Workers, Managers, Productivity: Kaizen in Developing Countries

✍ Scribed by Akio Hosono (editor), John Page (editor), Go Shimada (editor)

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 337
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as “Kaizen,” and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size.
This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms’ productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike.

✦ Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Overview
1 Introduction
2 Defining Kaizen
2.1 Five Key Attributes of Kaizen
2.2 The Definition of Kaizen Used in This Volume
3 Kaizen and Three Issues in Development
3.1 Industrial Policy, Capabilities, and the Learning Firm
3.2 Kaizen and the Learning Society
3.3 Kaizen and Equitable Growth
4 Introducing and Implementing Kaizen
4.1 A Government-Led Process in Ethiopia
4.2 Diverse Dissemination Profiles in Southeast Asia
4.3 Developing the Employability of Youth Through Kaizen
4.4 Summing Up
5 The Effectiveness of Kaizen in Large Companies
5.1 Moving Up the Value Chain: Mexico and South Africa
5.2 Shortening the “Left-Hand Tail” in Brazil
5.3 Summing Up
6 Effectiveness of Kaizen for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
6.1 Rural MSMEs in Vietnam
6.2 Raising Manufacturing Productivity in Ghana
6.3 A Kaizen-Like Intervention in the Philippines
6.4 Summing Up
7 Conclusions and Policy Implications
References
Chapter 2: Industrial Policy, Firm Capabilities, and Kaizen
1 Introduction
2 The Case for Industrial Policy
3 Firm Capabilities
3.1 What Are Firm Capabilities?
3.2 Building Capabilities
3.3 The Role of Management
4 Capabilities and Kaizen
5 Some Implications for Industrial Policy
5.1 Why Do Firms Fail to Adopt Good Management Practices?
5.2 Options to Improve Management Practices
6 Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: Kaizen Toward Learning, Transformation, and High-Quality Growth: Insights from Outstanding Experiences
1 Analytical Perspective and Key Issues
1.1 Research Question and Structure of This Chapter
2 Goals, Tools/Methods, and Process of Kaizen
2.1 Goals of Kaizen and Process to Achieve Them
2.2 Kaizen Tools/Methods
3 Kaizen, Learning, and Quality of Growth
3.1 Kaizen as a Participatory and Inclusive Approach
3.2 Kaizen and Learning
3.3 Kaizen, TQC/TQM, Organizational Learning, and Learning Firms
3.4 Kaizen and Sustainable Growth
3.5 Kaizen and Secure Growth
4 Insights from Outstanding Experiences
4.1 Experiences in Japan
4.2 Experiences in the United States8
4.3 Experiences in Singapore10
4.4 Experiences in Thailand
4.5 Experiences in Tanzania and Other African Countries
5 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4: Why Is Kaizen Critical for Developing Countries?: Kaizen as a Social Innovation in the Era of Global Inequality
1 Introduction
2 In the Era of Declining Labor Share in GDP: Toward Social Innovation
3 US Aid to Japan: Japan’s Experience Introducing Kaizen to Create Social Innovation
3.1 Economic Policy During the United States’ Occupation of Japan: The GHQ Policy Toward Economic Recovery
3.2 The Necessity to Improve Productivity for Recovery After the War4
3.2.1 Hyperinflation
3.2.2 Labor Movement
3.2.3 Cold War
3.2.4 Creating Social Innovation
4 Impacts on Wage: Kaizen as Social Innovation
5 Conclusions and Policy Implications
References
Part I: Introducing and Implementing Kaizen
Chapter 5: Kaizen Promotion in Ethiopia: A Role of the Government and Change of Mindset of People
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Framework of the Analysis
1.3 Structure and Methods of Analysis
2 Policy and Actions Taken by the Government of Ethiopia
2.1 Reforms Apart from Kaizen in Ethiopia
2.2 Kaizen Promotion by the Government
3 Kaizen Practices and Outcomes in Companies/Organizations
3.1 Outline of the Survey
3.2 Outcomes of Kaizen in Companies/Organizations
3.3 Spillover Effects
4 Discussion
4.1 The Role of the Government
