Identification and Prioritization of Lean Human Resource Management Components: A Study in the Oil Industry of Iraq and Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the components of lean human resources in the Ministry of Oil of Iraq and to provide a detailed review of the various dimensions and components of lean human resources that influence the improvement of human resource efficiency and effectiveness. This research is based on an interpretive philosophy, follows an inductive approach, and utilizes a qualitative methodology. In the qualitative phase, a systematic review approach and qualitative content analysis method were employed. The population under study for identifying lean human resource components is the Iraqi oil industry. The keywords used for the search included “lean personnel,” “lean employees,” “lean leadership,” “lean human resource principles,” “lean methods or techniques or tools,” as well as combined searches such as “human resources” and “lean” or “human resource management methods” and “manufacturing companies.” The strategy recommended by Tranfield et al. (2003) was adopted, which generally includes three major stages: planning the review, conducting the review, and reporting the review. The time frame for the reviewed studies spans from 1980 to 2024. Moreover, to conduct the systematic review, this study followed the three-stage review framework of Tranfield et al. (2003). The results indicate that emphasis on training and development, teamwork, competence and expertise, creative innovation, job concepts, cultural values, influential roles, structures and methods, communication and interactions, positive behavior and attitudes, human resources and empowerment, integrated management systems, monitoring and evaluation, and support and backing contribute to the improvement of organizational performance.