Kaizen
Kaizen
Gloria Garcia
University of Phoenix
Systems Operations Management
ISCOM/305
Lee E. Hoffman
June 04, 2010
Kaizen According to Russell and Taylor, “Kaizen is a Japanese term for continuous improvement, not only in the workplace but also in one’s personal life, home life, and social life” (2009, p. 67). In the business environment kaizen means everyone is involved in the process of continuous improvement. For kaizen to exist in the workplace employees must continuously work together to make gradual, organized, and continuous improvements. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Kaizen will benefit an organization. Kaizen involves everyone in the company to be active participants. The implementation of Kaizen will require a new way of thinking and a change of business culture. Kaizen can improve quality in the work environment, predominantly in manufacturing companies; nevertheless service providing organizations and other types of organizations practice it. Kaizen is the combination of various systems focused on quality control ("Improve manufacturing", 2010). The primary reason to implement Kaizen is to eliminate waste. Any activities, thing, or process that adds cost instead of value to a product or service is considered waste and therefore, should be eliminated. The organization is financially responsible for any waste that goes into a product or service. Hence, it behooves organizations to implement Kaizen to decrease waste and improve their financial status. Kaizen is a means also to regulate the production process in a manner that eliminates variation in the production process and by establishing a pull production instead of a push production, reducing inventory ("Improve manufacturing", 2010). Kaizen like its translation, continuous improvement, means that an organization must do this every day. An organization cannot expect continuous improvement by implementing Kaizen one-time. Kaizen will not
Gloria Garcia
University of Phoenix
Systems Operations Management
ISCOM/305
Lee E. Hoffman
June 04, 2010
Kaizen According to Russell and Taylor, “Kaizen is a Japanese term for continuous improvement, not only in the workplace but also in one’s personal life, home life, and social life” (2009, p. 67). In the business environment kaizen means everyone is involved in the process of continuous improvement. For kaizen to exist in the workplace employees must continuously work together to make gradual, organized, and continuous improvements. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Kaizen will benefit an organization. Kaizen involves everyone in the company to be active participants. The implementation of Kaizen will require a new way of thinking and a change of business culture. Kaizen can improve quality in the work environment, predominantly in manufacturing companies; nevertheless service providing organizations and other types of organizations practice it. Kaizen is the combination of various systems focused on quality control ("Improve manufacturing", 2010). The primary reason to implement Kaizen is to eliminate waste. Any activities, thing, or process that adds cost instead of value to a product or service is considered waste and therefore, should be eliminated. The organization is financially responsible for any waste that goes into a product or service. Hence, it behooves organizations to implement Kaizen to decrease waste and improve their financial status. Kaizen is a means also to regulate the production process in a manner that eliminates variation in the production process and by establishing a pull production instead of a push production, reducing inventory ("Improve manufacturing", 2010). Kaizen like its translation, continuous improvement, means that an organization must do this every day. An organization cannot expect continuous improvement by implementing Kaizen one-time. Kaizen will not