KAIZEN

Business culture loves the idea of revolutionary, immediate change. But turnaround efforts often fail because extreme change sets off our brains fear response & shuts down our powers to think clearly & creatively. Most of us are programmed to resist extreme change. A more effective path to change begins with the small steps of Kaizen. These quiet steps bypass our mental system, allowing our creative & intellectual processes to flow without obstruction. The result: Change that is both lasting & powerful.

Kaizen is a Japanese term that comes from two words Kai which means continuous and zen which means improvement. Hence Kaizen means continuous improvement. When applied to the workplace Kaizen means continuous improvement that involves all employees from junior to the top level. Kaizen is one of the most commonly used words in Japan. It is used, not only in the workplace, but in popular culture as well. Kaizen is a foundation on which companies are built. Kaizen is such a natural way for people in Japan to think that managers and workers often do not make a conscious effort to think Kaizen. They just think the way they think - and that way happens to be Kaizen! The Kaizen concept is the basic difference between how change is understood in Japan and how it is viewed in the West. Western companies often reject Kaizen without really knowing what it is about. Because of this, American companies often go years without really changing. Japanese companies, on the other hand, are in a constant state of change and improvement. The Kaizen strategy is undoubtedly the driving force for Japanese managers, and it is vital to their success. It has been used as a way to improve production values as well as improve employee morale and safety. The Kaizen philosophy may be applied to any procedure in the workplace. Kaizen is built around teams of employees representing different levels and parts of the organization. The teams work to

improve processes and address problems; often by mapping them and identifying waste. The resulting strategies are applied. Kaizen does not require a long series of steps always. In some cases, one or two small steps are all that you need, because those steps have a power thats much bigger in size. Example: A receptionist working at a clinic used to make reminder calls to inform patients that no-show for checkups and high medical costs are linked. She took a big problem (the no-show rate) & two small steps later, the problem was solved. We keep making changes to our drawing room by arranging & rearranging the furniture every few months to give it a new look. The use of imagination & the choice we make to make the change is also a form of Kaizen when done on a regular basis.

Using Kaizen in Central Bank of India In banking industry & particularly Central bank of India, Kaizen could be applicable in the aspect of product delivery. For example: When a cheque is presented for encashment the amount payable is always the amount drawn in the cheque. However how the cash can be handed over to the customer there could be more than one way. One cashier may use the old & used cash for payment. Another cashier could think of different denomination for a particular type of a customer. For a High Networth Individual (HNI), the cashier could ask the customer whether cash would be in the form of Rs 1000 or Rs 500 notes whereas for a housewife he could think of offering fresh Rs 50 or Rs 10 notes alongwith Rs 500 notes. These small gestures are also a part of Kaizen.

If you are aware of the Kaizen philosophy and strive to implement it, not a day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company. Staying in business requires a step forward every day, and this made Kaizen a way of life.

in the 90s when washing machines were introduced by Japanese in India, they had come to India to explore the Indian market.To their surprise they found that the dhabbas between Delhi & Amritsar were making lassi in the washing machine!!! You think we can call this Kaizen or what we Indians popularly call as JUGAAD ? Can you identify an activity within the branch where you can make use of Kaizen to improve the service quality?