Fast and Easy is an organization's process improvement method. The Kaizen approach entails creating a condition in which the employees in an organization who perform specific jobs also have the most understanding about that profession. The process of team involvement leads to innovation and process transformation, which is one advantage of implementing the Kaizen technique. As a result, the participation of every level of an employee in the company lowers the barriers caused by fictitious organizational walls, and workers own the process, increasing productivity.
In addition, the Kaizen concept utilizes a process known as housekeeping. Housekeeping is a process of managing the workplace through the use of the 5S methodology, sanitize, sustain, sort, sweep, and straighten. The result is a workforce that has a feel of the product, and it also promotes cleanliness and a pleasant and safe work environment (Lolidis, 9). One disadvantage of this system is that it requires companies to have a paradigm shift in their mindset and style of functioning. As such, this proves difficult for the company since the problems might be worse and also the case of employees thinking in territorial terms which hampers the teamwork process. Another weakness of the Kaizen system is that the excitement brought about when the system is introduced into the company does not last for long confirming employee’s fears of this technique failing. As such, this proves a frustrating and discouraging ordeal from the company which has invested time and money into it.
On the other hand, employee suggestion programs improve worker’s morale through the improvement of their work process. Also, the process of employees feeling they have a positive impact on the organization develops a sense of job satisfaction. Furthermore, the employee’s engagement is increase in the company which results in a feeling of ownership created within the company. Other benefits of suggestion programs includes the improvement and building of team spirit, increased profitability and reduced costs and customer satisfaction improvement. Demerits involve the fact that this kind of system has a considerably high number of ideas that are poor in quality that either don’t get implemented or is difficult to because of colleague apathy.
The kaizen quality circles employ a management methodology that involves using the employees in solving problems that arise within the company and are related to their jobs. Advantages of this system include the reduction of costs for small businesses, lead to increased productivity and raise the morale of employees. Additionally, quality circles can reduce cases of absenteeism, health and safety improvement of employees.
Disadvantages include the instance of management not enforcing quality procedures; its participatory nature could make it hard to implement if a member with a specific expertise does not participate, and cases of employees addressing issues of quality of which they do not have the necessary skills to do so. Advantages of practical training activities include reducing waste, productivity improvement, and leads to a better and sustainable growth in targeted activates. A disadvantage of this kind of process is that the management has to spend time and money in training employees. Also, the method can prove lengthy in situations where is just starting out, and lastly it could make companies make unnecessary changes.
There are two ways in which a company could motivate employees is either through financial means or non-financial means. Financial means could involve a salary raise or a cash bonus, commissions, invitation of management for employees to participate in profit sharing program, and finally, piecework, which refers to a situation of an employee being paid based on the amount of product sold (Burton, 16). Non- financial techniques include employee acknowledgment, rewards, and opportunities for job rotations.
The strategic planning process includes two central units, formulation, and implementation. Formulation involves hierarchical levels, functionalization, interactive programming and decision making. Implementation requires grouping, internal scheduling, task and behavior (Neis, 4). Some of the functions of the human resource team are to build a transformational group to lead the transformation and coordinate working-level change teams. Also, designing and coming up with a new organizational structure, communication of the transformation taking place and monitoring how employees react to the change, recruiting new employees and training of recruits using programs that have lean-management incorporated in them.
Lean could be a form of the path in that it leads to unintended results because there is a difference between which the management’s perception of the effects realized by the businesses differ from the way the company would recognize them in natural conditions.
Works cited
Lolidis, Michail. "Kaizen Definition & Principles in Brief: A Concept & Tool for Employees Involvement." (2006): 1-42.
Burton, Kelly. "A study of motivation: How to get your employees moving." Management 3.2 (2012): 232-234.
Neis, Dyogo Felype, Maurício Fernandes Pereira, and Emerson Antonio Maccari. "Strategic Planning Process and Organizational Structure: Impacts, Confluence and Similarities." BBR. Brazilian Business Review 14.5 (2017): 479-492.
