Importance of Kaizen practices to the success Japanese Firms

Importance of Kaizen on Japanese Firms
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IMPORTANCE OF KAIZEN ON JAPANESE FIRMS
The term kaizen was initially used in Japan after the Second World and it meant continuous improvement. It is a system used for the purpose of ensuring a continuous improvement in technology processes, quality, productivity, company culture, leadership and safety. The system of kaizen involves all employees of a certain company, from those on the highest ranks to the subordinate workers (Al Smadi, 2009). All the employees are encouraged to participate in giving their suggestions of small improvement on usual basis. In addition, this is a continuous practice that calls for persistence. Various aspects of kaizen concept highlight its great importance in the success of Japanese firms.
The kaizen process
In numerous cases, companies in Japan were not expecting immediate or major changes on the application of kaizen. They were well prepared to practice a virtue of persistence and consistency in management, as kaizen tends to make little changes but on regular basis. It improves productivity, effectiveness and safety while on the other hand reducing waste. The process of kaizen requires maximum discipline which Japanese firms were aware of and thus ensured that they were ready before implementing it. Japanese companies like the Canon and Toyota companies gather around sixty to seventy suggestions from each employee every year, which are listed down, shared among the workers and then implemented. The suggestions offered are not usually limited to only marketing and production, as kaizen focuses on making the necessary changes on every department or area where making improvement is possible. The kaizen concept in Japan consists of improvements on both business and home life, involving even social activities (Barraza, Smith & Dahlgaard-Park, 2009). In fact, this is a concept that is applicable in every aspect of an individual’s life. The components that are included in kaizen concept have mainly participated in the flourishing of Japanese firms. The components such as the automation, just-in-time delivery, quality circles, suggestion systems, 5S and Kanban are comprised in the system of kaizen helping to run businesses with great efficiency.
Kaizen sets and improves standards
The kaizen strategy usually sets standards that it ensures to improve regularly. In order to make sure that higher standards have been attained, kaizen has its set of practices in establishing long-term methods of application. For instance, in order to hold up to higher kaizen standards, it offers the training, supervision as well as materials required for the workers so that the higher standards can be achieved. In addition, the provisions for employees help in maintaining their capabilities of meeting those standards on a continuous basis (Herron & Braiden, 2006).
Continuous concept resulting to long-term solutions
Kaizen concept focuses on making slight progressions on a continuous basis. This means that the small improvements may not bring major changes right away, but gradually solving the issues that will not be repeated. Every employee is involved in making changes within a kaizen practiced company, which are always expected to be small and incremental changes. In addition, kaizen concentrates on identifying the source of problems in order to solve them right from the source. This would avoid the repetition of the same issues that tends to drag many companies behind. Most of the Japanese firms have been successful in the world market because of realizing that the small issues tend to magnify if not early detected. The change of standards also ensures that these small problems are solved. Generally, kaizen may have a result of twenty-five to thirty suggestions from each employee, every year and more than ninety percent of the suggestions are usually implemented. This shows that Japanese firms really value their workers, regardless of their ranks and education, but they entrust each of them to be perfect at their area of duty to locate and solve the small issues arising. As earlier mentioned about Toyota Company as one of the main users of kaizen, it can be used as the main indicator of success around the globe. This is because the company’s products are popular all over the world and their expertise continues. Around the year nineteen ninety-nine at a certain United States firm, an estimate of seven thousand employees from Toyota had made submissions of more than seventy-five thousand suggestions. A total of ninety-nine percent of these suggestions were implemented in the company (Herron & Braiden, 2006). The small and continuous improvements made in kaizen always lead to major benefits that include improved quality, improved productivity, better safety, lower costs, faster delivery, as well as higher customer satisfaction. More so, more benefits are involved in kaizen implementation that could have led to the success of Japanese firms. This is because the employees that work for a kaizen implemented company usually find work more enjoyable as well as easier to handle. The enthusiasm in work always tends to bring about higher job and moral satisfaction of employees, as well as lower turn-over.
Positive results of employees’ involvement
When employees are given the mandate and responsibility to locate any small problems that may arise in the company, they ensure that they have performed their duties effectively. Every employee strives to make improvements in all areas that they identify, which also ensures continuous results in the company. Such results may include the reduction of waste, especially in a...