Workers, managers, productivity : Kaizen in developing countries

Abstract

Development practitioners and researchers have long been confronted to the reality of a productivity gap between developed and developing countries. However, the role of management methods as an important determinant for quality and productivity outcomes has only surfaced in the recent past, and little is known about the effectiveness of initiatives that aim to increase managerial capital and improve productivity in the private or public sector in developing countries. Kaizen, as a model that has attracted much attention and captured imaginations from the 1960s on, and that has been adopted in many firms all over the world, provides an interesting lens to study the mechanisms at stakes. Kaizen can be defined as an inclusive and participatory approach to continuous improvement in quality and productivity, rooted in a distinctive philosophy and using specific tools and methods. In 2015, the Japan International Cooperation Agency—Research Institute (JICA-RI) and the Global Development Network (GDN) felt that there would be high value in taking stock of the experiences of the various initiatives that disseminated and implemented Kaizen in different contexts and hence decided to join forces to document the adoption of Kaizen approaches.