recreation are explained
by compulsive isomorphism (Santana et al. 2010), conflicts of values
(Lenartowicz 2016), strong organisational identities (Sułkowski 2016)
or traditional organisational culture (Balzer 2010; Emiliani 2015).
An analysis of the literature on the subject indicates that universities
turn away from process approaches popular at the end of the twentieth
century such as Total Quality Management (TQM) or Business Process
Reengineering (BPR), opting for the concept of Lean Management in
the belief that its implementation would contribute also to changes
in organisational culture. In order to stress the specificity of the Lean
Management concept in higher education researchers use such terms
as Lean Higher Education (Balzer 2010), Educational Lean for Higher
Education (Waterbury 2011), Lean University (Emiliani 2015).
There are more and more publications on Lean Management in higher
education. Conducted research indicates that Lean Management gener-
ates positive effects in the organisational and technical system, but there
are doubts about the permanence of such results (Radnor and Bucci
2011; Balzer 2010; Emiliani 2015; Antony 2014; Hines and Lethbridge
2008; Yorkstone 2016; Francis et al. 2017; Balzer et al. 2016). Resistance
and a lack of continuity of introduced changes are explained by too little
attention being paid to the development of an organisational culture of
Lean Management—a Lean Culture (LC) (Francis et al. 2017).
An analysis of the literature of the subject shows that the issue of cul-
tural conditions for implementing Lean Management in higher edu-
cation has not been discussed sufficiently enough. There is a lack of
definitions, theoretical models, concepts, methodologies of building a
Lean Culture and assessing its maturity as a higher education organisa-
tional culture. Furthermore, in the functionalist paradigm used currently
to assess the effects of cultural changes, which is based on superficial
 1 Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
3

“production-oriented” measures, it is impossible to understand fully the

essence and maturity of the university for the implementation of Lean
Management. The objectivist approach causes researchers to study organ-
isational culture from the outside, similarly to how representatives of
natural sciences do this (Jo Hatch and Schultz 1997). Therefore many
authors propose broadening the research perspective based on the func-
tionalist approach with a humanistic approach based on the interpre-
tative-symbolic paradigm (Jo Hatch and Schultz 1997; Kostera 2003;
Alvesson 2009; Czarniawska 2010; Sułkowski 2012; Zawadzki 2014;
Weick 2016). In such an approach, Lean Culture is defined as an episte-
mological metaphor of an organisation (Kostera 2003). It is considered
at the level of people’s relationships and personal experiences (Sikorski
2009, p. 13). Sharing this opinion, the author decided that adopting this
ontological approach would allow her to acquire a deeper understanding
of the sense of implementing Lean Management in higher education.
The main reasons for writing this book were the author’s need to dis-
cover in what way the concept of Lean Management changed higher
education organisational culture and how its meaning, the way in which
it is understood and developed in the process of its implementation in
higher education institutions. For this purpose, it became necessary to
create a theoretical framework and a model solution ensuring a holis-
tic approach to searching and assessing the maturity of Lean Culture in
higher education. So far no research has been undertaken in which Lean
Culture is regarded as an epistemological metaphor of an organisation
(Kostera 2003).

1.2 Methodological Premises

Before starting to work on the book, the author had conducted a study
of the literature on the subject which had resulted in identifying a cog-
nitive gap which can be summarised in the following question:
What is Lean Culture in higher education institutions, taking into
consideration the interpretation of its notions, values, symbols, mean-
ings, and senses and what are the critical descriptors used to assess its
maturity?
4    
J. Maciąg

The question framed in this way allowed the author to formulate the
paradigmatic premises, the main objectives, the cognitive objective, and
the methodological objective of the book.
The author adopted a number of paradigmatic premises. In the onto-
logical perspective and referring to the functionalist paradigm (Schein
2004; Ott 1989), the author adopted the following assumptions:

• Lean Culture exists as a part of organisational culture of higher

education;
• Lean Culture is a tool to manage organisational behaviour. It
is an organisational mechanism of control, informally approv-
ing or restricting certain models of behaviour depending on their
compliance with the philosophy, values, and principles of Lean
Management.

Keeping in mind restrictions resulting from basing her research on Lean

Culture on the functionalist paradigm only, the author supplemented it
with the relational approach to defining Lean Culture. In the relational
perspective, Lean Culture is analysed at the level of people’s individ-
ual experiences in the organisation. As Sikorski observes, the relational
approach is close to the interpretative-symbolic approach (Sikorski
2009). Adopting such an approach allows the author to broaden the
ontological perspective of the research with the following premise:
• Lean Culture is a construct created by the behaviour and the atti-
tudes of higher education employees.

The adoption of this ontological attitude causes the research on Lean

Culture to be broadened with the humanistic perspective. Man becomes
a point of interest, and Lean Culture is created in the networks of vari-
ous relations and meanings, in people’s interpretations. Such ontological
premises are characteristic of the constructivist approach (Czarniawska
2010). It means that the structure of Lean Culture is created through
people’s behaviour and manifests itself in their attitudes.
The adopted ontological premises consistently translate into the
epistemological premises adopted in the research on Lean Culture.
 1 Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
5

Formulating the epistemological premises, the author adopted the posi-

tion of epistemological pluralism (Sułkowski 2012; Kawalec 2017). The
following premises were adopted:

• Lean Culture is monolithic at the level of a theoretical framework (it

is a harmonised, consistent, and coherent whole).
• Lean Culture allows university employees to understand and give
sense to events and symbols related to the implementation of a Lean
strategy.
• Lean Culture constitutes a basis for ensuring the permanence of con-
tinuous improvement.
• Lean Culture is the result of learning processes in the individual and
organisational dimensions.
• Lean Culture in higher education is unique because its shape is influ-
enced by the organisational culture of a particular university as well
as the external and internal contexts of its functioning.

Taking into consideration the adopted paradigmatic premises, the

author formulated the objectives of the book. The main objective of the
research presented in this book is to define the notion and maturity of
Lean Culture in higher education institutions as well as to determine
its key dimensions and descriptors in the light of the adopted onto-
logical and epistemological premises. The cognitive objective of the
research was formulated as defining the notion of Lean Culture as well
as the dimensions and descriptors of its maturity; the methodological
objective was formulated as developing and testing the author’s origi-
nal model of assessing the maturity of Lean Culture in higher education
(Lean Culture Maturity Model in Higher Education—LCMMHE) and
tool for testing the maturity of Lean Culture (Lean Culture Maturity
Questionnaire—LCMQ), as well as determining conditions for their
implementation.
The conducted analysis of the literature on the subject and the identi-
fied research gaps allowed the author to formulate detailed objectives of
the cognitive character (CO) and the methodological character (MO),
to pose research questions, to propose research theses and hypotheses,
as well as to adopt adequate research methods (Table 1.1). The theses
Table 1.1 Detailed objectives, research questions, theses and hypotheses, research methodology
Research gaps
There is insufficient critical analy-
sis of the external and internal
contexts of the functioning of
higher education institutions
from the point of view of
implementing process-based
management concepts
There is no standard concept of
a Lean University determining
the scope and direction of
required changes in manage-
ment models
Detailed objectives Research questions
CO1: To identify Is a process-based
the factors of the approach, e.g. Lean
internal and external Management, an effec-
contexts of the func- tive method of changing
tioning of the mod- the model of manage-
ern university and ment in the university,
to determine their taking into considera-
influence on the tion the external and
university’s ability internal contexts of its
to implement effec- functioning?
tively process-based
management con-
cepts, including Lean
Management
CO2: To present the Does the specific char-
developed model acter of the processes
concept of a Lean conducted in higher
University education institutions
require a redefinition of
the qualities of a model
organisation implement-
ing Lean Management
or the Lean university
model?
Detailed theses
Changes resulting from the
application of process man-
agement, including Lean
Management, allow a holis-
tic and systemic change in
the university’s management
model, taking into consid-
eration its mission, goals, as
well as external and internal
contexts of functioning
The processes carried out in
higher education institutions
have specific qualities and
division criteria, which
require the adoption
of a new approach to a
model presentation of
the university in the Lean
Management concept
Research methods Book chapters
1. Critical and systematic Chapter 2
6    
analysis of the literature
on the subject
2. Interviews conducted
in higher education
J. Maciąg
institutions in Poland and
abroad
3. Observation
1. Critical and systematic
analysis of the literature
on the subject
2. Interviews conducted
in higher education
institutions in Poland and
abroad
3. Observation
4. The method of induction
at the stage of generalis-
ing the research results
5. The method of deduc-
tion at the stage of verifi-
cation and formulating
conclusions
Research gaps
There is a lack of research on the
external and internal context
for the building of the maturity
of Lean Culture in higher edu-
cation institutions
There is a lack of research and
studies proposing a comprehen-
sive and holistic approach to
Lean Culture in universities as
their organisational culture
(there is a lack of definitions, Culture in higher
research approaches, and sys-
tematics of elements). There is
no model presentation of Lean
Culture in higher education
which would identify its dimen-
sions and the most important
descriptors constructing such
dimensions
Detailed objectives Research questions
CO3: To identify What factors condition the Lean Culture is strongly influ-
the external and effective building of a
internal contexts mature Lean Culture in
for the building of higher education?
a Lean Culture in
higher education
institutions
CO4: To define the Will the application of The application of the
notion of Lean the point of view of the
Culture and to cre- relations definition of
ate a model of the organisational culture
maturity of a Lean based on the interpreta-
tive-symbolic paradigm in
education (Lean research on organisa-
Culture Maturity tional culture in higher
Model in HE) as well education institutions
as to determine reveal anything new that
its dimensions and could not be seen in the
descriptors functionalist approaches
to the definition and
modelling of Lean
Culture?
Detailed theses
enced by factors resulting
from traditions, the models
of organisational culture in
higher education, and the
national culture of a particu-
lar country
relational definition of
organisational culture based
on the interpretative-sym-
bolic paradigm in research
on Lean Culture allows the
identification of new, previ-
ously undefined dimensions
and descriptors of organisa-
tional culture as well as their
prioritisation with respect to
importance
Research methods Book chapters
1. Analysis of the literature Chapter 3
on the subject.
2. Interviews conducted
in higher education
institutions in Poland and
abroad
3. Observation
4. The methods of
analysing the results of
1
qualitative research (the
open coding method)
5. The method of incom-
plete enumerative
induction at the stage of
generalising the results
of interviews and obser-
vations, and creating a
model
(continued)
7
Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
Table 1.1 (continued)
Research gaps
There is a lack of research on
organisational culture with
respect to Lean Management
implementation conducted
from research perspectives
extended beyond the func-
tionalist paradigm to include
the interpretative-symbolic
paradigm
So far there has been no com-
prehensive research aimed
at showing how manufac-
turing concepts such as Lean
Management introduced in
educational or public organisa-
tions change their definitions,
meanings, ways of understand-
ing and implementing
Detailed objectives Research questions
CO5: To identify Will the broadening of the
interdependences, research perspective with
contradictions, the interpretative-sym-
and gaps in higher bolic paradigm make it
education organisa- possible to identify inter-
tional culture and dependences, contradic-
Lean Culture. tions, and gaps in higher
education organisational
culture and Lean Culture
CO6: To determine the Does the Lean
extent to which the Management concept
Lean Management change its definitions,
concept changes meanings, ways of under-
during the course of standing and implement-
its implementation ing in higher education
in higher education institutions?
Detailed theses Research methods Book chapters
The interpretative-symbolic
8    
perspective makes it possible
to capture the fundamental
premises of organisational
culture in higher education
J. Maciąg
and to identify interdepend-
ences, contradictions, and
gaps in Lean Culture
The external and internal
contexts of higher education
institutions, including their
organisational culture, cause
changes in the understand-
ing of the essence of Lean
Management as compared
to business organisations
 Research gaps
A lack of basic definitions of such
notions as Lean Culture maturity, Lean
Culture maturity model, Lean Culture
maturity assessment level
A lack of a concept of and tool for the
assessment of Lean Culture maturity
in higher education
Fragmentary research on Lean Culture
maturity assessment in higher educa-
tion as well as conditions for building
such assessment. A lack of a typology
of Lean Cultures in higher education
institutions
A lack of research on factors diversifying
Lean Culture assessment
Limited and fragmentary research on
the implementation of the Lean
Management concept in higher edu-
cation. A lack of a systematic approach
to Lean Culture maturity improve-
ment. Fragmentary descriptions of
programmes aimed at building Lean
Culture maturity in higher education
Source The author's own work
Detailed objectives Research questions
MO1: To define a concep- Does the Lean Culture Maturity
tual framework for the Questionnaire allow a reliable
examination, assessment, assessment of Lean Culture
and testing of Lean maturity in higher education?
Culture maturity (Lean
Culture Maturity Model
in Higher Education)
and to create a tool for
assessing Lean Culture
maturity (Lean Culture
Maturity Questionnaire
LCMQ) and to determine
the conditions for its
application
MO2: To test the Lean Is Lean Culture maturity assess-
Culture Maturity ment diversified with respect
Questionnaire and to a university management
to determine the model?
factors conditioning Do the results of Lean Culture
Lean Culture maturity maturity assessment indicate
assessment the existence of a separate
subculture created by a univer-
sity’s top management?
Do the results of Lean Culture
maturity assessment indicate
the existence of separate sub-
cultures created by adminis-
tration employees or academic
employees?
Do participation in restructuring
projects and possession
of experience in Lean
Management influence Lean
Culture maturity assessment?
MO3: To develop a plan Taking into consideration the
of a programme for diversified external and inter-
building Lean Culture nal contexts of functioning,
maturity in higher edu- including organisational
cation institutions culture, is it possible to
develop a model programme
of change in higher education
organisational culture?
Detailed hypotheses
The Lean Culture Maturity
Questionnaire allows a correct
and reliable assessment of
Lean Culture maturity in higher
education
Lean Culture maturity assessment is
higher in private universities and
universities implementing quality
management models and other
process management concepts
University management assesses
Lean Culture maturity at a
higher level (there is a separate
subculture)
With respect to maturity assessment
levels, it is possible to distinguish
two subcultures: the subculture of
administration employees and the
subculture of academics
University employees who have
experience in implementing
process management concepts
are more critical in assessing Lean
Culture maturity (an assessment
level will be lower)
It is possible to develop a model
programme of change in organi-
sational culture oriented towards
the building of a Lean University
which will be possible to apply in
every higher education institution
Research methods
1. The method of incomplete Chapter 4
enumerative induction at
the stage of generalising the
results of observations and
formulating statements in a
research questionnaire
2. The expert assessment
method. 3. Questionnaire
research based on the use of
an Internet questionnaire
1
3. The statistical analysis
methods
1. Questionnaire research based
on the use of an Internet
questionnaire
2. The statistical analysis
methods
1. The method of induction at
the stage of generalising the
research results
2. The method of deduction at
the stage of verification and
formulating conclusions
9
Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
Table 1.2 The relations among the research objectives
The detailed cognitive objectives of the research
CO1: To identify the CO2: To present the CO3: To identify CO4: To define the CO5: To identify CO6: To determine
factors of the internal
10    

