Kaizen: The Key To Japan's Competitive Success

To be concrete, this book is definately recommended. You'll never understand it all by just reading one book (or by just reading, period). It will give you a quantum leap in your understanding and all concepts will be there. Only action and involvement can do more.


Excellent overview of Kaizen and TQC (Total Quality Control)   March 20, 2006
L. Lefteroff (Miami, FL)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book is a must-read for process improvement and Quality Assurance professionals. Senior corporate management would also benefit from selections, especially the first chapter and the chapter on problem solving. The book outlines the key fundamentals, principles, requirements, and expectations related to Kaizen (continuous improvement), with a focus on the highest-level cross-functional goals of Quality, Cost, and Schedule (in that order) that ultimately drive profitability. Appendices, including summaries of 5S, old and new seven statistical tools, Deming Prize criteria, and Cannon company case study are as informative as the body of the book. On the down side, there is some significant repitition. Although the book is nearly 20 years old, it is timeless and as relevant as ever.


The economic value of dominant design is its ability to impose itself as a standard in the creation of products   November 11, 2008
Golden Lion (North Ogden, Ut United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

1. Japan has gained world economic power through five phases: a) large-scale absorption of technology imported from the US. b) A productivity-drive that strongly supported mechanization, automation, and robotic usage. C) A countrywide quality improvement devotion, set forth by Dr. Demming. D) A great degree of manufacturing flexibility. E) Adoption of a multinational corporation partnerships and structures (global standard component specifications).

2. Worker suggestions are an important feedback component in Japanese management. Management works hard to consider worker suggestions. It is not uncommon for management to spend a whole day listening to presentations of activities by Quality circles. The central idea involves listening to improve process and rewards for results.

3. Japanese management focuses on standards. Worker suggestions lead to implementation of the suggestion and revising of standards. Toyoda said, "One of the features of the Japanese worker is they use their brains as well as their hands." Improving standards means raising quality levels.

4. Intense domestic competition is thought to be the driving force for Japanese companies in overseas market. Japanese compete for larger market share through the introduction of new and more competitive products and by using and improving the latest technologies.

5. Why is it important that management establish process-criteria for Quality circles? Quality circles use process criteria to approach their subjects. Process-criteria affect the number of meetings, the amount of participation, and the number of problems solved. Do the Quality circles take into consideration safety, quality, and costs in working out the subject problem? Do the efforts of the Quality circle lead to improvements in work standards? Process criteria are used in evaluating efforts, participation, and commitments.

6. Result criteria usually relates to sales, cost, and profit.

7. A system once it is installed due to innovation is subject to steady deterioration unless continuing efforts are made to maintain it and then to improve it. Kaizen is the small and continuous effort and commitment to improve.

8. Kaizen believes that standards are stepping-stones, one standard leading to another higher standard as continue efforts are made. This is the reason Quality circles solve one problem they move on to another.

9. Kaizen calls for substantial management commitment of time and effort. Infusions of capital are no substitutes for time and effort. Investing in Kaizen means investing in people.

10. Kaizen philosophy is better suite to a slow-growth economy. In a slow-growth economy characterized by high costs of energy and materials, overcapacity, and stagnant markets, Kaizen often has a better payoff than innovation does. "It is extremely difficult to increase sales by 10 percent. But it is not so difficult to cut manufacturing costs by 10 percent to event better effect."

11. Kaizen's impact is normally more visible closer to production and market, and innovation's impact is more visible closer to science and technology.

12. Moritani praises Western researcher enthusiasm in tackling challenging projects but says they will be at a disadvantage in meeting the Japanese challenge in mass-produced high-technology products if they only concentrate only on the great-leap-forward approach and forget everyday Kaizen.

13. Kenchi Imai says, "The economic value of dominant design is its ability to impose itself as a standard in the creation of products."

14. In Japan production takes off with a bang, quickly reaching yearly outputs of a million units or more. American and Europe companies are amazed by this and cautious in their expansion of production, and often contenting themselves with doubling every three to four years. Rapid expansion is possible through the infusion and unification of development, design, and production. Moritani says, "Outstanding college educated engineers are assigned in large numbers to the production line, and many are given important say in business operations" and "engineers involved in development and design always visit the production line and talk things over with their counterparts on the floor."

