Kaizezen Case Study

In Japan, continuous improvement that happened in the business sector is responsibilities of everybody based on improvement from old working standard that used. The executives participate in encourage and improve when work up on standard improvement. Imai (1986) had described Kaizen as a continuous improvement process by everyone participating in an overview of the organization. Then Kaizen is strategies consist of concepts, system, and techniques lead to organization culture changes that drive by the customer. The way a successful Kaizen must start from the basic improvement. Such basic improvement make lower-level employee can create their own indicators of success from Kaizen practice. Where such indicator is consistent with the company strategy (Deniels, 1995). Kaizen is the characteristic of employee work at the operating level. Which is to identify problem and recommend solution to particular problem, cause a change from operating level to management level (Ghalayani et al., 1997). Those change are operate slowly and continually, which mean there are participation of employee in all level. In 1998, Melnyk et al. (1998) have defined the 7 specific features of Kaizen on the beginning
(2) Kaizen aims to solve problem in the specific point only.
(3) The investment is low or may not have at all.
(4) Work as a team by a group of employees from different department and different responsibilities. By using the knowledge, skills, and experience of each employee to solve the problem. This cause knowledge development of team member including knowledge exchange between team members.
(5) Kaizen team have freedom to work because it usually approve to solve the problem without approve from their director. In order to solve the problem that is even faster.
(6) Goal of Kaizen must be something that can be measured.
(7) Kaizen is designed to have continuous