A Study On Characteristics of Management for Long-term Continuation of Kaizen Activities

Case Study of Company B and Comparative Analysis of Active State Sustaining Factors

Abstract

Effectively sustaining Kaizen activities is a major focus in business, but not enough suggestions have been made as to the type of management this requires. Case studies have been conducted to analyze changes in the active state of Kaizen, and these have shown which factors affect sustaining of an active state (active state sustaining factors).
This study focuses on the Kaizen activities of Company B, a precision instrument manufacturer. Here, Kaizen activities were sustained over 10 years and achieved significant results. The study also incorporates a comparative analysis between the factors that gave impetus to Company B's Kaizen activities and the active state sustaining factors discussed in prior research. In addition, it elucidates the attributes of Company B's management in sustaining Kaizen activities.