Top Japanese Secrets to Skyrocket Your Business
By Padmashri Kadam
We all know that Japan is considered as the best example in terms of continuous improvement as well as customer orientation and manufacturing high-quality products in Japanese companies. Japan is often remembered for its amazing recovery after World war Ⅱ. Implementing the Japanese business approach requires a shift in awareness to constantly improve business compared to significant financial resources.
One of these major approaches that have been accepted and followed widely around the world is the ‘Kaizen Concept or Philosophy’. The top 3 Japanese secrets are discussed below to level up your business.
# Kaizen Philosophy
The philosophy of ‘Kaizen’ was greatly spread in the west by ‘Masaaki Imai’ in his book regarding kaizen that later developed a worldwide interest.
So, here’s how the story goes:
To improve Japan’s economy after World war Ⅱ, General Macarthur, a 5-star American general decided to help Japan. He focussed on increasing production in Japanese companies that would raise its economy, thus aiding his American soldiers.
So, he introduced the basic principle of kaizen that mainly concentrates on making small improvements every day. He suggested all employees think about the minor changes that can be done on regular basis to improve slowly.
He kept the suggestion boxes in every company and asked the employees, “ what can be that one small improvement that can increase the production of our company? ” Many employees started giving suggestions and he quickly kept on implementing one by one.
After some days he noticed that the production started increasing rapidly. From that period onwards, the same philosophy is practiced by the Japanese companies over many years that further led Japan to be the biggest economy in the world.
The ‘Kaizen’ concept mainly works on the following principles:
It is considered as a part of every single business process; not restricted to a single management discipline.
It is a continuous process that is supported by all members of the Japanese organization.
Japanese has a different attitude in bringing a small change towards improvement. It is believed that taking the step towards the smallest changes at every process brings successful results that are ignored by many.
The two types of ‘Kaizen’ i.e the Gemba kaizen and Teian kaizen aim to develop and meet high production and quality standards. The Gemba kaizen is an action-oriented approach and focuses on improvement activities that are performed at the actual workplace, whereas, Teian kaizen is a theory-based approach and refers to strategic improvements that are influenced by top management that leads to improved business and manufacturing practices.
When the kaizen philosophy is applied, every single organizational member is responsible for the improvement processes that motivate employees and reward them for improving work and business processes. Not only manufacturing or a service process can be improved, but this philosophy can also be applied in nonmanagerial situations.
# The 5S System
The 5S system includes the 5 Japanese keywords that start with ‘S’. These are mainly used in the production processes namely - Seiri (sort), Seiton (set in order), Seiso (clean), Seiketsu (systematize), and Shitsuke (standardize). They improvise a business or production process, or any kind of standardized process, ensuring a high-quality performance that is long-lasting.
These Japanese keywords are described in different phases as listed below:
The first phase Seiri refers to tidiness or sorting out creating a structured organization. During this process, all materials and tools are sorted, and only the necessary ones are kept for continued use. This process leads to fewer hazards and clutter that might interfere with productive work.
The second phase Seiton refers to straightening and orderliness. The focus is to maintain the workplace well-organized. There should be a place for everything, and everything should be in its place which means “demarcation and labeling of place.”
The third phase Seiso stands for sweeping and cleanliness. Cleaning all items used at work (e.g., all materials used during a manufacturing process) is a must. The workplace needs to be clean and tidy all the time. A work area is cleaned up and everything is restored to its place at the end of each shift making the process easier.
The fourth phase Seiketsu refers to prioritizing cleaning, control, and improvement processes as a regular activity in the workplace, that allows control and consistency. Basic housekeeping standards should be used and applied everywhere in the facility.
The fifth phase Shitsuke refers to standardizing and sustaining the long-term kaizen goals and to maintaining and reviewing standards. Bringing the above 4 phases into action, the new way of operating the organization comes into play, eliminating the old ways of operating.
# Total Quality Management
Total quality control is implemented in all phases of the manufacturing and work processes, considering ‘Quality’ as an important aspect. While employees check and improve the quality of work and products, any sort of mistakes made must be immediately reported and fixed as soon as they are found.
Japanese firms implement and promote some interesting tools to leverage their employee's creativity and ideas to ensure that their products and services are of supreme quality. These tools are described below:
Quality Circle is based on the idea that involves the interaction between different members of a group that is more productive than several individual ideas and consists of 8 to 10 people from the same work area, who are voluntarily involved in research and solving product-quality problems.
Training plays a major role in quality circles. First, the circle leader is trained by the senior management and then devotes time and energy to disseminating statistical knowledge and other related expertise to his or her subordinates. Every member is skilled and can freely communicate his or her ideas. Hence, quality circles significantly improve product quality as well as productivity.
Also, however, individual suggestions must not be neglected. Suggestions given by circle members are strongly followed and are encouraged to register patents in case the group discussion leads to inventions or new products.
Genchi Genbutsu (Go and See) - A recruit entering a Japanese sales department will accompany a more experienced sales manager for up to 2 years before coming in contact with the customer. This allows them to learn the business from an experienced person; to become familiar with the customers, their likes, and their dislikes; and to become accustomed to the business. After being socialized in this manner, employees then feel more relaxed carrying out their work and show greater motivation.
Also, many Japanese employees are moved to a new department every 2 to 3 years so that they are experts in all aspects of the business. Each task is learned by doing it from the scratch. Japanese top managers who “grew up” in only one firm have often worked in all parts of their company and really “know every corner of the firm.”
Reflection Meeting or Hanseikai is another tool that is held after projects, events, or any task that is performed by a group. It is a very traditional way of reflecting on a project and implementing changes for future performance.
In the first step, team members analyze the task and compare the initial project plan to the actual performance. Following the first step, the performance of each team member is discussed, and they reflect on their performance and make suggestions on how they could improve it next time. Finally, in the feedback round the group discusses the particular aspects that could be improved and that need to be considered in future projects.
Moral Lesson:
Take time to focus on implementing baby steps in every process.
It’s important to remember that starting with a small step lowers resistance to change.
Encourage employees to come up with new ideas that can be rewarded.
Responsibility to be shared by all employees that involve teamwork, right from top management to down, are responsible for improving business processes.
Conduct regular reflection meetings about the day-to-day progress that are discussed, promoted and rewarded.
Padmashri Kadam
#Japanese #Secrets to #Skyrocket #Business
Top Japanese Secrets to Skyrocket Your Business
By Padmashri Kadam
#Japanese #Secrets to #Skyrocket #Business
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