developed model the external notion of Lean interdependences, the extent to

and external contexts of concept of a Lean and internal Culture and to contradictions, which the Lean
the functioning of the University contexts for create a model of the and gaps in higher Management con-
modern university and to the building of maturity of a Lean education organisa- cept changes during
J. Maciąg

determine their influence a Lean Culture Culture in higher edu- tional culture and the course of its
on the university’s ability in higher cation (Lean Culture Lean Culture implementation in
to implement effectively education Maturity Model in higher education
process-based manage- institutions HE) as well as to
ment concepts, including determine its dimen-
Lean Management sions and descriptors
The main cognitive objective of the research
CO: To define the notion of Lean Culture as well as the dimensions and descriptors of Lean Culture maturity
The main objective of the research
To define the notion and maturity of Lean Culture in higher education institutions as well as to determine the key dimensions and descriptors of
Lean Culture maturity in the light of the adopted ontological and epistemological premises
The main methodological objective of the research
To develop and test the author’s original model of assessing the maturity of Lean Culture in higher education (Lean Culture Maturity Model in
Higher Education—LCMMHE) and tool for testing the maturity of Lean Culture (Lean Culture Maturity Questionnaire—LCMQ), as well as to
determine conditions for their implementation
The detailed methodological objectives of the research
MO1: To define a conceptual framework for the MO2: To test the Lean Culture Maturity MO3: Developing a plan of a programme for
examination, assessment, and testing of Lean Questionnaire and to determine the fac- building Lean Culture maturity in higher
Culture maturity (Lean Culture Maturity Model in tors conditioning Lean Culture maturity education institutions
Higher Education—LCMMHE) and to create a tool assessment
for assessing Lean Culture maturity (Lean Culture
Maturity Questionnaire—LCMQ) and to determine
the conditions for its application
Source The author’s own work
 1 Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
11

were formulated in the chapters in which the cognitive objectives were

achieved (Chapters 2 and 3). The hypotheses were put forward in
Chapter 4, in which the author reached the methodological objectives.
In order to attain the formulated research objectives, the author used
a wide range of research methods and tools applied in social sciences
and discussed in such works as, for example: Babbie (2013), Charmaz
(2009), Creswell (2013), Kvale (2010), Easterby-Smith et al. (2015),
Spencer (2013), Tabachnick and Fidel (2014), and Sobczak (2002).
Table 1.2 presents a diagram of connections among the particular
objectives of the book.
In the next section, the author will present the methodology of her
research.

1.3 The Methodology of the Research

1.3.1 The Subject Matter, Scope, and Stages
of the Research

In preparation for the writing of the book, the author carried out an
extensive research programme consisting of the following three stages:
a study of the literature on the subject, qualitative research, and quanti-
tative research conducted in higher education institutions. Writing the
book, the author relied also on many years of experience gained in con-
nection with her teaching career, training courses, academic, and appli-
cation projects in the area of process-based concepts, including Lean
Management. The picture below presents the chronology of the particu-
lar stages of the research (Fig. 1.1).
The subjective scope of the research included higher education insti-
tutions declaring that they were or were not implementing the Lean
Management concept, and their employees. Interviews and question-
naire research were conducted in the schools which had declared the
implementation of Lean Management. Only questionnaire research
was conducted in the schools which had not declared their interest
in the concept. The objective scope of the research comprised Lean
12    
J. Maciąg

^ƚĂŐĞ/
ĚƵƌĂƚŝŽŶ
:ĂŶ͘ϮϬϭϱͲEŽǀ͘ϮϬϭϳ

^ƚĂŐĞ//
ĚƵƌĂƚŝŽŶ
ĞĐ͘ϮϬϭϳͲƉƌ͘ϮϬϭϴ

^ƚĂŐĞ///
ĚƵƌĂƚŝŽŶ
DĂLJϮϬϭϴͲĞĐ͘ϮϬϭϴ

Fig. 1.1 The stages of the own research on Lean Culture in higher education
institutions (Source The author’s own work)

Culture in higher education. The research was carried out in the years
2015–2018.
The particular stages of the research and the respective adopted
research strategies are described in detail below.

1.3.2 Stage I—Preparation for the Research

At the first stage of the research, on the basis of the conducted analysis
of the literature on the subject, in 2016 the author carried out the pilot
research in 5 higher education institutions in Poland (Maciąg 2016,
2018). The objective of the research was to identify the qualities of
higher education organisational culture in the context of implementing
the concept of Lean Management and to determine the scope of nec-
essary changes. The research was based on the analysis of the literature
on the subject, questionnaire research (the survey questionnaire had
 1 Research on Lean Culture in Higher Education …    
13

been designed using the Lean Culture dimensions described in the book
“The Toyota Way” by Likert [2005]), interviews with employees, and
the author’s own experience. The results of the questionnaire research
confirmed the hypothesis according to which the organisational cultures
of the examined schools constituted a barrier to the implementation of
Lean Management. In consequence of the conducted regression analy-
sis, the author concluded that the variables which strongly influenced
differences in the assessments of Lean Culture included a school type,
a position held in a university (superior, subordinate), and a length of
employment. The research results showed that technical and organisa-
tional changes were taking place in parallel to and were integrated with
social changes only if restructuring projects were implemented using the
bottom-up approach as well as that the application of the functional-
ist paradigm in research on higher education organisational culture
was insufficient because it did not allow to notice all other compo-
nents and areas of Lean Culture. Therefore the author proposed broad-
ening the research perspective with the humanistic approach based on
the interpretative-symbolic paradigm. The results of the performed
pilot research became the reason for undertaking further research on
Lean Culture in higher education institutions. On the basis of these
results and a further study of the literature, the author drew up theo-
retical premises for a model of assessing the maturity of Lean Culture in
higher education. They became a foundation for the preparation of a
categorised interview questionnaire. An interview model is included in
Enclosure 1. At the same time the author was successful in applying for
a research grant. The project entitled The Conditions for the Maturity of
the Lean Management Culture in Higher Education Institutions received
financing from the MINIATURA 1 programme run by the National
Science Centre (the project execution period: 25 September 2017–25
September 2018 No. DEC. 2017/01/X/HS/00619). Additionally, the
author secured for her research the patronage of the Minister of Science
and Higher Education. The project received also support from the inter-
national network LeanHE Hub.
The next stage of the project was qualitative research carried out in
universities implementing the concept of Lean Management.
14    
J. Maciąg

