Kaizen

The Kaizen method of continuous incremental improvements is an originally Japanese management concept for gradual,
continuous (incremental) change (improvement).
Kaizen is actually a way of life philosophy. It assumes that every aspect of our life deserves to be constantly improved. The
Kaizen philosophy lies behind many Japanese management concepts such as Total !uality "ontrol, !uality "ontrol circles,
small group activities, labor relations.
Key elements of Kaizen are #uality, effort, involvement of all employees, willingness to change, and communication.
Japanese companies distinguish between Innovation, a radical form of change, and Kaizen, a continuous form of change.
Kaizen means literally change ($ai) to become good (zen).
The five foundation elements of Kaizen
%. Teamwor$.
&. 'ersonal discipline.
(. Improved morale.
). !uality circles.
*. +uggestions for improvement.
Out of this foundation, three key factors in Kaizen arise
, Elimination of waste (muda) and inefficiency.
, The Kaizen five-S framework for good house$eeping.
, %. +eiri - tidiness
, &. +eiton - orderliness
, (. +eiso - cleanliness
, ). +ei$etsu - standardized clean-up
, *. +hitsu$e - discipline
, Standardization.
.hen should the Kaizen philosophy be applied/ 0lthough it is difficult to give generic advice it is clear that it fits well in
gradual, incremental change situations that re#uire long-term change and in collective cultures. 1ore individual cultures
that are more focused on short-term success are often more conducive to concepts such as 2usiness 'rocess
3eengineering.
Kaizen compared to Business Process een!ineerin!
.hen Kaizen is compared with the 2'3 method it is clear the Kaizen philosophy is more people-oriented, more easy to
implement, but re#uires long-term discipline and provides only a small pace of change. The 2usiness 'rocess
3eengineering approach on the other hand is harder, technology-oriented, it enables radical change but it re#uires
considerable change management s$ills.