4.2 Responses by the People in the Workplace
4.2.1 Development of Core Capacities Through Kaizen
4.2.2 Job Security of Workers
4.2.3 Sustainability of Kaizen Activities
5 Concluding Remarks
Appendix
References
Chapter 6: Kaizen Dissemination Through the Government and Private Sector in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar
1 Introduction
2 Research Methodology
3 Kaizen Dissemination in Malaysia
3.1 The Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) as the Key Driver for Kaizen Dissemination
3.2 Results from Semi-structured Interviews
4 Kaizen Dissemination in Indonesia
4.1 Kaizen Dissemination Through Supply Chain Transaction
4.2 The Effectiveness of Kaizen in Indonesia
4.3 The Role of Private and Public Organizations
4.4 Conclusion on Kaizen Dissemination in Indonesia
5 Kaizen Dissemination in Myanmar
5.1 Kaizen-Disseminating Organizations
5.2 A Case Study in the Private Sector
6 Major Findings and the Kaizen Dissemination Model
6.1 Stakeholders’ Roles and Relations in Kaizen Dissemination (Possible Standard Model)
6.2 Government- or Private Sector-Led Kaizen Dissemination
6.3 Kaizen Dissemination Path Model: Five-Stage Paths of Kaizen Dissemination
6.4 Stakeholders’ Major Roles in Kaizen Dissemination
6.5 Proactive Role of Government and Public Organizations
7 Conclusions
References
Chapter 7: Opportunities for Kaizen in Africa: Developing the Core Employability Skills of African Youth Through Kaizen
1 Introduction
2 Defining and Categorizing Core Employability Skills
2.1 Definition of Employability
2.2 Core Employability Skills
3 Core Employability Skills in Africa
4 Core Employability Skills and Kaizen
5 The Case of Ethiopia
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1 Ethiopian Context
5.1.2 TVET Reform in Ethiopia
5.2 Methods
5.3 The Features of Kaizen Courses in TVET
5.4 Findings from the Questionnaire and Interviews
5.4.1 Perceptions Toward the Competencies for Employability
5.4.2 Perceptions of the Core Employability Skills
Core Employability Skills
Core Employability Skills Required by Enterprises
Core Employability Skills Learned in the Kaizen Courses
5.5 Analysis
6 The Case of South Africa
6.1 Context and Policy
6.2 Employability Improvement Training
6.3 Methods
6.4 Participant Observation of EIP Training
6.4.1 Observations from the First Round
6.4.2 Observations from the Second Round
6.4.3 Observations from the Third Round
6.5 Findings from the Survey
6.5.1 Results of the Survey
6.5.2 Analysis
7 Conclusions
References
Part II: The Effectiveness of Kaizen in Large Companies
Chapter 8: The Role of Kaizen in Participation in the Global Value Chain: The Case of the Mexican Automotive Industry
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 How to Participate in the GVC?
2.2 Value Chain Disaggregation and the Automotive Value Chain
2.3 GVC Stages in the Automotive Industry and the Individual Firm’s Position
2.4 The Driving Force for Improving Positioning in the GVC: Evaluation Based on QCD
2.5 Productivity Improvement, Kaizen, and Firm Capabilities
3 The Mexican Automotive Industry
4 Hypothesis and Methodologies
4.1 Hypothesis
4.2 Methodology
5 Outline of the Data
5.1 Data Sources
5.2 Outline and Intention of the JICA-Supported Project
6 Findings and Analysis
6.1 The Overall Relationship Between Kaizen and Position in the GVC
6.2 STEPS 1 and 2: Impact of Kaizen on Quality and Productivity
6.2.1 Quality
6.2.2 Productivity
6.3 STEP 3: Impact of Quality and Productivity on Tier-1 Firms’ Evaluation on QCD
6.3.1 Quality
6.3.2 Cost
6.4 STEP 4: Relationship Between Evaluation of QCD and Evaluation of Positioning in the GVC
6.4.1 QCD and Positions in the GVC
6.4.2 The Road to Partner Supplier/Role of Support for Tier-2 Firms
6.5 STEP 5: Improvement in GVC and Expansion of Business Volume
7 Conclusions and Policy Implications
7.1 Conclusions
7.2 Policy Implications
References
Chapter 9: Enhancing Learning Through Continuous Improvement: Case Studies of the Toyota Production System in the Automotive Industry in South Africa
