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Kaizen, or “change for the better” (“kai” = change, “zen” = good/for the better), is a Japanese word used to express the concept of a gradual and unending continuous improvement. It was introduced as a management philosophy to western countries by Imai (1986). Kaizen is not a method itself since all the techniques of analysis and creativity continue to be used. It is an incentive built into a formal system. The concept of “kaizen” is based on a panel of activities that we should seek to improve. Brunet and New (2003) point out what they consider to be kaizen’s key features: (1) it is continuous, in the sense of “both the embedded nature of the practice and also its place in a never-ending journey towards quality and efficiency” (p. 1427); (2) it is incremental in nature; and (3) it is “participative, entailing the involvement and intelligence of the work force, generating intrinsic psychological and quality of work-life...
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References and Readings
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Delgado, C., Castelo, B.M. (2013). Kaizen. In: Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Gupta, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_205
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