1.3.3 Stage 2—The Strategy of the Qualitative Research

Conducted in Higher Education Institutions

At the second stage of the research, in accordance with the adopted

strategy, the author conducted qualitative research, i.e. in-depth inter-
views, observations, and an analysis of documents in the schools imple-
menting the Lean Management concept. The research comprised the
following seven selected universities implementing the Lean concept:
Napier Edinburgh University, St. Andrews University, University of
Winchester in the United Kingdom, University of Twente, HAN
University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, Arctic University
of Norway in Tromso, Norway, and University of Waterloo in Canada.
Thus the research participants were three universities from the
United Kingdom, 1 university from Norway, 2 universities from the
Netherlands, and 1 university from Canada. The criteria for selecting
universities from outside Poland were membership in LeanHE Hub (the
only worldwide network of higher education institutions implementing
Lean), the adopted implementation approach, as well as the organisa-
tional and legal form. Each of the examined universities follows a dif-
ferent approach to the implementation of Lean Management and has
a different period of experience connected with this concept. Within
the framework of the project, the author undertook five days’ visits
to all universities during which she conducted interviews with people
involved in Lean Management implementation processes, both admin-
istration employees and academics. Her interviewees were consultants,
experts, coaches, lecturers, team members, team leaders, and manage-
ment representatives. Each of the participating institutions appointed a
coordinator, who selected such persons in accordance with the author’s
suggestions. Altogether thirty-six interviews were carried out. The struc-
ture of respondents is presented in Table 1.3.
An analysis of the structure of respondents shows that the decisive
majority of them were administration employees as well as persons
involved in various activities related to Lean Management and contin-
uous improvement in a given university. More than 50% of the struc-
ture included management employees (senior managers, line managers).
The average length of the respondents’ experience in Lean Management
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
"I'm sorry, old friend," he said. "I didn't mean it, you know I didn't."
I picked Cagu up and got him over my shoulder, and all the way to
the far exit it was so quiet in the Palace of Merrymaking that I could
hear my own heavy breathing.

In the bodyguards' quarters I laid Cagu out on the bunk, then faced
the dozen scowling bruisers who stared down at the still body.
"Cagu was a good man," I said. "Now he's dead. He died like an
animal ... for nothing."
Mull glowered at me. "You talk like we was to blame," he said. "Cagu
was my compeer too."
"Whose pal was he a thousand years ago?" I snapped. "What was he
—once? What were you? Vallon wasn't always like this. There was a
time when every man was his own Owner—"
"Look, you ain't of the Brotherhood—" one thug started.
"So that's what you call it? But it's just another name for an old racket.
A big shot sets himself up as dictator—"
"We got our Code," Mull said. "Our job is to stick up for the Owner ...
and that don't mean standing around listening to some japester callin'
names."
"Names, hell," I snapped. "I'm talking rebellion. You boys have all the
muscle and most of the guts in this organization. Why let the boss live
off the fat while you murder each other for the amusement of the
patrons? You had a birthright ... once. But it's up to you to collect it ...
before more of you go the way Cagu did."
There was an angry mutter. Torbu came in, face swollen.
"Hold it, you birds," Torbu said. "What's goin' on?"
"This guy! He's talkin' revolt and treason," somebody said.
"He wants we should pull some rough stuff—on Owner Qohey
hisself."
Torbu came up to me. "You're a stranger around Bar-Ponderone.
Cagu said you was okay. You worked me over pretty good ... and I
got no hard feelin's; that's the breaks. But don't try to start no trouble
here. We got our Code and our Brotherhood. We look out for each
other; that's good enough for us. Owner Qohey ain't no worse than
any other Owner ... and by the Code, we'll stand by him!"
"Listen to me," I said. "I know the history of Vallon: I know what you
were once and what you could be again. All you have to do is take
over the power. I can lead you to the ship I came here in. There are
briefing rods aboard, enough to show you—"
"That's enough," Torbu broke in. He made a cabalistic sign in the air.
"We ain't gettin' mixed up in no tabu ghost-boats or takin' on no
magicians and demons—"
"Hog wash! That tabu routine is just a gag to keep you away from the
cities so you won't discover what you're missing—"
"I don't wanna hafta take you to the Greymen, Drgon," Torbu growled.
"Leave it lay."
"These cities," I ploughed on. "They're standing there, empty, as
perfect as the day they were built. And you live in these flea-bitten
quarters, jammed inside the town walls, so the Greymen and
renegades won't get you."
"You wanna runs things here?" Mull put in. "Go see Qohey."
"Let's all go see Qohey!" I said.
"That's something you'll have to do alone," said Torbu. "You better
move on, Drgon. I ain't turnin' you in; I know how you felt about Cagu
gettin' killed and all—but don't push it too far."
I knew I was licked. They were as stubborn as a team of mules—and
just about as smart.
Torbu motioned; I followed him outside.
"You wanna turn things upside-down, don't you? I know how it is; you
ain't the first guy to get ideas. We can't help you. But we got a legend:
someday the Rthr will come back ... and then the Good Time will
come back too."
"What's the Rthr?" I said.
"Kinda like a big-shot Owner. There ain't no Rthr now. But a long time
ago, back when our first lives started, there was a Rthr that was
Owner of all Vallon, and everybody lived high, and had all their lives
... it's kind of like a hope we got—that's what we're waitin' for through
all our lives."
"Okay," I said. "Dream on, big boy. And while you're treasuring your
rosy dreams you'll get your brains kicked out, like Cagu." I turned
away.
"Listen, Drgon. It's no good buckin' the system: it's too big for one guy
... or even a bunch of guys ... but—"
I looked up. "Yeah?"
"... if you gotta stick your neck out—see Owner Gope." Abruptly Torbu
turned and pushed back through the door.
See Owner Gope, huh? Okay, what did I have to lose?

