The impact of Kaizen: Assessing the intensive Kaizen training of auto-parts suppliers in South Africa

IF 1.2 4区管理学 Q3 ECONOMICS

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences Pub Date : 2022-01-18 DOI:10.4102/sajems.v25i1.4093

K. Otsuka, Nkumbuzi Ben-Mazwi

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引用次数: 8

Abstract

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.

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改善的影响:对南非汽车零部件供应商强化改善培训的评估

背景:人们日益认识到，阻碍发展中国家制造企业增长和提高生产率的最关键的缺失因素是具有强大管理能力的企业家。由于改善需要管理者和车间工人之间强有力的沟通和合作，因此他们之间的社会凝聚力似乎是其成功实施的先决条件。目的:在南非这样一个种族分裂严重的国家，Kaizen是否能提高管理效率的问题出现了。因此，本研究的目的是评估南非强化改善培训方案的影响。背景:因此，在2016年至2019年期间，我们在南非三个主要汽车区域随机选择了8家汽车零部件供应商，实施了强化改善培训计划。方法:采用标准调查问卷和非正式访谈相结合的方法收集生产经营资料。考虑到我们相对较小的样本量，分析本质上是描述性的。结果:证据表明，日本的改善管理体系在改善发展中国家企业绩效方面确实有效。结论:改善方法在提高南非的效率方面证明是如此成功，因此有理由在未来扩大这种培训计划。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences Multiple-

CiteScore

2.30

自引率

9.10%

发文量

审稿时长

52 weeks

期刊介绍： The South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS) is a leading South African-based publication for interdisciplinary research in the economic and management sciences. The journal publishes and disseminates high-quality academic articles that contribute to the better understanding of the interaction between economic, environmental and social perspectives as applicable to the broader management sciences in an African environment. The editorial board therefore invites authors to submit their research from areas such as economics, finance, accounting, human capital, marketing and other related disciplines that break down common intellectual silos and prepares a new path for debate on the operation and development of sustainable markets and organisations as relevant to the broader African context.