Continuous Improvement in Organizational Success

1 Continuous Improvement in Organizational Success Introduction Continuous improvement is a process carried out in an organization to continually eradicate problems from their root causes. It is a paradigm that is deeply entrenched in the total quality management tenets. It is a step by step process rather than a onetime overhaul event.

This, therefore, qualifies the term continuous since it is a bit by bit process, each involving continuous improvement. The history of continuous improvement has roots in the Japanese business fraternity. The philosophy of continuous improvement permeates the Japanese business culture in a great way. Kaizen is the Japanese word that represents continuous improvement.

Kaizen was initially implemented in the Japanese business community after the Second World War.

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2 It was a product of quality management by lecturers who had toured the country (Marsh 1998). However, the principles of continuous improvement are now practiced all around the world. This is due to the fact that continuous improvement can be applied in various sectors. For instance, it has been inculcated in several government frameworks, the health care sector, banking industry, and the recent beneficiary being the supply chain.

The main objective of continuous improvement is to eliminate waste of resources.

Initially, the Japanese practiced continuous improvement in the engineering sector and manufacturing, hence it was applied to facilitate reduction in cost. Continuous improvement, thus, involves all stakeholders from management to the employees in search for waste avenues and continually reducing the wastes. Continuous improvement design is dynamic from organization to organization. It is, hence, difficult for a company to adopt another company's continuous improvement strategy due to the complexities involved (Poirier & Houser 1993).

This paper explains what continuous improvement is in the context of an organization's success.

It seeks to demonstrate the opportunities and benefits that accrue to an organization that appropriately implements the concept of continuous improvement.

Emergence of the continuous improvement policy Following the end of World War II, the United States of America felt obliged to assist some nations with their nation building endeavors, and Japan happened to be one of the beneficiaries of the mission. In these tours, the US lecturers and advisors emphasized on process efficiency other than results. This implied ensuring that the organization was continually improving. The fruits of the advice are currently evident; for instance, the Toyota production system which improved and gave rise to the just in time production method. The total quality management policy is also a fruit of the Japanese emphasis on continuous improvements. Kaizen

3 was adopted from the popularity of the tenet of quality control by a majority of the western companies. The Japanese are, thus, regarded as having embraced continuous improvement policies better as compared to the innovation (Dessinger 2004).

Organization attitude required for Kaizen implementation Judging from the products and policies emanating from the Japanese community, it is notable that the Japanese are generally very keen to detail. For instance, the Japanese’s community obligation to detail is evident in the total quality management policy or the just in time policy that strictly adheres to the client’s details and produces high end output. This is the kind of attitude that is deemed necessary for the smooth implementation of the policy in organizations. This implies that for the efficient implementation of the Keizen policy, there is a requirement to instill a corporate culture that emphasizes on quality and keen detail. This is the kind of culture which seeks feedback from the key stakeholders who interact with the organization on a frequent basis. The corporate culture should also be framed in such a way that it facilitates delegation of authority and provides a hierarchy or chain of command. It is also essential for the organizational culture to permit training and development of staff. Continuous improvement policy is spearheaded by the urge to be better, no matter the current status quo or view from other parties. Kaizen is built on the principle that once a mistake or a loophole is identified in the organization and then management together with other stakeholders discuss on the way forward, it is less likely that the mistake will crop up again. This implies that for an organization to reap the fruits of continuous improvement, it is crucial that the acquired experience is adequately utilized to transform the future and hence attain continuous improvement (Stevenson 2012).

4 Continuous improvement is a strategic or a long term initiative that should be spearheaded by top level management. However, for the successful implementation of the continuous improvement policy, all levels of the organization will be required to work in close coordination, active support and harmony. This implies that for the successful adoption of continuous improvement, proper structures and policies have to be in place governing various issues revolving around satisfaction. This is because an organization that has no regard to equitable resource allocation or fair incentive distribution cannot attain the policy of continuous improvement (Jorgensen, Boer & Gertsen 2004). Continuous improvement cannot be enacted by top level managers. The top level managers have to share the vision with their subordinates, who will in turn take it upon themselves to implement the policy to continually improve the organization. This means that there has to be clear and publicly declared structures which are used to recognize the employees' efforts. This will help motivate the employees by giving them a goal to achieve (Stonebraker & Leong 1994).

According to Cane (1996), the employees have to be directly involved in the process of improvement if it is to succeed. The process of continuous improvement offers organizations a competitive edge if it is appropriately adhered to. Cane (1996), thus, asserts that continuous improvement is a fruit of unanimous effort to attain high quality levels. The organization has to work as a team in identifying the loopholes or weak links it is exposed to. The problem solving also has to be done, where all parties are involved and the efforts of all are recognized. Workers should, however, be trained on various techniques that would facilitate problem identification and communication. This will ensure workers gain a sense of importance, which will in turn facilitate quality is improved and problems are solved as they arise (Cane 1996).

5 Continuous improvement is a problem solving antic which is rapidly gaining popularity as it is providing a competitive edge to businesses that adopt it. This is due to the fact that continuous improvement greatly relies on feedback from key stakeholders of the organization.

These include the directors, management, employees, customers, and the suppliers. Management adopting continuous improvement policy develops a framework of obtaining feedback. The received information is analyzed and evaluated; hence facilitating decision making that is done from the problem solvers in the organization. Feedback is a key component that fosters the success of the continuous improvement policy. This is because it provides awareness on the loopholes that exist in the system. Experts then analyze the information provided and forthwith provide a reliable solution that enhances continuous improvement. The major aspects that continuous improvement addresses are reduction of waste and organization’s inefficiency, reducing inventory levels, and increasing the level of output while improving in quality (Maurer 2004).