I stood in the middle of the deep-pile carpet in Gope's suite, trying to

keep my temper hot enough to supply the gall I needed to bust in on
an Owner in the middle of the night. He sat in his ceremonial chair
and stared at me impassively.
"With your help or without it," I said, "I'm going to find the answers."
"Yes, good Drgon," he said, not bellowing for once. "I understand. But
there are matters you don't understand."
"I understand too much," I snapped. "Do you remember Cagu?
Maybe you remember him as a newman, young, handsome, like a
god out of some old legend. You've seen him live his life. Was it a
good life? Did the promise of youth ever get paid off? And what about
yourself? Don't you ever wonder what you might have been ... back in
the Good Time?"
"Who are you?" asked Gope, his eyes fixed on mine. "You speak Old
Vallonian, you rake up the forbidden knowledge, and challenge the
very Powers...." He got to his feet. "I could have you immured, Drgon.
I could hand you to the Greymen, for a fate I shudder to name." He
turned and walked the length of the room restlessly, then turned back
to me and stopped.
"Matters stand ill with this fair world," he said. "Legend tells us that
once men lived as the High Gods on Vallon. There was a mighty
Owner, Rthr of all Vallon. It is whispered that he will come again—"
"Your legends are all true. You can take my word for that! But that
doesn't mean some supernatural sugar daddy is going along and bail
you out. And don't get the idea I think I'm the fabled answer to
prayers. All I mean is that once upon a time Vallon was a good place
to live and it could be again. Your cities and roads and ships are still
here, intact. But nobody knows how to run them and you're all afraid
to try. Who scared you off? What broke down the memory-recording
system? Why can't we all go to Okk-Hamiloth and use the Archives to
give everybody back what he's lost—"
"These are dread words," said Gope.
"There must be somebody behind it. Or there was once. Who is he?"

Gope thought. "There is one man pre-eminent among us: the Great
Owner, Owner of Owners: Ommodurad by name. Where he dwells I
know not. This is a secret possessed only by his intimates."
"What does he look like? How do I get to see him?"
Gope shook his head. "I have seen him but once, closely cowled. He
is a tall man, and silent. 'Tis said—" Gope lowered his voice, "—by his
black arts he possesses all his lives. An aura of dread hangs all about
him—"
"Never mind that jazz," I said. "How can I get close to him?"
"There are those Owners who are his confidants," said Gope, "his
trusted agents. It is through them that we small Owners learn of his
will."
"Can we enlist one of them?"
"Never. They are bound to him by ties of darkness, spells, and
incantations."
"I'm a fast man with a pair of loaded dice myself. It's all done with
mirrors. Let's stick to the point. How can I work into a spot with one of
these big shots?"
"Nothing easier. A driver and piper of such skills as your own can
claim whatever place he chooses."
"How about bodyguarding? Suppose I could take a heavy named
Torbu; would that set me in better with a new Owner?"
"Such is no place for a man of your abilities, good Drgon," Gope
exclaimed. "True, 'tis a place most close to an Owner, but there is
much danger in it. The challenge involves the most bloody hand-to-
hand combat, second only to the rigors of a challenge to an Owner
himself."
"What's that?" I snapped. "Challenge an Owner?"
"Be calm, good Drgon," said Gope, staring at me incredulously. "No
common man with his wits about him will challenge an Owner. He is a
warrior trained in the skills of battle. None less than another such may
hope to prevail."

I smacked my fist into my palm. "I should have thought of this sooner!
The cooks cook for their places, the pipers pipe ... and the best man
wins. It figures that the Owners would use the same system. But
what's the procedure? How do you get your chance to prove who can
own the best?"
"It is a contest with naked steel. It is the measure and glory of an
Owner that he alone stands ready to prove his quality against the
peril of death itself." Gope drew himself up with pride.
"What Owner can I challenge? How do I go about it? What's the
procedure?"
"Give up this course, good Drgon—"
"Where's the nearest buddy of the Big Owner?"
Gope threw up his hands. "Here, at Bar-Ponderone. Owner Qohey.
But—"
"And how do I call his bluff?" I asked.
Gope put a hand on my shoulder. "It is no bluff, good Drgon. It is long
now since last Owner Qohey stood to his blade to protect his place,
but you may be sure he has lost none of his skill. Thus it was he won
his way to Bar-Ponderone, while lesser knights, such as myself,
contented themselves with meaner fiefs."
"I'm not bluffing either, noble Gope," I said, stretching a point. "I was
no harness-maker in the Good Time."
Gope sat down heavily, raised his hands, and let them fall. "If I tell
you not, another will. But I will not soon find another piper of your
worth."

CHAPTER XV
Gaudy hangings of purple cut the light of the sun to a rich gloom in
the enormous, high-vaulted Audience Hall. A rustling murmur was
audible in the room as uneasy courtiers and supplicants fidgeted,
waiting for the appearance of the Owner.
It had been two months since Gope had explained to me how a
formal challenge to an Owner was conducted, and, as he pointed out,
this was the only kind of challenge that would help. If I waylaid the
man and cut him down, even in a fair fight, his bodyguards would
repay the favor before I could establish the claim that I was their
legitimate new boss.
I had spent three hours every day in the armory at Rath-Gallion,
trading buffets with Gope and a couple of the bodyguards. The thirty-
pound slab of edged steel had felt right at home in my hand that first
day—for about a minute. I had the borrowed knowledge to give me all
the technique I needed, but the muscle power for putting the
knowledge into practice was another matter. After five minutes I was
slumped against the wall, gulping air, while Gope whistled his sticker
around my head and talked.
"You laid on like no piper, good Drgon. Yet have you much to learn in
the matter of endurance."
After surviving two months of Gope's training I felt ready for anything.
Gope had warned me that Owner Qohey was a big fellow, but that
didn't bother me. The bigger they came, the bigger the target....
There was a murmur in a different key in the Audience Hall and tall
gilt doors opened at the far side of the room. A couple of liveried
flunkies scampered into view, then a seven-foot man-eater stalked
into the hall, made his way to the dais, turned to face the crowd....
He was enormous: his neck was as thick as my thigh, his features
chipped out of granite, the grey variety. He threw back his brilliant
purple cloak from his shoulders and reached out for the ceremonial
sword one of the flunkies was struggling with; his arm was like an oak
root. He took the sword with its sheath, sat down, and stood it
between his feet, his arms folded on top.

