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At present, how to develop industries is a burning issue in Africa, where population growth remains high and economic development has thus far failed to provide sufficient jobs for many, especially young people and women. The creation of productive jobs through industrial development ought to be a central issue in steering economic activity across...
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Partnerships have long been presented as transformative and effective mechanisms to overcome challenges linked to the global governance of development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG 17 call for intensified involvement and engagement of partnerships in sustainable development, formalizing a role specifically for multi‐stakehold...
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... So as to achieve these goals, manufacturing companies need to practice the superlative management philosophies (Suárez-Barraza and Miguel-Davila 2020), for example, kaizen is a comprehensive concept of management philosophy which integrates production and quality management methodologies (for example, LM, TQM, SCM, IM and LSS practices) for identifying, eliminating and preventing wastes to achieve organizational excellence (Imai 1986;Bhuiyan and Baghel 2005;Singh and Singh 2009;Berhe 2022;Berhe et al. 2023). In the circumstance of Ethiopia, it is now more than a decade since kaizen was officially introduced, adopted and disseminated as a management philosophy by the Kaizen Excellence Center (KEC) (formerly known as Ethiopia Kaizen Institute), and the support of JICA-Ethiopia (Otsuka et al. 2018). In Ethiopia more than 800 organizations from manufacturing, service providers and institutions have implemented Kaizen philosophy (MIDI strategic plan 2022). ...
... The implementation of Kaizen philosophy give rise to economic benefits as different authors agreed (Otsuka et al. 2018;Lina and Ullah 2019;Berhe 2022;Berhe et al. 2023). The benefits are either quantitative or qualitative or both. ...
... This is supported by the aforementioned studies in addition to Desta (2014); Tiwari (2017); Hailu et al. (2015Hailu et al. ( , 2017b as the authors stated that costs could be saved and monetary value gained by execution of simple 5S tool. Moreover, Otsuka et al. (2018) proved Ethiopian organizations (manufacturing companies & service providers) gained more than two billion ETB by execution of Kaizen practices, 5S in particular. Similarly, Berhe (2022) also demonstrated Ethiopian chemical companies were attained more than seventy million ETB by doing the same activity. ...
... The Kaizen method was developed by Iami in 1986 and was first applied in the automotive company Toyota to improve the company's efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness [51]. It was then applied to boost the productivity of other organizations by reducing costs [52][53][54]. Currently, this method is applied in various fields both in large enterprises and also in small and medium-sized enterprises [55]. ...
The energy crisis, an increasing concern of the industrial sector, is characterized by increased energy costs and low energy availability. As part of an effort to increase energy efficiency, the present study assessed the impact of applying lean tools on the energy consumption of a manufacturing organization. Using the Kaizen approach, the organization’s processes were analyzed to identify the main vulnerabilities and make the required changes to increase consumption performance. Several technical improvements were performed to reach increased energy efficiency. Results showed an energy efficiency increase; consumption was reduced by up to 7.5% in the production line, 3.5% in the extruder stage, and up to 20% for the injection stage of the manufacturing process. The results suggest that the organization’s energy reduction targets have been achieved. Standardization of procedures was useful in the development of Kaizen projects which could be applied with certain limitations. The implications of these results for understanding energy consumption reduction are discussed.
... It has been applied in manufacturing and other areas, such as health, education, public administration, and other services (Sonobe 2018, p. 4). Kaizen consists of various tools, systems, methods, and principles, such as total quality management as a system and 5S (seiri [sort], seiton [set in order], seiso [shine], seiketsu [standardize], and shitsuke [sustain]) as a method among others (Sonobe 2018). In JICA, kaizen was first introduced in the Productivity Development Project in Singapore in 1983 and Thailand in 1994 (Jin 2018, p. 33). ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched to promote partnerships to enhance developmental effectiveness. This is especially apparent in Goal 17. The private sector is one of the prospective partners for the realisation of a sustainable society. Collaboration with it has accelerated internationally to challenge various development issues through businesses. This trend is impelled by both the public and private sectors, whose activities have different aims and purposes. Both multilateral and bilateral donors, including Japan, have planned and implemented various development projects in collaboration with untraditional partners, such as corporations. This chapter examines how partnerships with the private sector have been formed, focusing on Japan. First, it briefly studies international initiatives to understand the process by which previously separated entities—public and private sectors—gradually move closer to solve development problems. It then explores the way the Government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, who are responsible for the public sector, have come to create or support projects in collaboration with companies. Their shift in the direction of international development responds to international calls for sustainable development. The chapter concludes by discussing the prospect of partnership with the private sector to realise the sustainable future that the SDGs aim to create.