15. Productive is a measurement and not a reality. Productivity is a description of the current state of affairs and the past efforts of people.

16. Quality is the measurement and inspection of defect. No matter how hard you inspect a product you will not improve quality. However, one way to improve quality is to improve the production process. You must build quality into the product and process, at the time of development.

17. Total Quality Control goal is solve problems, establish standards to prevent reoccurrences, build products that satisfy customer, facilitate change in severe corporate environments, win customer confidence, and improve profitability. Management should look at the steps that follow in the process. Management motto should be "Lets improve process" and accomplished by encouraging constant feedback and communication with the worker. In order to develop a product that satisfies customers, data must be collected by sales and marketing, and to some extent, the complaint department.

18. Masumasa Imaizumi says, "An Enterprise can prosper only when customers who purchase the product are satisfied...In other words, the only thing an enterprise can offer customers is quality. " If quality is to be maintained there must be smooth communication among all people at every production stage. There must be no departmental enemies. Ishikawa calls this "the next process is the customer." The customer is the next person in the process, not just the final customer. "The entire concept of quality assurance thus rests on the premise that assuring quality to each customer at each stage will assure quality in the finished product."

19. Too many companies, both in Japan and abroad, whose top management pays lip service to the concept of satisfying customer but does not have a system to achieve it.

20. Japanese management generally believes that a manager should spend at least 50 percent of his time on improvement. Engineer improvement are often shot down when a new and different method of operation does not have a way to quantify the improvement in financial terms.

21. Opportunities for improvement are everywhere. The first and easiest place to start Kaizen is at the work place by cutting cost and eliminating waste. Quality Control circles plan, do, check, and action will make work meaningful and worthwhile.

22. Quality control circle is defined as a small group that voluntarily performs quality control activities within the shop where its members work, the small group carrying out it work continuously as part of a company-wide program of quality control, self-development, mutual development, and flow control and improvement within the workshop.

23. Getting productive ideas from employees is not so much a matter of having creative employees as it is one of having supporting management.

24. Here are some of the main subjects in Japanese company suggestions: a. improvements in one's work b. savings in energy, material, and other resources. C. improvements in working environment d. improvements in machines and processes e. improvements in jigs and tools. F. Improvements in office work g. improvements in product quality. H. Ideas for new products I. customer services and customer relationships.

25. Goals are quantitative figures established by management. Measures, are specific action programs to achieve a goal. A goal that is not expressed in terms of specific measures is merely a slogan. It is imperative that top management determine both the goals and measure and then deploy them throughout the organization.

26. Without cross-functional goals, the departments with the loudest voices tend to win interdepartmental negotiations, regardless of the impact on company-wide goals. Cross-functional management is concerned with building a better system from quality, cost, and scheduling.



Very famous book, but academic content is not excellent   October 27, 1999
Ellen (the Netherlands)
47 out of 49 found this review helpful

The book Kaizen is very famous and it is often cited. Only because of it's fame, it is worth reading already. Imai shows how production is organized in Japan, and he shows the enormous attention given in Japan to continuous improvement. However, he is rather simplistic about the differences between Japan and the West. However, the book gives a good introduction is some major themes in the field of continuous improvement and it is the origin of many ideas later cited by other. Thus: worth reading if you want to get to know a basic book about continuous improvements in production processes.


Historical   March 3, 2003
therosen (New York, NY United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

Most American businesses no longer worry so much about the Japanese miracle. International focus has moved from Japan to China and back to Europe. Many Japanese companies are now looking to the US for recapitalization and management assistance.

So why is a book on Japanese management techniques still so relevant?

First of all, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing have become universal management tools, not strictly limited to one country. This book presents as good an introduction to the subject as any. With today's focus on execution, this topic are becoming even more current. (Dare I say topical?)

Additionally, understanding continuous improvement is still important in the context of broader corporate change. What are the strength and limitations of incremental changes versus more radical corporate moves? Read the book and learn more.

This book certainly won't turn a mediocre manager into a great leader, but Kaizen is a useful addition to the toolbox of any manager.