"Who has a grievance?" he spoke. The voice reverberated like the

old Wurlitzer at the Rialto back home.
This was my cue. There he was, just asking for it. All I had to do was
speak up. Owner Qohey would gladly oblige me.
I cleared my throat with a thin squeak, and edged forward, not very
far.
"I have one little item—" I started.
Nobody was listening. Up front a big fellow in a black toga was
pushing through the crowd. Everybody turned to stare at him, there
was a craning of necks. The crowd drew back from the dais leaving
an opening. The man in black stepped into the clear, flung back the
flapping garment from his right arm, and whipped out a long polished
length of razor-edged iron. It was beginning to look like somebody
had beaten me to the punch.
The newcomer stood there in front of Qohey with the naked blade
making all the threat that was needed. Qohey stared at him for a long
moment, then stood, gestured to a flunky. The flunky turned, cleared
his throat.
"The place of Bar-Ponderone has been claimed!" he recited in a shrill
voice. "Let the issue be joined!" He skittered out of the way and
Qohey rose, threw aside his purple cloak and cowl, and stepped
down. I pushed forward to get a better look.
The challenger in black tossed his loose garment aside, stood facing
Qohey in a skin-tight jerkin and hose; heavy moccasins of soft leather
were laced up the calf. He was magnificently muscled but Qohey was
bigger.
Qohey unsheathed his fancy iron and whirled it up overhead, made a
few practice swipes. He handled it like it was a lady's putter. I felt
sorry for the smaller man, who was just standing, watching him. He
really didn't have a chance.
I had got through to the fore rank by now. The challenger turned and I
saw his face. I stopped dead, while fire bells clanged in my head.
The man in black was Foster.
In dead silence Qohey and Foster squared off, touched their sword
points to the floor in some kind of salute ... and Qohey's slicer
whipped up in a vicious cut. Foster leaned aside, just far enough,
then countered with a flick that made Qohey jump back. I let out a
long breath and tried swallowing.
Qohey's blade flashed, cutting at Foster's head. Foster hardly moved.
Almost effortlessly, it seemed, he interposed his heavy weapon
between the attacking steel and himself. Clash, clang! Qohey hacked
and chopped ... and Foster played with him. Then Foster's arm
flashed out and there was blood on Qohey's wrist. A gasp went up
from the crowd. Now Foster took a step forward, struck ... and
faltered! In an instant Qohey was on him and the two men were
locked, chest to chest. For a moment Foster held, then Qohey's
weight told, and Foster reeled back. He tried to bring up the sword,
seemed to struggle, then Qohey lashed out again. Foster twisted,
took the blow awkwardly just above the hand guard, stumbled ... and
fell.
Qohey leaped to him, raised the sword—
I hauled mine half way out of its sheath and pushed forward.
"Let the man be put away from my sight," rumbled Qohey. He lowered
his immense sword, turned, pushed aside a flunky who had bustled
up with a wad of bandages. As he strode from the room a swarm of
bodyguards fanned out between the crowd and Foster. I could see
him clumsily struggling to rise, then I was shoved back, still craning
for a glimpse. There was something wrong here; Foster had acted
like a man suddenly half-paralyzed. Had Qohey doped him in some
way?
The cordon stopped pushing. I tugged at the arm of the bodyguard
beside me. "What's to be the fate of the man?" I asked.
"They're gonna immure him."
"You mean wall him up?"
"Yeah. Just a peep hole to pass chow in every day ... so's he don't
starve, see?"
"How long—?"
"He'll last; don't worry. After the Change, Owner Qohey's got a
newman—"
"Shut up," another bruiser said.

The crowd was slowly thinning. The bodyguards were relaxing,

standing in pairs talking. Two servants moved about where the fight
had taken place, making mystical motions in the air above the floor. I
edged forward, watching them. They seemed to be plucking
imaginary flowers.
I moved even farther forward to take a closer look, then saw a tiny
glint.... A servant hurried across, made gestures. I pushed him aside,
groped ... and my fingers encountered a delicate filament of wire. I
pulled it in, swept up more. The servants had stopped and stood
watching me, muttering. The whole area of the combat was covered
with the invisible wires, looping up in coils two feet high.
No wonder Foster had stumbled, had trouble raising his sword. He
had been netted, encased in a mesh of incredibly fine tough wire ...
and in the dim light even the crowd twenty feet away hadn't seen it. I
put my hand on my sword hilt, chewed my lower lip. I had found
Foster ... but it wouldn't do me—or Vallon—much good. He was on
his way to the dungeons, to be walled up until the next Change. And
it would be three months before I could legally make another try for
Qohey's place.
I would have to spend that time working on my swordplay, and hope
Foster could hold out. Maybe I could sneak a message—
A heavy blow on the back sent me spinning. Four bodyguards moved
to ring me in, clubs in hand. They were strangers to me, but across
the room I saw Torbu looming, looking my way....
"I saw him; he started to pull that fancy sword," said one of the
guards.
"He was asking me questions—"
"Unbuckle it and drop it," another ordered me. "Don't try anything!"
"What's this all about?" I said. "I have a right to wear a Ceremonial
Sword at an Audience—"
"Move in, boys!" The four men stepped toward me, the clubs came
up. I warded off a smashing blow with my left arm, took a blinding
crack across the face, felt myself going down—another blow, and
another: all killing ones....
Then I was aware of being dragged, endlessly, of voices barking
sharp questions, of pain.... After a long time it was dark, and silent,
and I slept.

I groaned and the sound was dead, muffled. I put out a hand and
touched stone on my right. My left elbow touched stone. I made an
instinctive move to sit up and smacked my head against more stone.
My new room was confining. I felt my face ... and winced at the touch.
The bridge of my nose felt different: it was lower than it used to be, in
spite of the swelling. I lay back and traced the pattern of pain. There
was the nose—smashed flat—with secondary aches around the
eyes. They'd be beautiful shiners, if I could see them. Now the left
arm: it was curled close to my side and when I moved it I saw why: it
wasn't broken, but the shoulder wasn't right, and there was a deep
bruise above the elbow. My knees and shin, as far as I could reach,
were caked with dried blood. That figured: I remembered being
dragged.
I tried deep-breathing; my chest seemed to be okay. My hands
worked. My teeth were in place. Maybe I wasn't as sick as I felt.
But where the hell was I? The floor was hard, cold. I needed a big
soft bed and a little soft nurse and a hot meal and a cold drink....
Foster! I cracked my head again and flopped back, groaned some
more. It still sounded pretty dead.
I swallowed, licked my lips, felt a nice split that ran down to the
bristles. I had attended the Audience clean-shaven. Quite a few hours
have passed since then. They had taken Foster away to immure him,
somebody said. Then the guards had tapped me, worked me over—
Immured! I got a third crack on the head. Suddenly it was hard to
breathe. I was walled up, sealed away from the light, buried under the
foundations of the giant towers of Bar-Ponderone. I felt their crushing
weight....

I forced myself to relax, breathe deep. Being immured wasn't the

same as being buried alive—not exactly. This was the method these
latter-day Vallonians had figured out to effectively end a man's life ...
without ending all his lives. They figured to keep me neatly packaged
here until my next Change, thus acquiring another healthy newman
for the kitchen or the stables. They didn't know the only Change that
would happen to me was death.
They'd have to feed me; that meant a hole. I ran my fingers along the
rough stone, found an eight-inch square opening on the left wall, just
under the ceiling. I reached through it, felt nothing but the solidness of
its thick sides. How far along the other open end was I had no way of
determining.
I was feeling dizzy. I lay back and tried to think, but everything
remained fuzzy.