... The pursuit of economic equality, however, could harm economic growth (Brülhart and Sbergami 2009). As Sonobe (2018) argues in Chap. 7 of the first volume of this series, sustainable economic growth is driven by technological and institutional innovations in a broad sense, including borrowing ideas and practices from abroad, and innovations take place in economic agglomerations (i.e., places where economic activities are concentrated) rather than peripheries and inevitably create winners and losers. ...
... They had acquired such ability and attitude through the productivity movement that the US government allowed to transfer on a full scale from the United State to Japan soon after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, considering the strategical importance of Japan (Sonobe 2018). At least for some industries in Japan, the infant industry protection worked well (Komiya et al. 1988). ...
... It has long been recognized that improvements brought in by employees contribute to the company's success. Continuous improvement approaches are, for example, an important part of management and work organization methods, such as Lean [38] and Kaizen [39][40][41]. Our hypothesis is that the same mechanisms could be applied to the ideas of democratization of data. ...
Data-driven transparency in end-to-end operations in real-time is seen as a key benefit of the fourth industrial revolution. In the context of a factory, it enables fast and precise diagnoses and corrections of deviations and, thus, contributes to the idea of an agile enterprise. Since a factory is a complex socio-technical system, multiple technical, organizational and cultural capabilities need to be established and aligned. In recent studies, the underlying broad accessibility of data and corresponding analytics tools are called “data democratization”. In this study, we examine the status quo of the relevant capabilities for data democratization in the manufacturing industry. (1) and outline the way forward. (2) The insights are based on 259 studies on the digital maturity of factories from multiple industries and regions of the world using the acatech Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index as a framework. For this work, a subset of the data was selected. (3) As a result, the examined factories show a lack of capabilities across all dimensions of the framework (IT systems, resources, organizational structure, culture). (4) Thus, we conclude that the outlined implementation approach needs to comprise the technical backbone for a data pipeline as well as capability building and an organizational transformation.
... Kaizen is a system that calls for teamwork and cooperation; it comprises human aspects, such as self-esteem and creativity. It is a strategic approach that is used to achieve the aims of an organization (Keijiro, 2018). For some researchers, Kaizen is a kind of philosophy for management that creates changes or gradual improvements in work systems or processes, reduces waste, and thus improves work performance, Salah, S. A., & Sobhi, N. (2018) It must also be mentioned that Kaizen, within the literature review, means quality management, and relates to lean management. ...
The current research seeks to enhance current university leadership styles by using the Kaizen approach from a university leadership point of view it also highlights the requirements needed to improve university leadership by applying the Kaizen approach. To achieve these objectives, the research uses the questionnaire as a tool to collect research data and applies this to the leaders, faculty, and staff of four universities in the MENA area. The research sample consists of 160 individuals (including deans, co-deans, department heads, faculty, staff, and employees) from four different universities. The research concluded with several results, from which the majority of the sample first agreed that there is a lack of a Kaizen approach culture among university leadership, and also agreed on the importance of applying Kaizen principles as a model for enhancing university leadership.
... Kaizen seeks to save costs and adopt a commonsense approach, focused on reducing waste through the elimination of inventories, equalising the work burdens on all workers in a production line, quality management, routinised machine maintenance, and the maintenance of clean and uncluttered work-spaces. Since Kaizen has proven to be highly effective, it may be no exaggeration to argue that it has been widely adopted by almost all the successful manufacturing enterprises in developed countries in Asia (Jin 2018;Kaplinsky 1994). ...
Background: There has been a growing recognition that the most critical missing factor impeding the growth and productivity of manufacturing enterprises in developing countries is entrepreneurs with strong managerial abilities. As Kaizen requires strong communication and cooperation between managers and shop-floor workers, social cohesion between them seems to be a prerequisite for its successful implementation.
Aim: The question arises whether Kaizen can improve efficiency in management in a place like South Africa, a country marked by serious ethnic divisions. Therefore, the aim in this study is to assess the impact of an intensive Kaizen training programme in South Africa.
Setting: So an intensive Kaizen training programme was implemented at eight randomly selected automotive parts-suppliers in the three key automotive regions in South Africa from 2016 to 2019.
