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Question 1:
What are the advantages of Kaizen over a tayloristic approach (applied in the Ford factories) with respect to quality management?
Question 2:
Which measures can you suggest to avoid an exploitation trap when applying Kaizen in a company?
Answers:
Answer 1:
The Kaizen concept, unlike the tayloristic approach is simple and straight forward as it simply means improvement. The Kaizen approach involves different stakeholders like workers and managers. The involvement of different people in the organization ensures that everyone plays a role in the improvement process. For instance, the top management are determined to introduce the Kaizen as a corporate strategy, while the middle management deploys and implements the strategy. The supervisors formulate kaizen plans and guide the workers. The assumption that the way of life requires constant improvement rather than abrupt changes makes the Kaizen philosophy workable and superior to the tayloristic approach. The Kaizen concept utilizes methods such as total quality control and company wide quality control which are advantageous in generating a process oriented way of thinking and developing strategies that assure that there is constant improvement which involve individuals at different organizational hierarhcy. The Kaizen concept makes improvement to be part of life which makes changes be more acceptable and face limited objection from the stakeholders if any. Kaizen appears more favorable as compared to innovation. This is because Kaizen entails small scale improvements which are done in the status quo hence it uses limited resources; while on the other hand, innovation is drastic and requires large amount of investment. Kaizen cuts accross the innovation and maintenance; this ensures that the innovations made are maintained to ensure that the standards are retained. The innovation alone as it was in the case of the Ford may lack the maintenance aspect which may result to failure to sustain the new set standards.
Answer 2:
The Kaizen concept can have an exploitation trap which need to be controlled through various measures. These measures should be based on education, organization, mobility, leadership, and labor extention programs. In making any improvement in an organization there should be communication regarding the process and the expected goals. This communication gives the employee unions and groups the ability to critique an agreement with management. The union members should have the chance to give their opinions and decisions to the management. In the change process, the different stakeholders should have common goals, through which the different individuals should be winners in the entire process. The labor and the management should have common interests, and they should understrand that the interests can only be met if they get beyond their empty bickering. The different stakeholders should set aside any form of adversarialism and center on moving forward. There should be a win-win or mutual gains bargaing amongst all the involved parties in the change process. No party in the organization should feel sidelined in the process of change; instead there ought to be empowerment and making of independed choices. Involvement methods should involve decision making and choice authority amongst various members. This would result to self-drive and empowerment. Within the fences of the organization there should be freedom. Additionally, there ought to be building of personal relationships and lowering of caution flag to ensure harmony. The language used by different stakeholders to each other should be respectful and that which is aimed at ensuring success of the change process.
