It is not possible to find a businessman who does not want to improve his or her business. Whether it is a large or small business, everyone wants success from their business. One of the goals of the business is to increase the scope of its business as well as to maximize its profits. But many business owners fail to do so due to a lack of proper plan and understanding. Some businesses may make a profit but still struggle to grow their business. In such cases, Japanese business development practice, ‘Kaizen’ may come in handy for many companies. Let’s find out the teachings of Kaizen.
What is Kaizen?
Kaizen is basically a Japanese word. The emergence of Kaizen principles is from Japanese business philosophy. Dividing the word Kaizen again gives two words. The word 'kai' means ‘improvement,’ and the word zen means ‘for better'. Overall the word kaizen means continuous development. And Kaizen is not just used for business improvement. On the contrary, Kaizen is important for almost all types of organizations, their working methods, management, and even for the personal development of the individual.
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How Kaizen Works?
So far, we have learned about the basics of Kaizen. Now let us know about the application method of Kaizen and its properties. The Kaizen application method is divided into two cycles, characterized as Kaizen Cycle-1 and Kaizen Cycle-2. Although both cycles ultimately point to development, they differ in their application methods.
Kaizen Cycle 1- Continuous Development
The first method of continuous development of business flow or working method is known as Kaizen cycle-1. This approach helps businesses to find faulty areas and accelerate development by resolving them. This cycle can be divided into seven steps:
- get employees involved
- gather a list of problems
- encourage solutions and pick an idea
- test the solution
- regularly measure and analyze the results
- if successful, adopt the solution
- repeat on an ongoing basis.
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First, all the employees are brought together to find out the problem. After that, all the officers and employees sit together and find out where the faults or problems are. This error can be productive or procedural. After finding out the problem, all the possible solutions are put together, and then the more acceptable of these solutions is applied.
After the solution is applied, the results are analyzed. Now, if this solution yields the expected results, then the solution applied to solve such problems is recorded as the norm. And if the expected results are not obtained, then the cycle starts again from the beginning. Thus, the cycle is repeated until resolved.
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Kaizen Cycle 2- PDCA
Kaizen has another alternative cycle called the PDCA cycle. PDCA is an acronym for Plan, Do, Check and Act. This cycle is similar to the first cycle, but here are four steps. It is also called the Shewhart cycle.
- The first step is to plan. If a problem arises at this stage, the solution is planned.
- Do is the second step. The goal of this step is to implement the plan made in the first step.
- In the third step, Check, the results of the applied solution are evaluated.
- In the next step, Act, by evaluating the results, an ideal solution is determined, or a new one is started from the first step.
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Framework of Kaizen
We already know the two main cycles of Kaizen. But there is still much to know about the framework of Kaizen. These frameworks of Kaizen are collectively called the ‘Kaizen 5S Framework’. These frameworks are a little critical. Let's talk a little bit about them.
Seiri
The Japanese word seiri means sorting. It can be seen that the staff of the company is not paying attention to their duties due to some idleness besides work. Maybe it is a phone call or some stress. So such problems are sorted out, and unnecessary things are left out. As a result, the staff can focus more on the task than before. Concentrating on their work means developing the company.
Seiten
The word Seiton means ‘Set in order’. It allows arranging the items for easy access that helps make the most sense for work.
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Seiso
The word seiso means shine or cleanliness. Cleanliness is important not only in your own home but also in your business. The importance of cleanliness in all areas of life is immense. Whether it is external purity or whether it is the purity of mind.
Seiketsu
On paper, all employees in an organization are good. In other words, they are focused on work and also clean, which is not always true in reality. But an organization can make some of these rules that are very important to follow, and those general rules or norms are called Seiketsu.
Shitsuke
The word shitsuki means to sustain. In fact, Shitsuki is a way of maintaining all the activities of a business organization. It includes checking of all orders on time, producing the product, delivering the product, etc.
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Goals of Kaizen
Proper use of Kaizen can help a business entity to get results in a short time. A goal of Kaizen is training the company employees on how to take good care of their workplace. Another goal is increasing the qualifications of the employees. Kaizen strategy allows the business companies to get financial benefits with little investment and in a short time. It also increases the productivity of labor, which leads to the development of the enterprise, increasing profits and consolidating it in selected areas.
Drawbacks of Kaizen
Kaizen may not work with the companies that have closed communication and cultures of territorialism. Such companies will need to focus on cultural changes first and create a receptive environment. The short-term Kaizen may boost the quick excitement, but those are short-lived; hence, it does not sustain.
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Final Words
This was a brief discussion of Kaizen. Through the Kaizen, a business organization (basically all kinds of organizations) can gradually achieve success. This approach prevents product wastage and increases product production while increasing the speed of work by creating beautiful workplaces for staff. Moreover, it accelerates continuous development in business operations by reducing product costs, improving workmanship, and increasing product quality.
However, Kaizen is not only for business or other organizations; you can also apply it in your own life. As the business progresses, so will your self-improvement.