Impact of change on individuals and group within an organization The organizational setting is very dynamic, hence change is quite inevitable. Change is dominant due to the low level of certainty pertaining to future events. Organizations that adopt the best change policy acquire competitive advantage over the competitors in the industry.

Change emanates from deregulation, globalization requirements and other forms of organization restructure. However, the limiting factor to change is the impact change has on employees.

Before an organization undertakes a change policy, the management should undertake the risk assessment that comes with negative impact. Risk management policies should follow suit, thus ensuring that negative impact of the change in policy is mitigated. Continuous improvement involves gradual change in policy as an organization aims at improving performance and

6 efficiency. The impact the change in policy has on the organization’s employees should be clearly evaluated and analyzed (Cameron & Green 2004).

Benefits of continuous improvement Continuous improvement has advantages that accrue to an organization that successfully implements it. However, the advantages manifest themselves in different forms. According to Flint (2004), after Tulsa MRO implemented the policy of continuous improvement, the airline attained a facelift. This is because various reductions were enhanced, which in turn increased the level of returns. The amount of inventory required, for instance, was reduced by $1.5 million while the overhaul improved by 38 percent. The changes were enhanced by the employee union coordination, better benefits and bottlenecks were reduced. Continuous improvement works best where it is not a form of forced change of management, but a policy that emanates from consent between the management and the workers (Flint 2004).

In Pace Micro Technologies, Kaizen implementation had a remarkable outcome. This is because, nine months after the Kaizen training and implementation was undertaken, the company realized an additional profit of $1.1 million. It was also notable that the effort was from an additional 71 percent from all levels in the organization. In Pace Micro Technologies, continuous improvement was enhanced by team spirit, an appropriate organizational culture, shared vision, and discontentment with the prevailing status quo (A Change of Pace, 2004).

It is apparent that through continuous improvement, organizations are meant to benefit immensely. This is because the organization will be able to produce more output of better quality, and at more affordable prices. This will in turn yield to customer satisfaction, thus yielding organization growth. When the continuous improvement policy is implemented in the

7 long run, the output produced will be reliable, of advanced quality, and at cheaper prices; hence lucrative to more customers (Etienne-Hamilton 1994).

Continuous improvement drawbacks Continuous improvement is a desirable business strategy as it has fostered the growth and development of numerous companies over the years. However, it has some disadvantages. First, training and development of workers, who are pertinent in continuous improvement is time and money consuming. The training process is deemed repetitive as it trains employees who have already undergone job training pertaining to their responsibilities. For a new employee, the training process would be very tedious and lengthy. Second, there is the risk that feedback attained by the organization’s management is compromised. This implies that the employees, for instance, might complain about a process that is already functional. This would lead to changing an already functioning system in search of a better one that would even lead to higher losses.

Finally, continuous improvement necessitates more responsibility being bestowed on the employee (Rijnders & Boer 2004). To some employees, the responsibility might be overwhelming, hence compromising the whole process.

The limitations that accrue from continuous improvement to an organization revolve around the key stakeholders and how they react towards the aspect of change. The organization’s management should sensitize the importance of continuous improvement policy to mitigate the impact of some of the drawbacks (Rijnders & Boer 2004).

Conclusion It is evident that continuous improvement fosters the organization’s success. The opportunities that are allied to continuous improvement are quite clear. Continuous improvement or Kaizen is a process whereby an organization embarks on policy formulation that seeks to

8 attain efficiency. Continuous improvement has been practiced ever since World War II. Continuous improvement has led to the emergence of other total quality management tenets like the just in time production policy. Continuous improvement has multiple advantages which accrue to organizations that are able to undertake successful implementation of the policy. Once an organization implements continuous improvement, it will be able to reduce wastages, recognize the workers' efforts, enhance a better quality of output, charge cheaper prices, and attract more customers. Continuous improvement mainly revolves around the worker employer relationship. Where there is a cordial relationship, continuous improvement will be easily adopted. Continuous improvement’s major drawback is the cost incurred while training employees. This is pegged to the fact that employees are the main factor that determines the success or failure of the continuous improvement policy. Employee training and development costs may be exorbitant, thus undermining the success of the continuous improvement policy.

Change is inevitable. However, change might be detrimental to an organization. It is, therefore, advisable for management to evaluate the impact change will have on the organization and take appropriate measures.

9 Reference List A Change of Pace, 2004, ‘A change of pace: Refreshing continuous improvement and developing leaders at pace’, Training Journal, pp. 50–52 Cameron, E & Green, M, 2004, Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change, Kogan Page, London Cane, S 1996, Kaizen strategies for winning through people: how to create a human resources program for competitiveness and profitability, Pitman, London.

Dessinger, J 2004, Confirmative evaluation: Practical strategies for valuing continuous improvement, Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA Etienne-Hamilton, E 1994, Operations strategies for competitive advantage: Text and cases, Dryden Press, Fort Worth.

Flint, P 2004, ‘Rewired for success’, Air Transport World, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 38–39.

Jorgensen, F, Boer, H & Gertsen F, 2004, ‘Development of a team-based framework for conducting self-assessment of continuous improvement’, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 343–349 Marsh, J 1998, The continuous improvement toolkit: a practical resource for achieving organizational excellence, Batsford, London Maurer, R 2004, One small step can change your life: The Kaizen way, Workman, New York, NY Poirier, C & Houser, W 1993, Business partnering for continuous improvement: how to forge enduring alliances among employees, suppliers & customers, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, CA

10 Rijnders, S, & H, Boer, 2004, ‘A typology of continuous improvement implementation processes’, Knowledge and Process Management, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 283–296.

Stevenson, W 2012, Operations management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, NY Stonebraker, P & Leong, G 1994, Operations strategy: Focusing competitive excellence, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