Seeking Expert Feedback: Is Lean Management the Right Focus for Our HR Research Project?

Hello, I am a college student, and as a partial fulfillment of our degree program, we have to do a one-year research project as a group of five members. We are hoping to conduct the research on the Lean Management Perspective of the Human Resource Management Process (how we can use Lean Management to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Resource Management Process).

Methodology and Main Expected Outcomes of the Research:

• Identification of issues and challenges of the existing Human Resource Management process concerning large-scale organizations.

• Propose practically feasible solutions to overcome the issues and challenges of the existing Human Resource Management process by using Lean Management.

• Propose a suitable strategic Lean configuration framework for the Human Resource Management Process concerning large-scale organizations.

• Model the solution to a system (up to prototype level).

Since I am conducting research for the first time, I need some expert ideas to make our research path and scope clear. I would be grateful if any of you could give me feedback regarding the current topic. If this topic is not suitable, can someone suggest a better research area in Lean?

Thanks in advance.

Your topic is quite good for conducting research. Please read material at [Lean/Six Sigma frees up HR to become a strategic partner](http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/13442/lean-six-sigma-hr) and also look for scholarly articles to understand how others have approached the task and why they have done it that way, etc. Are you planning on going into different companies to conduct the research? If not, how will you be sharing the work?

Group Assignments in Research

When students do group assignments, it's essential to outline who is going to do what and when. Some of my students ran into problems with a group member not pulling their weight and contributing effectively.

Thank you, sir, for your guidance. Yes, we are going to 5 different companies. I have another question. Can you give ideas to make our research path and scope clear? I mean, how to narrow down this topic further or how we can plan the research for one year, etc. Thanks in advance.

Please read some material on the topic first. Is this year-long group project done along with other subjects, or is that the final one? If it is the latter, then you have quite a bit of time. Hence, I suggest that you read the material available on the web. Also, kindly see my posts where I have attached a PowerPoint presentation on Research Methodology at CiteHR.

As far as your topic is concerned, rather than suggesting a new topic, I would like to pose a question to you—why did you choose this topic? Since you have mentioned the scope, I feel there must be a sufficient basis or interest to pursue the study. If you can provide us with some background on this, we can perhaps suggest how to explore the history and current conditions.

Regarding the Research

I would suggest you conduct it online with a survey that can be distributed to large organizations (you'll need to define 'large' for the purpose of research), oral interviews, and historical statistics.

The post got sent halfway through typing it. However, the information you provide should demonstrate a sense of responsibility towards the past while identifying the best way to transition to future prospects and preserve it for as long as possible. After all, any process needs sustainability to have an impact.

Extracting Learning Points

To narrow the topic, you need to extract a learning point or something impactful from the snippets you gather through interviews and surveys. The success of your research will be at its best when it stems from your own knowledge.

If you need more insight, the best approach would be to post your thoughts, which our other learned members can help understand and narrow down.

Best of luck with your research!

Warm regards,
Deena Jagasia