The effects of Kaizen management and practices on organizational performance

 The effects of Kaizen management and practices on organizational performance

Kaizen is  the Japanese strategy of continuous improvement.  The direct translation of the word Kaizen from Japanese to English is improvement.  There are two components in Kaizen management- maintenance and improvement.  The objective of the maintenance function is to maintain current technological, managerial, and operating standards whereas the improvement function is aimed at improving current standards.  (Kotelnikov) 

Japanese companies distinguish between innovation and Kaizen.  The foundation of the Kaizen method include 5 elements:

1.    Teamwork

2.    Personal discipline

3.    Improved morale

4.    Quality circles and

5.    Suggestions for improvement

Out of this foundation three key factors in Kaizen come up:

1.    Elimination of waste and inefficiency

2.    The Kaizen five-S framework:

a.    Seiri- tidiness

b.    Seiton- orderliness

c.    Seiso- cleanliness

d.    Seiketsu- standardized clean-up

e.    Shitsuke- discipline

3.    Standardization

Kaizen management is good management practices.  The success of this model has very little to do with cultural factors hence it is applicable to all companies who are willing to adopt this practice to better their company’s performance.  Everyone in the company needs to adopt the 3 principles of kaizen in order to make it work. Kaizen can be formatted individually, within a small group, a large group, or as a suggestion system.

Toyota Production System is well known for utilizing kaizen. Within Toyota, all personnel is expected to stop moving production lines if there is any slight notification of abnormalities. The employee is then expected to suggest an improvement to resolve the abnormality (this initiates kaizen). Toyota has several small groups work at improving their area for productivity and overall efficiency. The group is overseen by a line supervisor who reports to upper management. Within Toyota kaizen delivers small improvements that add up to make larger improvements. This is why kaizen is called a “continuous process improvement” system or a “continual improvement“.

According to business knowledge source.com, management is in charge of maintenance and improvement within the company. Maintenance is about maintaining the current managerial, technological, and operating standards. Improvement focuses on improving the current standards. With kaizen thinking, the maintenance function will establish a set of rules, policies, directives, and standard operating procedures. From here, management must make everyone work at following the standard operating procedures. Typically this assignment is given to human resources to develop a letter that will site discipline for failure to adhere to the standard operating procedures. As far as improvement goes, management will always towards revising the current standards and establishing better ones. Kaizen uses small improvements over a specific period of time and result in coordinated continuous efforts by every employee at the company.

Quick and Easy Kaizen  (or Mini-Kaizen) is aimed at increasing productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction, all from a very grassroots level. Every company employee is encouraged to come up with ideas – however small – that could improve his/her particular job activity, job environment or any company process for that matter. The employees are also encouraged to implement their ideas as small changes can be done by the worker him or herself with very little investment of time. (Kotelnikov) 

Some companies have taken a quick and easy approach to kaizen. Mini kaizen still aims at increasing productivity and quality, but it also works at improving the satisfaction of workers. This methodology teaches that every employee should be encouraged to come up with new and innovative ideas, no matter how big or small they are. These ideas should directly improve this employee’s job, whether it is the job environment, job activity or another company process. The employee is then encouraged to implement their ideas as a small change. This change should be done by the employee, with a minimal investment of time.

The reason many companies have adopted mini kaizen is because it encourages the development of their employees along with the reduction of waste. Mini kaizen teaches employees to grow within the company. Though the mini kaizen ideas are small, with each employee implementing one idea, the cumulative effect is remarkable.

 

References:

Continuous Process Improvement- The Kaizen Approach: Extended Entry.  Business Knowledge Source.com  Retrieved 7 June, 2011 from http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/manufacturing/continuous_process_improvement_the_kaizen_approach_extended_entry_026152.html

Kaizen philosophy and Kaizen method.  Value Based Management.net.  Retrieved 7 June, 2011 from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_kaizen.html

Kotelnikov, Vadim.  Kaizen.  Retrieved 7 June, 2011 from http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/mgmt_kaizen_main.html

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