For many businesses, establishing a better work culture is important, but not at the expense of other mission-critical objectives. Business leaders may want to reconsider their efforts to engage employees, though, as a recent survey from MWW Group notes that a company's reputation is largely driven by the workplace culture. An innovative, thriving workplace could
Continue reading »Manufacturing is a complex business that needs to balance a variety of costs in a way that makes the most sense. This leads to some wasteful processes and procedures in lieu of other more productive ones. American manufacturers in particular tend to be wasteful. Gary Langenwalter, a principal at consulting group ConfluencePoint, notes the efficiency
Continue reading »Government organizations have always been forced to wrestle with budget, with public officials trying stretch inadequate funds across a slew of projects. In that regard, many such entities are always looking for ways to bolster efficiency, such as running continuous improvement initiatives. The state of Minnesota, in particular the Department of Corrections, has made extensive
Continue reading »There have been dozens of books, videos, seminars and conventions held to educate people across the globe about Lean practices and ideologies. However, there are few better ways of truly coming to terms with Kaizen than actually going to Japan and seeing how the masters themselves implement Lean. There are a variety of benefits that
Continue reading »Lean approaches and techniques are being applied beyond the manufacturing industry that pioneered the practice. Nowadays, any company can use Lean as a means to improve efficiency and reduce waste, regardless of whether they are manufacturers or healthcare professionals. That said, it takes a particular kind of person to oversee the successful launch of a
Continue reading »After years of outsourcing jobs to foreign countries in an effort to save money, many manufacturing companies are beginning to realize that the best way to maximize their bottom lines is by bringing these jobs back to the U.S. As a result, the manufacturing business has been booming as of late, accounting for a significant
Continue reading »Kaizen is a unique set of business philosophies in that it operates from the bottom up, encouraging the establishment of a supportive work culture and the appreciation of employee feedback. As Inc. magazine notes, giving employees control of their work and creating an environment focused around them are two of the best ways to foster
Continue reading »The stereotypical Wall Street corporate executive – the kind of person who would do anything to squeeze another ounce of profit out of his or her company – may not actually be the best leader for a company's bottom line. Despite the fact that hard driving, direct leadership seems to be in vogue among the
Continue reading »Kaizen is quickly taking over the business world as a means of potentially improving operations without stretching budgets. Companies across the United States are asking “How do we stay competitive within our limited resources?” and for many of these organizations, Kaizen is the obvious solution. At the same time, businesses are beginning to realize there
Continue reading »Many companies focus on the financial benefits of going Lean – they can accomplish the same tasks in less time, use fewer resources and generally bolster efficiency, which translates into reduced costs. While all of this is true in the healthcare industry, there is another even more important perk to integrating Kaizen: Better patient health.
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