Kaizen in Translation: Suggestion Systems Across Cultures

Abstract

Though the world has recently been described as "flat," we contend that it is also "lumpy." Some managerial practices may be universal (i.e., applicable across all cultures), while others may have to be customized for location. In this technical note, we discuss the application of kaizen principles across cultures. When managers analyze kaizen with cultural values in mind, they may find the key to its practical success, and where relevant values or predispositions do not come naturally, adjustments may benefit from a pragmatism based on cultural fluency.

Excerpt

UVA-OM-1544

Feb. 4, 2016

Kaizen in Translation: Suggestion Systems Across Cultures

When the violin repeats what the piano has just played, it cannot make the same sounds and it can only approximate the same chords. It can, however, make recognizably the same “music,” the same air. But it can do so only when it is as faithful to the self-logic of the violin as it is to the self-logic of the piano.

—John Ciardi (on translation)

Culture is a soft, holistic concept, from which, however, hard consequences are expected.

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Keywords: Lean, kaizen, continuous improvement, international business