The role of Kaizen mindset in business (Part 1)

The latest comes from General Motors, where nearly 50,000 United Auto Workers have gone on strike. One of the main issues in the strike is the lack of communication between management and employees, according to Forbes. The business site notes that process improvement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma are designed to help with exactly that situation.

They also could benefit from a “Kaizen mindset,” which means a culture of continuous process improvement. That’s something needed in American business, as studies have shown that improving company culture is a top priority for a majority of organizations.

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen is a Japanese word that loosely translates into “improvement.” In the context of Lean Six Sigma, it’s the concept of instituting a daily mindset of process improvement and making changes where they are needed.

By its very nature, it involves input from employees at every level. The bottom line is to have everyone in an organization on the same page and moving in the same direction. That can only be accomplished through hard work, commitment and implementing the principles of process improvement.

Lack of Communication A Factor in GM Strike

The latest strike by the GM workers shows the importance of one of the key components of Lean Six Sigma: communication between all levels of the organization.

The gap between executives and employees at GM is one of the main reasons for the strike, according to Forbes. The business site spoke with Errette Dunn, CEO of Rever Inc. and an expert in employee-management relations. He pointed out that many employees feel their creativity and ideas go to waste because executives pay little to no attention.

“Frontline employees make up more than 80% of the workforce, yet they are an untapped and underutilized creative resource. They are the ones who are closest to products, processes and customers. They already know the answer to many chronic problems,” he told Forbes.

The relationship of Lean Six Sigma platform with innovative thinking

Lean Six Sigma principles can help solve this problem. Frontline staff play an important role in improving the processes. If lean manufacturing processes are implemented, employees will better understand the benefits of improvement: Innovation is reducing, not adding, as they think. This is the key to creating innovative thinking at the staff level.

As Forbes pointed out, Lean Six Sigma is designed to break down barriers in communication and solve problems by using techniques and tools that bring people onto an equal playing field and eliminate try to believe and communicate.

Source: Sixsigmadaily