OREANDA-NEWS. The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Program "Support to Regional Economic Cooperation in Central Asia" in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic conducts a seminar on Kaizen foundations by Kaizen Institute Russia at the conference hall of Jannat Hotel, September 22nd - 25th, 2009, reported the press-centre of IBC.
 
The seminar will highlight Kaizen principles which are commonly referred to as elements of the most successful Japanese management philosophy. Kaizen as a concept of doing business has been developed in Japan after the World War II and is considered as the key to success which was replicated by many enterprises throughout the world.
 
Masaaki Imai, a founder of Kaizen Institute, once said: "Japanese management practices succeed simply because they are good management practices. This success has little to do with cultural factors. And the lack of cultural bias means that these practices can be – and are – just as successfully employed elsewhere."
 
Kaizen means "improvement" (from Japanese "kai" — "change" and "zen" — "good"). In respect to management processes it can best be explained by the process of continuous and gradual improvement supported by the participation of all employees. However, Kaizen does not merely mean "to do better"; it implies the achievement of such concrete purposes as cutting losses (time, money, stock, and effort losses), improving quality (of goods, services, relations, personal behavior, employees’ development), reducing costs for design, production, stock maintenance and distribution, and finally increasing customers’ satisfaction.