Kaizen. Japanese ways of managing business

Kaizen practice.. moving

2007-07-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hi.. finally I got my own domain. I moved the content of my blog from now on.. here is the new address

www.japankaizen.com/blog or click here.

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Free storage room, visit this

Kaizen is a feedback

2007-05-24T11:56:00.001-07:00

Since its definition is a change to make existing methods give better results, kaizen is a feedback. As a feedback, kaizen appears after people involved in an existing method thought that they can provide better if they change the method.

In management knowledge, we know Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM), which is an integrated approach to the management of all forms of feedback available to an organization. In kaizen, feedback is in narrow scope. In an organization, no matter it provide goods or services or both, basically, the process of providing its products is shown as figure below.

Input consists of Man (human resources), Materials, Machines, and Methods. Some management knowledge might argue that input for recent environment has to include information, since information became crucial factor in determining a success of a firm. I completely agree with them, however, it can be grouped in materials, as information can be considered as part of organization’s materials.

Kaizen, what on earth is it?

2007-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

One of characteristics of Japanese production system compared with others is the implementation of Kaizen. Kaizen, or 改善in kanji, is a wonderful concept of improving productivity. Literally, kaizen comprises of kai (改), means “change”, and 善 meaning “better”. Change refers to current method(s). So, kaizen means change(s) of current method to make it produces better result.

There are plenty of opinions about where kaizen came from and who initialized it. I won’t discuss about it, since this blog emphasizes the practices of kaizen, Japanese kaizen, not where it came from nor who introduced it. I choose Japanese kaizen is because it is unique. Japanese kaizen is slightly, and sometime completely, different compared with other practices in other countries.

Kaizen, basically, consists of two main activities, namely;

Selection of better means, or a change of current method for achieving an objective.
Accumulation of small changes

Kaizen activity starts from very simple to very complex activities. An effort to improve the way to clean floor, to save electric energy by reducing the number of lamps are examples of kaizen. So are the efforts of improving the way Toyota’s engineers in shortening the development of new cars.

Kaizen is implemented both in small local firms and global companies. Not only Japanese companies that is trying to utilize this philosophy. Many western businessmen are also pursuing excellence productivity through implementing kaizen.

Toyota, a number one cars maker in the world, after beating GM, is one of successful companies implementing kaizen. Toyota, in its hand book, embraces kaizen as one of its 5 operation bases. In complete, Toyota’s operation based on below principles;

Challenge. Toyota forms a long term vision, meeting challenge with courage and creativity to realize its dreams.

Kaizen. Toyota improves business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution.

Genchi Genbutsu. Toyota practices Genchi Genbutsu, or go to the source to find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus and achieve goals at its best speed.

Respect. Toyota respects others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility and do its best to build mutual trust.

Teamwork. Toyota stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development and maximixe individual performances and team performance at the same time.

Below are several keywords of Toyota's principles related to kaizen.

Relentless efforts for continuous improvement
Soui Kufu (Individual creativity and innovation)/benchmarking
Search for breakthroughand elimination of taboos
pursuit of profitbased on cost reduction