Method: A combination of a standard survey questionnaire and informal interviews was used to collect the production and management data. Given our relatively small sample size, the analysis is descriptive in nature.
Results: Evidence shows that Kaizen, a Japanese management system, is indeed effective in improving the performance of enterprises in developing countries.
Conclusion: The Kaizen method proves to be so successful in improving efficiency in South Africa that it justifies scaling up such a training programme in the future.
... It has been used primarily in the manufacturing sector and applied to health, education, public administration, and other services and applied to micro and small enterprises and medium and large firms. It can be applied to offices, retail shops, service counters, machine shops, workshops, and garages, even for everyday life (Otuka et al., 2018). ...
In the modern world, industrial transformation receives great attention. As a result, many companies are becoming successful by implementing Kaizen as a change agent. Nevertheless, there were few pathways of continuous improvements, mainly because of abandonment of Kaizen philosophy, organizational resistance to change, lack of proper implementation and monitoring techniques, lack of employees’ motivation, and scarcity of resources. The study aimed to examine Kaizen implementation and its challenges in small and medium manufacturing firms of Woliso town. The study employed descriptive research adopting a quantitative research approach—the researcher used 55 small and medium manufacturing firms of Woliso town. In addition, the study employed primary data collected through open-ended and close-ended questionnaires. The study found that most sampled firms lack awareness about Kaizen because of a lack of training opportunities. Similarly, Kaizen philosophy is considered exhaustive and routine the attitude of owners, managers, and employees in Kaizen implementation is very weak. Finally, the study recommended that it is important to provide continuous training programs for employees and managers of small and medium manufacturing firms. Most importantly, to extend Kaizen's philosophy, it is essential to incorporate it into the school curriculum.
... It is, however, a mistake to assume that they are sufficiently efficient and innovative. According to recent studies of manufacturing enterprises in developing countries, the lack of proper management of industrial firms is the major constraint on their performance (Bruhn et al., 2010;McKenzie & Woodruff, 2014;Sonobe & Otsuka, 2011, 2014Otsuka et al., 2018). Furthermore, the management training of entrepreneurs has significant impacts on the performance of those firms, as revealed by a randomized controlled trial of management training (Bloom et al., 2014;Mano et al., 2012;Higuchi et al., 2015Higuchi et al., , 2019Higuchi et al., , 2020. ...
Agriculture in developing countries is transforming from the production of cereal grains to high-value agricultural products (HVPs) and processing them to meet the standards demanded in the market. The production of HVPs is usually geographically clustered and, hence, such areas may be termed as agro-based clusters (ABCs). However, not all ABCs process products to meet high quality demand. We categorize ABCs into agriculture clusters (AC), where no processing is involved, and agro-industrial clusters (AIC) where processing, including value addition, is a significant activity to meet the quality requirements of export and supermarkets. The major challenge for developing countries is to develop ABCs and to transform their ACs into AICs. From the literature review on contract farming, ABCs, and industrial clusters (ICs), we conclude that although a few studies highlight individual components, no attempt has been made to formulate a consolidated strategy for this transformation. This study attempts to demonstrate that in addition to providing improved technologies and basic rural infrastructure, mobilizing stakeholders into various groups, such as farmers’ cooperatives and agro-processors’ associations; providing technological and managerial training of stakeholders through these groups; promoting their collective actions for innovations; and implementing an appropriate regulatory framework are the keys to transform ACs into AICs. Building from the differences and similarities between ABCs and ICs, we also conclude that the role of government support is much more important in the case of the former than in the latter.
... Both start without capital investment but with what an enterprise has already had. Probably, Kaizen is somewhat more human-friendly and more widely adopted in the developing world Hosono 2017;Otsuka et al. 2018). Yet, neither Kaizen nor lean manufacturing is known by the majority of enterprises, especially small-scale enterprises, in the developing world. ...
The Ethiopian government began to pilot Kaizen in 2009 and established the Ethiopia Kaizen Institute (EKI) in 2011 to scale up Kaizen in the country. EKI estimated that the benefits of Kaizen implementation between 2011 and 2016 reached US$105 million. The chapter points out three factors to create the positive results of Kaizen: (1) the proactive role of the government as a promoter of Kaizen is essential, (2) mindset change of people through Kaizen application is effective in Ethiopian context as a process of core capacity development of individuals, and (3) no one is really affected negatively by Kaizen especially with regard to job security in contrast with other reform processes.
