Five steps to TQM

摘要

Kaizen, a Japanese word meaning continuous improvement, has become well known to many western businesses since the 1980s. Its popularity as a means to increase quality and productivity while reducing associated costs - increased with the publication of Kaizen - The Key to Japan's Competitive Success in 1986 by quality guru Masaaki Imai and later by his book Gemba Kaizen A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management in the mid 1990s. At the heart ofkaizen is SS, a method which has enabled many organisations in the far east to successfully improve their quality performance and attain ISO certification. Here in the west, though, according to recent research by Professor Sam Ho of the Hong Kong Baptist University, many companies, including those already practising kaizen, do not fully understand the importance of this five-step method.