Kaizen: Change for the better

Kaizen (改善) is a Japanese word meaning “improvement”. The symbol kai means to change, to renew, to correct something that is wrong, and zen means “good”. In modern business, kaizen refers to a particular brand of continuous improvement activity that engages all functions and all people in an organization in pursuing both personal and process excellence. In practice, a kaizen is any improvement, a big one-time event or as a series of small changes. It can be done in a variety of ways, individually, with natural work groups or in project teams.

With every employee focusing on improvements, the following results are expected;

Waste reduction in inventory, waiting time, over production, transportation, worker skills etc.

Quality improvement; while most models concentrate on increasing productivity, the philosophy focuses on improving quality, business or system.

Employee well being; all employees take part in decision making and therefore they are encouraged to better themselves. Companies that have adopted the philosophy are more oriented towards their employees’ welfare.

Immediate results; because the philosophy does not focus on large and radical changes, several problems are solved creatively through making small improvements without wastes or mistakes.