1
Stage 1 of 2
kaizen
Japanese · 1950s-1960s
"continuous, incremental improvement"
literally 'improvement', formalized as a philosophy of continuous small changes in Toyota's production system
2
Stage 2 of 2
kaizen
English · 1980s
"a business philosophy of continuous incremental improvement"
borrowed by Western management theory as Japanese manufacturing methods were studied and copied
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom