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Introduction
1.1 History Of Kaizen
“What the Japanese learned about management after World War
II, they learned from the Americans. And the Americans forgot
Their own lessons.”
This was said by Homer M. Sarasohn. He was among the very first who taught Japa-
nese business people how the Americans did it and we believe there is a lot of truth in that statement. Only a few decades ago, the world, Japan included, looked to the U.S. for management models. Now we look to the Japanese. How did this
Reversal of roles comes about?
Kaizen is based on the theories of efficiency developed by W. Edwards Deming between the 1930s and 1940s during World War II. Once the war was over around the 1950s the Japanese picked up the ideas and developed the concept of Kaizen. A man named Taiichi Ohno developed the Toyota Production System through kaizen efforts (continuous improvement of quality, cost and delivery). Many of the ideas behind kaizen came from industrial engineering and Dr. Edward Demings teachings on quality.
1.2 What is Kaizen?
Kaizen means improvement, the Kaizen strategy calls for never ending efforts for improvement involving everyone in the organisation, both managers and staff alike.
The goals of kaizen include the elimination of waste (defined as “activities that add cost but do not add value”), just-in-time delivery, production load leveling of amount and types, standardized work, paced moving lines, right-sized equipment, etc. A closer definition of the Japanese usage of Kaizen is “to take it apart and put back together in a better way.” What is taken apart is usually a process, system, product, or service.
Importantly, kaizen must operate with three principles in place: process and results (not results-only); systemic thinking (i.e. big picture, not solely the narrow view); and non-judgmental, non-blaming (because blaming is wasteful).
Everyone participates in kaizen; people of all levels in an organization, from the CEO on down, as well as external stakeholders if needed. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group.
Kaizen is a daily activity whose purpose goes beyond improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates