Selected issues of using Lean Management in university management

Purpose: The aim of the article is to present an analysis of selected elements of Lean Management - barriers in management systems and methods of improvement on the example of public universities in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The article is a theoretical and empirical study presenting selected results and an analysis of the survey results. The study was conducted on a group of 58 public universities in Poland in 2021-2022. Findings: The analysis of the research results presents the characteristics of selected barriers in the management systems of the analyzed universities. The answer to the existing barriers is the presentation of selected methods of improvement undertaken by the managers of the surveyed universities in order to minimize or eliminate them. Research limitations/implications: The limitations relate to the conducted study and result from the selection of selected barriers in university management systems for the study and the ways of improving these systems. Therefore, some of the barriers or ways of improvement may have been omitted, which will be taken into account in subsequent research and articles. Practical implications: The results of the study show the barriers in management systems in the surveyed universities, which are often a source of waste and other problems. As part of the study results, university managers indicated which improvement methods they take to counteract the existing barriers. Originality/value: The added value of the article is a study conducted on a group of public academic universities in Poland in the field of implementation of selected elements of Lean Management.