kaizen
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Japanese 改善 (kaizen かいぜん), from Middle Chinese 改善 (kój-dʒjén) (compare Mandarin gǎishàn 改善), from Old Chinese 改善 (*qˁəʔ-ɡenʔ "to correct errors"), from 改 ("to change") + 善 ("good").
Introduced to English in 1959 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente in his book Japanese Etiquette and Ethics in Business.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
kaizen (countable and uncountable, plural kaizens)
- A Japanese business practice of continuous improvement in performance and productivity.
- (by extension) Continuous improvement generally.
- 2023 June 28, Sir Michael Holden, “Comment: 'There will be more Nunehams': We need some serious Kaizen... and we need it now”, in RAIL, number 986, page 3:
- This is a big mistake, because Japanese railways were largely built using British equipment and technology. But what they have done since is ruthlessly improve and refine it, using Kaizen principles.
Translations[edit]
Japanese business practice of continuous improvement
Verb[edit]
kaizen (third-person singular simple present kaizens, present participle kaizening, simple past and past participle kaizened)
- (transitive, business) To apply continuous improvement to (a task, or the worker who performs it).
See also[edit]
Japanese[edit]
Romanization[edit]
kaizen
Categories:
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- English terms derived from Middle Chinese
- English terms derived from Old Chinese
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- en:Business
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