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Article
Publication date: 21 May 2018

Wayne G. Macpherson, James C. Lockhart, Heather Kavan and Anthony L. Iaquinto

As employees in the lower ranks of a Japanese company advance through the levels of management and seniority their role in day-to-day kaizen activities shifts from that of…

2244

Abstract

Purpose

As employees in the lower ranks of a Japanese company advance through the levels of management and seniority their role in day-to-day kaizen activities shifts from that of directly improving their own job, operations and surroundings to guiding, educating and facilitating understanding and practice. The emphasis of kaizen to the employee during career progression changes in an embedded, sequential and predictable manner. To a new employee, kaizen is a process to be implemented, something that is visible and largely provided through company training and job manuals, while not necessarily being fully understood. To the senior manager, however, one who has advanced up the corporate ladder, kaizen is tacit knowledge and accumulated experiences, and is seen as being more than just reducing costs, increasing productivity and decreasing lead times. At this point, kaizen becomes something invisible, something that can produce real influence on both the company’s profitability and the manager’s reputation. Consequently, what kaizen is actually changes from being a duty associated with employment to a matter of personal, group, collective, and organizational responsibility. The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanism underpinning the transfer of kaizen (acknowledgement and exercise) in the Japanese workplace that results in it being sustained across multiple.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from research participants (n = 53) through a mixed-method multi-language field design comprising questionnaires and unstructured interviews conducted in genba, the workplaces of five domain-name multinational companies in Japan. Multi-level statistical analysis identified two largely mutually exclusive generational groups.

Findings

During their late 40s, employees were found to transfer their understanding of kaizen between the two forms. At this age, employees were identified to shift from being student to teacher; follower to leader; and disciple to sensei. This study identified how kaizen shifts from one generation to another; when kaizen shifts through the change in responsibility of employees; and changes in the understanding and practice that creates sustained business excellence.

Originality/value

Importantly, the study reveals how kaizen itself is a sustainable business activity in the workplace, one that Western business is struggling to emulate.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

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Article
Publication date: 21 September 2015

Wayne G. Macpherson, James C Lockhart, Heather Kavan and Anthony L. Iaquinto

The purpose of this paper is to develop a definitive and insightful working definition of kaizen for practitioners and academics in the West through which they may better…

6664

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a definitive and insightful working definition of kaizen for practitioners and academics in the West through which they may better understand the kaizen phenomenon and its intangible but critical underpinning philosophy.

Design/methodology/approach

A phenomenological study of the utility of kaizen within in the bounds of active kaizen environments in name Japanese industrial organisations was conducted over a three-year period in Japan. The research explored how Japanese workers acknowledge, exercise, identify and diffuse kaizen in a sustainable manner.

Findings

Kaizen is found to be a broad philosophical approach to work that serves different purposes for different members of the organisation, where no universal definition appears to exist yet differing ideologies are tolerated. Kaizen in Japan has a considerably deep meaning: it channels worker creativity and expressions of individuality into bounded environments, and creates an energy that drives a shared state of mind among employees to achieve proactive changes and innovation in the workplace.

Originality/value

This paper competently bridges the Japanese-Anglosphere cultural divide in social and business contexts. It contributes to the development of practitioner understanding of the utility of kaizen in Japan through unhindered cross-cultural research methodology, enabled by researcher competency and fluency in Japanese language and culture.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Heather Kavan

337

Abstract

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2006

Heather Kavan

51

Abstract

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Available. Content available
699

Abstract

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Heather Kavan

1402

Abstract

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2006

138

Abstract

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 1980

Liz Chapman, David Reid, Brian Griffin, Quentin Bibble, Graham Barnett and Wilfred Ashworth

WHEN YOU meet people for the first time and they ask what you do, do you ever hesitate about telling them you're a librarian? Do you ever qualify your self‐description with some…

27

Abstract

WHEN YOU meet people for the first time and they ask what you do, do you ever hesitate about telling them you're a librarian? Do you ever qualify your self‐description with some such phrase as ‘can't you tell by looking at me?’ or ‘I don't just stamp books you know’? Do you sometimes feel diffident about describing your work? I do. The reason I react in this way is that I know people outside our information world think they know very well what we do, but in fact have very little idea. We seem to have a very strong popular image which it is difficult if not impossible to shake off.

Details

New Library World, vol. 81 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

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Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Ronnie Jia, Blaize Horner Reich and Heather H. Jia

This study aims to extend service climate research from its existing focus on routine service for external clients into a knowledge-intensive, internal (KII) service setting. This…

437

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to extend service climate research from its existing focus on routine service for external clients into a knowledge-intensive, internal (KII) service setting. This extension was important because internal knowledge workers may operate from a monopolistic perspective and not view themselves as service providers because of the technical/professional nature of their work.

Design/methodology/approach

Two surveys were distributed in participating organizations. One survey, completed by employees in information technology (IT) service units, contains measures of service climate, climate antecedents and technical competence. The second survey, filled out by members of their corporate customer units, taps their evaluations of service quality.

Findings

Service climate in IT service units significantly predicted service evaluations by their respective customer units. Importantly, service climate was more predictive than IT service employees’ technical competency. Role ambiguity, empowerment and work facilitation were also found to be significant service climate antecedents.

Research limitations/implications

These results provided strong empirical evidence supporting an extension of the existing service climate research to KII service settings. To the extent that front-line service employees rely on internal support to deliver quality service to external customers, managers should work to enhance the service climate in internal support units, which ultimately improves external service quality.

Originality/value

This is the first study that establishes the robustness of the service climate construct in KII service settings. It makes service climate a useful managerial tool for improving both internal and external service quality.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

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