1 Introduction
2 Automotive Industry in South Africa and JICA Project
2.1 Automotive Industry in South Africa
2.2 JICA Project
3 Data and Research Methods
4 Case Studies
4.1 Company A
4.1.1 Company Profile
4.1.2 Process
4.1.3 Results
4.1.4 Challenges
4.2 Company B
4.2.1 Company Profile
4.2.2 Process
4.2.3 Results
4.2.4 Challenges
4.3 Company E
4.3.1 Company Profile
4.3.2 Process
4.3.3 Results
4.3.4 Challenges
4.4 Suspended Cases
4.4.1 Suspended Cases Due to Assemblers’ Intervention
4.4.2 Suspended Cases Due to Lack of Management’s Commitments
5 Major Findings
5.1 Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Suppliers
5.2 Success Factors of Kaizen Activities
5.2.1 Management Commitment
5.2.2 Resource Allocation
5.2.3 Continuous Training
5.3 Impact on Learning
6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: Impact of Kaizen-like Practices in the Brazilian Manufacturing Sector
1 Introduction
2 Brazilian Firm-Level Datasets
3 Kaizen Identified in an Innovation Survey
4 Empirical Strategy from the Quantitative Approach
5 Econometric Results
6 Qualitative Approach: Methodology and Data
6.1 Research Design and Methodology
6.2 Selection Criteria and Data Collection
7 Qualitative Outcomes and Discussion
7.1 Kaizen-Adopter Firms and Their Employees
7.2 Competitive Pressure and the Search for Improvements Without Increasing Expenses
7.3 Kaizen and Brazilian Business Environment
7.4 Kaizen’s Impacts in the Companies
8 Concluding Remarks
References
Part III: Effectiveness of Kaizen for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Chapter 11: Kaizen for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Vietnam
1 Introduction
2 Design of the Kaizen Training Program and the Study Site
2.1 Trainer Training and Training Material
2.1.1 Trainer Training
2.1.2 Training Material
2.2 The Study Site
2.3 Sampling for the Survey
2.4 Questionnaire
3 Delivery of the Kaizen Training Program
3.1 Selection of Treated-and-Control Pairs of Enterprises
3.2 Class-Room Seminar Training
3.3 On-site Training
4 Post-Training Survey
5 Characteristics of Sampled Enterprises and Owners
5.1 Characteristics of Sample Enterprises
5.2 Who Participated in the Kaizen Training Program?
6 Evaluation of the Kaizen Training Program
6.1 Estimation Method
6.2 Effects on Willingness-to-Pay of the Owners
6.3 Effects on Kaizen Practices of Enterprises
6.4 Effects on Performance of Enterprises
7 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 12: Management Practices and Performance Improvement in Manufacturing Enterprises: The Case of Kaizen Adoption in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
3.1 The Intervention Under the Study
3.2 Data and Analytical Approach
4 Analysis and Results
5 Conclusion
Appendix
References
Chapter 13: Consequences of Kaizen Practices in MSMEs in the Philippines: The Case of the Manufacturing Productivity Extension Program (MPEX)
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Kaizen
2.1.1 Kaizen as Not Physical Capital-Intensive
2.1.2 Kaizen as Reduction of Muda, Muri, and Mura
2.1.3 Kaizen as a People-Oriented Approach
2.2 Factors Affecting Firm Growth
2.3 Kaizen and MSMEs
3 Data and Methodology
3.1 Data Sources
3.2 Method for Quantitative Analysis
3.3 Method for Qualitative Analysis
4 Findings and Analysis
4.1 Quantitative Findings: Propensity Score Matching and Difference-In-Difference Regression Analysis
4.2 Qualitative Findings: Comparative Case Study
4.2.1 Firm A: Kaizen Increases Productivity
Background
Kaizen Practices Introduced
Reckoning Productivity
Lessons on Kaizen and Productivity
4.2.2 Firm B: Kaizen Enhances Quality Through Compliance with Regulatory Standards
Background
Kaizen Practices
Reckoning Quality Enhancement
Lessons on Kaizen and Quality Toward Regulatory Compliance
4.2.3 Discussion of Cases
5 Conclusion and Policy Recommendations
Appendix: Quantitative Analysis and Results
Methodology
Results
References
Index