Kaizen

Kaizen (Japanese: 改善, "improvement") is a concept referring to business activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. Kaizen also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain.[1] It has been applied in healthcare,[2] psychotherapy,[3] life coaching, government, manufacturing, and banking.

By improving standardized programs and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste and redundancies (lean manufacturing). Kaizen was first practiced in Japanese businesses after World War II, influenced in part by American business and quality-management teachers, and most notably as part of The Toyota Way. It has since spread throughout the world and has been applied to environments outside of business and productivity.[4]

Kaizen may also be referred to as zero investment improvement (ZII) due to its utilization of existing resources.[5]

  1. ^ Imai, Masaaki (1986). Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. New York: Random House.
  2. ^ Weed, Julie (July 10, 2010). "Factory Efficiency Comes to the Hospital". The New York Times.
  3. ^ M. M. Feldman (1992). "Audit in psychotherapy: the concept of Kaizen" (PDF). Psychiatric Bulletin. 16 (6). Royal College of Psychiatrists: 334–336. doi:10.1192/PB.16.6.334. S2CID 638586. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-16.
  4. ^ Europe Japan Centre, Kaizen Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Ed. Michael Colenso, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2000
  5. ^ Furterer, Sandra L.; Wood, Douglas C. (25 January 2021). The ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook. Quality Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-951058-07-4. Retrieved 18 June 2024.