I was awake again. There had been a sound. I moved, and felt
something hit my chest.
I groped for it; it was a small loaf of hard bread. I heard the sound
again and a second object thumped against me.
"Hey!" I yelled, "listen to me! I'll die in here. I'm not like the rest of you;
I won't go through a Change. I'll rot here until I die. Do you hear
me?..."
I listened. The silence was absolute.
"Answer me!" I screamed. "You're making a mistake...!"
I gave up when my throat got raw. I felt for the other item that had
been pushed in to me. It was a water bottle made of tough plastic. I
fumbled the cap off, took a swallow. It wasn't good. I tried the bread; it
was tough, tasteless. I lay and chewed and thought. As a world-saver
I was a bust. I had come a long long way and now I was going to die
in this reeking hole. I had a sudden vision of steaks uneaten, wines
undrunk, girls unhad, and life unlived. And then I had another
thought: if I never had them was it going to be because I hadn't tried?
Abruptly I was planning. I would keep calm and use my head. I
wouldn't wear myself out with screams and struggles. I'd figure the
angles, use everything I had to make the best try I could.
First, to explore the tomb-cell. It hurt to move but that didn't matter. I
felt over the walls, estimating size. My chamber was three feet wide,
two feet high, and seven feet long. The walls were relatively smooth,
except for a few mortar joints. The stones were big: eighteen inches
or so by a couple of feet. I scratched at the mortar; it was rock hard.
I wondered how they'd gotten me in. Some of the stones must be
newly placed ... or else there was a door. I couldn't feel anything as
far as my hands would reach. Maybe at the other end....
I tried to twist around: no go. The people who had built the cage knew
just how to dimension it to keep the occupant oriented the way they
wanted him. He was supposed to just lie quietly and wait for the
bread and water to fall through the hole above his chest.
That was reason enough to change positions. If they wanted me to
stay put I'd at least have the pleasure of defying the rules. And there
just might be a reason why they didn't want me moving around.
I turned on my side, pulled my legs up, hugged them to my chest,
worked my way down ... and jammed. My skinned knees and shins
didn't help any. I inched them higher, wincing at the pain, then braced
my hands against the floor and roof and with all my strength forced
my torso toward my feet....
Still no go. The rough stone was shredding my back. I moved my
knees apart; that eased the pressure a little. I made another inch.

I rested, tried to get some air. It wasn't easy: my chest was crushed
between my thighs and the stone wall at my back. I breathed
shallowly, wondering whether I should go back or try to push on. I
tried to move my legs; they didn't like the idea. I might as well go on.
It would be no fun either way and if I waited I'd stiffen up, while
inactivity and no food and loss of blood would weaken me further
every moment. I wouldn't do better next time—not even as well. This
was the time. Now.
I set myself, pushed again, I didn't move. I pushed harder, scraping
my palms raw against the stone. I was stuck—good. I went limp
suddenly. Then I panicked, in the grip of claustrophobia. I snarled,
rammed my hands hard against the floor and wall, and heaved—and
felt my lacerated back slip along the stone, sliding on a lubricating
film of blood. I pushed again, my back curved, doubled; my knees
were forced up beside my ears. I couldn't breathe at all now and my
spine was breaking. It didn't matter. I might as well break it, rip off all
the hide, bleed to death; I had nothing to lose. I shoved again, felt the
back of my head grate; my neck bent, creaking ... then I was through,
stretching out to flop on my back gasping, my head where my feet
had been. Score one for our side.

It took a long time to get my breath back and sort out my various
abrasions. My back was worst, then my legs and hands. There was a
messy spot on the back of my head and sharp pains shot down my
spine, and I was getting tired of breathing through my mouth instead
of my smashed nose. Other than that I'd never felt better in my life. I
had plenty of room to relax in, I could breathe. All I had to do was
rest, and after a while they'd drop some more nice bread and water in
to me....
I shook myself awake. There was something about the absolute
darkness and silence that made my mind want to curl up and sleep,
but there was no time for that. If there had been a stone freshly set in
mortar to seal the chamber after I had been stuffed inside, this was
the time to find it—before it set too hard. I ran my hands over the wall,
found the joints. The mortar was dry and hard in the first; in the
next.... Under my fingernail soft mortar crumbled away. I traced the
joint; it ran around a twelve-by-eighteen-inch stone. I raised myself on
my elbow, settled down to scratching at it.
Half an hour later I had ten bloody finger tips and a half-inch groove
cut around the stone. It was slow work, and I couldn't go much farther
without a tool of some sort. I felt for the water bottle, took off the cap,
tried to crush it. It wouldn't crush. There was nothing else in the cell.
Maybe the stone would move, mortar and all, if I shoved hard
enough. I set my feet against the end wall, my hands against the
block, and strained until the blood roared in my ears. No use.
I was lying there, just thinking about it, when I became aware of
something. It wasn't a noise exactly. It was more like a fourth-
dimensional sound heard inside the brain ... or the memory of one.
But my next sensation was perfectly real. I felt four little feet walking
gravely up my chest toward my chin.
It was the cat, Itzenca.

