MANY countries and organisations outside Japan are amazed by                                                                                          
the sustained success of its economy in the last four decades.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
They now start looking at the Japanese management system for                                                                                          
some answers. They look for reasons for its success and the                                                                                           
tools used in the process.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
One of the greatest strengths in Japanese management systems                                                                                          
is human resources management and people development. The                                                                                             
emphasis is on more soft-skill development or human                                                                                                   
development.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
This article explains the practical meaning of Kaizen and how                                                                                         
the Japanese successfully apply this concept to their work                                                                                            
life.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Kaizen utilises the soft skills by getting people prepared to                                                                                         
initiate and support change for the betterment of the                                                                                                 
organisation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
In any organisation, big or small, there is a need to                                                                                                 
understand that change is a fact of life. However, this fact                                                                                          
is not so clear to many Malaysian employees and even                                                                                                  
employers. They still stick to the old management saying of                                                                                           
"people resist change."                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Kaizen basically means gradual Continuous improvement, be it                                                                                          
to one's social life, family life, or work life; The key word                                                                                         
here is improvement, which means having things done in a new                                                                                          
and better way.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Without some form of gradual and continuous change to meet the                                                                                        
fast pace of development in almost all fields, any business                                                                                           
will lose its competitive edge.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The most common and simple tool in the implementation of                                                                                              
Kaizen is the PDCA cycle. The 'P' denotes plan, which                                                                                                 
generally is a course of action undertaken to fulfil an                                                                                               
objective. The 'D' means do -doing what was planned, and the                                                                                          
'C' means check, where a comparison is made between planning                                                                                          
and doing. When the task performed does not follow the set                                                                                            
plan, then the 'A' for action is to re-plan and go through the                                                                                        
cycle again.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
But when things are done according to plan, the question "what                                                                                   
then?" arises. This is the vital part of Kaizen, because it                                                                                      
becomes part of the Japanese work culture to challenge                                                                                                
targets.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Once tasks are accomplished according to plan, the work                                                                                               
culture is such that the question automatically asked is: Can                                                                                         
this be done better the next time around?                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
No doubt, the Japanese did not have 100% success all the way                                                                                          
in business. What we don't see is, perhaps; their failures.                                                                                           
But one work habit that has ensured more success than failure                                                                                         
is Kaizen.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
How is the idea of Kaizen incorporated into most successful                                                                                           
Japanese businesses?                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The preliminary groundwork is done outside the business                                                                                               
context.  The early days in school teach the Japanese to be                                                                                           
independent and to take up challenges. Thus the learning of                                                                                           
martial arts, for example, is a must for young Japanese                                                                                               
children.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
School teaches the way of life or basis culture (mental                                                                                               
programming) by ensuring that youths understand the need to                                                                                           
respect-talk less and listen more to-their elders.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
It is, therefore, not surprising to see Japanese businesses                                                                                           
paying a great deal of attention to human resources management                                                                                        
and development.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Top management support                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Can Malaysian businesses incorporate the practice of Kaizen                                                                                           
into their work environment?                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The answer depends on the corporate culture that is the values                                                                                        
norms and beliefs of the owners.  The first step in                                                                                                   
implementing Kaizen is to have top management desire a                                                                                                
continuous improvement in the organisation.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
This means that the top management must trade off some of                                                                                             
authority and decision-making functions for higher                                                                                                    
productivity and a dynamic workforce.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
In general, a Japanese company is managed almost like a simple                                                                                        
traditional family, where the chief executive officer is like                                                                                         
a father or paternal master, which tends to lead to a close                                                                                           
interpersonal relationship or "groupism."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
This was clearly shown in a study carried out by Dr William                                                                                           
Ouchi (of Theory Z fame) in 1981 in the United States. In his                                                                                         
research on issues pertaining to productivity, he concluded                                                                                           
that the Japanese clocked greater productivity than the                                                                                               
Americans because they paid a great deal of attention to                                                                                              
managing people.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Although technology is important for organisational growth,                                                                                           
the Japanese believe that people will make things happen.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Ringi and Nemawashi                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Groupism is introduced into an organisation to ensure that all                                                                                        
the departments operate as an integrated whole-and not as                                                                                             
separate entities-to bring about overall results.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The "Ringi system" is a collective bottom-up decision-making                                                                                
process which actually gives ownership to the person on the                                                                                           
floor for decisions on what action is needed to achieve the                                                                                           
objective.  The Western world calls this the empowering of the                                                                                        
workforce.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
In the practice of Nemawashi, which is the application of                                                                                             
broad consultation and consensus-building, almost everyone                                                                                            
agrees on what and how to achieve objectives.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Kaizen, then, is the application of soft skills that is                                                                                               
directed at improving the individual, the group and the                                                                                               
organisation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
This will, in turn, create a healthy organisation.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
This approach is similar to the organisational development                                                                                            
(OD) approach, except that OD generally works on a                                                                                                    
project-by-project basis involving a change agent, whereas                                                                                            
Kaizen is an on-going process where the individual and the                                                                                            
groups are culturally committed.