I think this is the meaning of the word, particularly because there is a tend in the business field for building companies that are small in size and faster.
You can check the following book summaries for more information:
- The Witch Doctors
- The Faster Compay

ذات تكلفة تشغيل أقل

يسيرة، سلسة

Based on the following explanation:


In the past, career success was measured by promotions and span of control. Companies kept ambitious people challenged with a regular career ladder of jobs, all offering increased responsibility and compensation. Not everyone could become CEO, but many could make regular progress.

As companies have become flatter and leaner, cutting out layers of management, that approach is no longer available. What is a company to do? Early advice suggested job enrichment and lateral moves, but that often seemed like a hollow offering from managers who had already "made it."

Peter Gaarn, now Executive Development Manager at Hewlett-Packard Company, suggests a different approach. Flatten your organization, not to reduce costs, but to expand opportunities. "When you flatten structures, you wind up with much broader jobs and bigger opportunity. When you make it through those transitions, you find that your work is a lot more rewarding, more meaningful, and challenging." In other words, change your reason for creating leaner organizations. It's not so much about saving money as it is about creating future potential.

What does a flatter organizational structure do for the company? It lets companies become more flexible, because individuals can respond more quickly to changing situations if they don't have tight structural constraints arising out of their job descriptions. It also reduces costs and strengthens a company's experience base by improving employee retention. Mike Nichols, HP's Director of Global Talent Acquisition and Workforce Programs, says that a challenging job is one of the most important factors in keeping people interested in their work, right after their relationship with their manager and whether or not they feel they're being paid competitively

LEAN also means: (verb)to rely for support or inspiration (Merriam Webster dictionary)
(ADJECTIVE):(a). held for emergency use <a spare tire>
(b).characterized by economy (as of style, expression, or operation

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Note added at 2003-04-20 22:39:36 (GMT)
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مميّز بالاقتصاد: Moumayyaz bil-ikktissad

A lean company wastes nothing, neither money nor people, i.e. it uses only as much as needed. Lean meat has a little fat لحم غير دسم ,and a lean boy is thin in a healthy way; well-built رشيق. Hence, the company in question is منزوعة البيروقراطية for its minimized staff, and محدودة for its limited bussiness.

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Note added at 2003-04-20 14:11:55 (GMT)
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oh! I can now figure that Muhammad\'s سلسة is genius, leaner being أكثر سلاسة

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Note added at 2003-05-04 09:55:56 (GMT)
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but wouldn\'t \"faster\" and \"more flexible\" be just pleonasm?

so in order to get the accurate meaning which was meant here would you please provide us with more explanation and the previous and latter sentences.
it is very hard to know which meaning excatly the writer intended to imply here .so if there is any thing that can clarify it through the whole text would you provide us with

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Note added at 2003-04-21 19:53:22 (GMT)
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sorry i mean leaner