CHAPTER XVI
For a while I toyed with the idea of just chalking it up as a miracle.
Then I decided it would be a nice problem in probabilities. It had been
seven months since we had parted company on the pink terrace at
Okk-Hamiloth. Where would I have gone if I had been a cat? And
how could I have found me—my old pal from Earth?
Itzenca exhaled a snuffle in my ear.
"Come to think of it, the stink is pretty strong, isn't it? I guess there's
nobody on Vallon with quite the same heady fragrance. And what with
the close quarters here, the concentration of sweat, blood, and you-
name-it must be pretty penetrating."
Itz didn't seem to care. She marched around my head and back
again, now and then laid a tentative paw on my nose or chin, and
kept up a steady rumbling purr. The feeling of affection I had for that
cat right then was close to being one of my life's grand passions. I
couldn't keep my hands off her. They roamed over her scrawny
frame, fingered again the khaffite collar I had whiled away an hour in
fashioning for her aboard the lifeboat—
My head hit the stone wall with a crash I didn't even notice. In ten
seconds I had released the collar clasp, pulled the collar from
Itzenca's neck, thumbed the stiff khaffite out into a blade about ten
inches long, and was scraping at the mortar beyond my head at fever
heat.
They had fed me three times by the time the groove was nine inches
deep on all sides of the block, and the mortar had hardened. But I
was nearly through, I figured. I took a rest, then made another try at
loosening the block. I stuck the blade in the slot, levered gently at the
stone. If it was only supported on one edge now, as it would be if it
were a little less than a foot thick, it should be about ready to go. I
couldn't tell.
I put down my scraper, got in position, and pushed. I wasn't as strong
as I had been; there wasn't much force in the push. Again I rested
and again I tried. Maybe there was only a thin crust of mortar still
holding; maybe one more ounce of pressure would do it. I took a
deep breath, strained ... and felt the block shift minutely.
Now! I heaved again, teeth gritted, drew back my feet, and thrust
hard. The stone slid out with a grating sound, dropped half an inch. I
paused to listen: all quiet. I shoved again, and the stone dropped with
a heavy thud to the floor outside. With no loss of time I pushed
through behind it, felt a breath of cooler air, got my shoulders free,
pulled my legs through ... and stood, for the first time in how many
days....
I had already figured my next move. As soon as Itzenca had stepped
out I reached back in, groped for the water bottle, the dry crusts I had
been saving, and the wad of bread paste I had made up. I reached a
second time for a handful of the powdered mortar I had produced,
then lifted the stone. I settled it in place, using the hard bread as
supports, then packed the open joint with gummy bread. I dusted it
over with dry mortar, then carefully swept up the debris—as well as I
could in the total darkness. The bread-and-water man would have a
light and he was due in half an hour or so—as closely as I had been
able to estimate the time of his regular round. I didn't want him to see
anything out of the ordinary. I was counting on finding Foster filed
away somewhere in the stacks, and I'd need time to try to release
him.
I moved along the corridor, counting my steps, one hand full of bread
crumbs and stone dust, the other feeling the wall. There were narrow
side branches every few feet; the access ways to the feeding holes.
Forty-one paces from my slot I came to a wooden door. It wasn't
locked, but I didn't open it. I wasn't ready to use it yet.
I went back, passed my hole, continued nine paces to a blank wall.
Then I tried the side branches. They were all seven-foot stubs, dead
ends; each had the eight-inch holes on either side. I called Foster's
name softly at each hole ... but there was no answer. I heard no signs
of life, no yells or heavy breathing. Was I the only one here? That
wasn't what I had figured on. Foster had to be in one of these
delightful bedrooms. I had come across the universe to see him and I
wasn't going to leave Bar-Ponderone without him.
It was time to get ready for the bread man. I groped my way into one
of the side branches; Itzenca at my heels. With half a year's
experience at dodging humans behind her, she could be trusted not
to show at the crucial moment, I figured. I had just jettisoned my
handful of trash in the backmost corner of the passage when there
was a soft grating sound from the door. I flattened myself against the
wall.
A light splashed on the floor; it must have been dim but seemed to
my eyes like the blaze of noon. Soft footsteps sounded. I held my
breath. A man in bodyguard's trappings, basket in hand, moved past
the entry of the branch where I stood, went on. I breathed again. Now
all I had to do was keep an eye on the feeder, watch where he
stopped. I stepped to the corridor, risked a glance, saw him entering a
branch farther down the corridor. As he disappeared I made it three
branches farther along, ducked out of sight.
I heard him coming back. I flattened myself. He went by me, opened
the door. It closed behind him. Darkness, silence and despair settled
down once more.
The bread man had stopped at one cell only—mine. Foster wasn't
there.

It was a long wait for the next feeding but I put the time to use. First I
had a good nap; I hadn't been getting my rest while I scratched my
way out of my nest. I woke up feeling better and started thinking
about the next move. The door creaked, and I did a fast fade down a
side branch. The guard shuffled into view; now was the time. I moved
out—quietly, I thought, and he whirled, dropped the load and bottle,
and fumbled at his club hilt. I didn't have a club to slow me down. I
went at him, threw a beautiful right, square to the mouth. He went
over backwards, with me on top. I heard his head hit with a sound like
a length of rubber hose slapping a grapefruit. He didn't move.
I pulled the clothes off him, struggled into them. They didn't fit too well
and they probably smelled gamey to anybody who hadn't spent a
week where I had, but details like these didn't count anymore. I tore
his sash into strips and tied him. He wasn't dead—quite, but I had
reason to know that any yelling he did was unlikely to attract much
attention. I hoped he'd enjoy the rest and quiet until the next feeding
time. By then I expected to be long gone. I lifted the door open and
stepped out into a dimly lit corridor.
With Itzenca abreast of me I moved along in absolute stillness,
passed a side corridor, came to a heavy door; locked. We retraced
our steps, went down the side hall, found a flight of worn steps,
followed them up two flights, and emerged in a dark room. A line of
light showed around a door. I went to it, peered through the crack.
Two men in stained kitchen-slave tunics fussed over a boiling
cauldron. I pushed through the door.
The two looked up, startled. I rounded a littered table, grabbed up a
heavy soup ladle, and skulled the nearest cook just as he opened up
to yell. The other one, a big fellow, went for a cleaver. I caught him in
two jumps, laid him out cold beside his pal.
I found an apron, ripped it up, and tied and gagged the two slaves,
then hauled them into a storeroom.
I came back into the kitchen. It was silent now. The room reeked of
sour soup. A stack of unpleasantly familiar loaves stood by the oven.
I gave them a kick that collapsed the pile as I passed to pick up a
knife. I hacked tough slices from a cold haunch of Vallonian mutton,
threw one to Itzenca across the table, and sat and gnawed the meat
while I tried to think through my plans.

Owner Qohey was a big man to tackle but he was the one with the
answers. If I could make my way to his apartment and if I wasn't
stopped before I'd forced the truth out of him, then I might get to
Foster and tell him that if he had the memory playback machine I had
the memory, if it hadn't been filched from the bottom of a knapsack
aboard a lifeboat parked at Okk-Hamiloth.
Four 'if's' and a 'might'—but it was something to shoot at. My first
move would be to locate Qohey's quarters, somewhere in the Palace,
and get inside. My bodyguard's outfit was as good a disguise as any
for the attempt.
I finished off my share of the meat and got to my feet. I'd have to find
a place to clean myself up, shave—
The rear door banged open and two bodyguards came through it,
talking loudly, laughing.
"Hey, cook! Set out meat and wine for—"
The heavy in the lead stopped short, gaping at me. I gaped back. It
was Torbu.
"Drgon! How did you...." He trailed off.
The other bodyguard came past him, looked me over. "You're no
Brother of the Guard—" he started.
I reached for the cleaver the kitchen-slave had left on the table,
backed against a tall wall cupboard. The bodyguard unlimbered his
club.
"Hold it, Blon," said Torbu. "Drgon's okay." He looked at me. "I kind of
figured you for done-for, Drgon. The boys worked you over pretty
good."
"Yeah," I returned, "and thanks for your help in stopping it. You claim
to believe in the system around here. You think it's a great life, all fair
play and no holds barred and plenty of goodies for the winner. I know,
it was tough about Cagu, but that's life, isn't it? But what about the
business I saw in the Audience Hall? You guys try not to think about
that angle, is that it?"
"It was the Owner's orders," said Blon. "What was I gonna do, tell him
—?"
"Never mind," I said. "I'll tell him myself. That's all I want: just a short
interview with the Owner—minus the wire nets."
"Wow ..." drawled Torbu; "yeah, that'd be a bout." He turned to Blon.
"This guy's got a punch, Blon. He don't look so hot but he could swap
buffets with the Fire Drgon he's named after. If he's that good with a
long blade—"
"Just lend me one," I said, "and show me the way to his apartment."
"I didn't like the capers with the wires, neither did most of the boys.
We're Brothers of the Guard," said Torbu. "We ain't got much but we
got our Code. It don't say nothing about wires. If we don't back up our