Kaizen event process quality: towards a phase-based understanding of high-quality group problem-solving

PurposeAs a problem-solving tool, the kaizen event (KE) is underutilised in practice. Assuming this is due to a lack of group process quality during those events, the authors aimed to grasp what is needed during high-quality KE meetings. Guided by the phased approach for structured problem-solving,...

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Veröffentlicht in:International journal of operations & production management Jg. 41; H. 6; S. 962 - 990
Hauptverfasser: Franken, José C.M, van Dun, Desirée H, Wilderom, Celeste P.M
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 19.08.2021
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Schlagworte:
Circular economy
Graphs
Kaizen
Knowledge
Meetings
Problem solving
Quality circles
Six Sigma
Success factors
Total quality
Structured problem-solving
Group process quality
Kaizen event
ISSN:0144-3577, 1758-6593
Online-Zugang:Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:PurposeAs a problem-solving tool, the kaizen event (KE) is underutilised in practice. Assuming this is due to a lack of group process quality during those events, the authors aimed to grasp what is needed during high-quality KE meetings. Guided by the phased approach for structured problem-solving, the authors built and explored a measure for enriching future KE research.Design/methodology/approachSix phases were used to code all verbal contributions (N = 5,442) in 21 diverse, videotaped KE meetings. Resembling state space grids, the authors visualised the course of each meeting with line graphs which were shown to ten individual kaizen experts as well as to the filmed kaizen groups.FindingsFrom their reactions to the graphs the authors extracted high-quality KE process characteristics. At the end of each phase, that should be enacted sequentially, explicit group consensus appeared to be crucial. Some of the groups spent too little time on a group-shared understanding of the problem and its root causes. Surprisingly, the mixed-methods data suggested that small and infrequent deviations (“jumps”) to another phase might be necessary for a high-quality process. According to the newly developed quantitative process measure, when groups often jump from one phase to a distant, previous or next phase, this relates to low KE process quality.Originality/valueA refined conceptual model and research agenda are offered for generating better solutions during KEs, and the authors urge examinations of the effects of well-crafted KE training.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0144-3577
1758-6593
DOI:10.1108/IJOPM-09-2020-0666