Improving Performance in Service Organizations guides professionals through the application of lean concepts and methods in the service sector. Agencies can use this innovative approach to analyze operations and determine ways to eliminate activities that are wasteful and add no value to the services delivered. Service organizations that undergo a lean transformation optimize the use of time and money associated with operations and ensure that scarce resources are allocated to the activities that produce the greatest value for clients served. Using a lean lens within the context of the organization's goals and mission taps into the latent energy and innovative ideas of personnel and releases resources trapped in a vicious cycle of wasted work efforts. By applying the lean concepts, methods, and tools introduced in this book and creating a culture of continuous improvement, service organizations can increase effectiveness and improve accountability for the funding they receive.This book is also well suited for academic courses in quality improvement/business operations management in business and/or social service programs.

List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I Overview. Introduction to Performance Improvement in Service OrganizationsChapter One. Improving Performance through a Lean TransformationChapter Two. Establishing a Context for Improving Organizational PerformancePart I. From Knowledge to Practice: ExercisesPart II Overview. Understanding Basic Concepts of Lean ThinkingChapter Three. Value Streams, Wasteful Activities, and Unacceptable ResultsChapter Four. Performance MeasuresPart II. From Knowledge to Practice: ExercisesPart III Overview. Using Lean Tools and MethodsChapter Five. Value Stream and Process Flow MappingChapter Six. Problem Solving to Identify Improvement OpportunitiesChapter Seven. Implementing Improvements and Tracking ResultsPart III. From Knowledge to Practice: ExercisesPart IV Overview. Sustaining Improvements Over TimeChapter Eight. Creating a Culture of Organizational Learning and Your LeanChapter Nine. Case Studies of Lean Transformations in Service OrganizationsPart IV. From Knowledge to Practice: ExercisesAppendix A. Logic ModelsGlossaryResource MaterialReferencesIndex