KAIZEN means continuing improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. When applied to the workplace KAIZEN means continuing improvement involving everyone - managers and workers alike.
The KAIZEN strategy begins and ends with people. With KAIZEN, an involved leadership guides people to continuously improve their ability to meet expectations of high quality, low cost, and on-time delivery. KAIZEN transforms companies into 'Superior Global Competitors'.
In our concepts, three functions should happen simultaneously within any organizations: Maintenance, Innovation, and KAIZEN. By maintenance, we refer to maintaining the current status, the procedures are set and the standards are implemented. People in the lower level of organization mostly do that, they maintain their standards.
By Innovation, we refer to breakthrough activities initiated by top management, buying new machines, new equipment, developing new markets, directing R&D, change of strategy etc.
In the middle there is KAIZEN, small steps but continuing improvement. KAIZEN should be implemented by the lower/middle management and the workers, with the encouragement and direction of the top. The top management responsibility is to cultivate a KAIZEN working climates and cultures in the organization.
Not a day should go without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company. When KAIZEN is adapted in organizations and management perspectives, however, it is easier to talk about it than to implement it. It is very natural that people will propose some kind of change in their own work place, when they become unsatisfied with their present conditions. Some of the improvements could be carried outright away. Perhaps, the boss won't even notice them. However, when approval is required, several kinds of responses from the boss could have taken place. The ideal situation is that the boss encourages their subordinates to carry out their ideas. The boss then appreciates the efforts or gives recognition. That's what people expect when they propose something. The positive response given by the boss will then develop trust with the subordinates and stimulate other improvements. Cumulatively, this will create momentum for continuing improvement.
The Wet Blanket List
However, life in the organization is not as easy. The boss could ask you a silly question like: "it is not broken, why should we change it" or "the procedures is fine with me, why should we changed it?". From your perspective, you know that if you change it, the boss will blame you. The boss just did not want to give you a try, with a lot of reasons and/or no reasons. You could not do anything anymore, "the boss is always right" like the saying goes. There are so many bosses like that. The bosses should encourage their subordinates, but in a real life, the wet blankets put out the "fire" of improvement suggestions.
In an inefficient organization, everybody tends to throw wet blankets everywhere. You could also add more wet blankets from your own vocabulary, the list could be endless.
The Real Organizational Life
That's what really happens in organizational life. Bosses discourage subordinates and the subordinates become skeptical. They quit making proposals, suggestions and improvement and the organization becomes very stagnant. Sometime, the bosses are aware of the stagnation and buy a new machine, change the layouts, or even hire a bunch of consultants to make a breakthrough. They do that because it's their function to make breakthroughs. They change everything and rock the organization. However, they don't change and still criticize their subordinate, tossing wet blankets to the people. This is very important point, that change and improvement should start from top management. Top management should change their own behavior when dealing with subordinates.
BASIC TIPS FOR KAIZEN ACTIVITIES
Discard conventional fixed ideas.
Think of how to do it, not why it cannot be done.
Do not make excuses. Start by questioning current practices.
Do not seek perfection. Do it right away even if for only 50% of target.
Correct it right away, if you make mistake.
Do not spend money for KAIZEN, use your wisdom.
Wisdom is brought out when faced with hardship.
Ask 'WHY?" five times and seek root causes.
Seek the wisdom of ten people rather than the knowledge of one.
KAIZEN ideas are infinite.
Source:
http://www.revisionguru.co.uk/business/kaizen.htm