The Japanese Concept of Kaizen and How Students Can Apply It. Continuous improvement in academics and life.

 The Japanese Concept of Kaizen and How Students Can Apply It. 

Continuous improvement in academics and life.

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen is a Japanese concept that means "improvement" or "change for the better." This business studies concept states that high-yielding positive results can be earned by the accumulation of small improvements to every aspect of the company's operations. Japanese businesspeople believe that small everyday improvements are better than a couple of large changes. According to an article by Himanshu Juneja, the founder of management study guide, there are five main elements to Kaizen: teamwork, personal discipline, improved morale, quality circles, and suggestions for improvement. (Juneja) The Japanese business setting is still quite hierarchical, and respect is based more on age and business position, rather than on an individual's experience or business knowledge. For a long time, in many businesses in Japan, it was not common for lower-level employees to ever give suggestions for change to their higher-ups, even if the employee knew the change would benefit the company. That being said, this strict hierarchical structure has given way in recent years to a more open business culture. This change has allowed kaizen to become more prevalent as managers start to realize that true improvement comes from collaboration, innovation, and a willingness to value new ideas, regardless of where they come from in the organization. 

How Can Students Apply Kaizen in Academics and Life?

It is interesting to take an aspect from another culture and apply it to your own life. I have started to implement this into my own life. Focusing on everyday successes, whether that is getting my 50 minutes of language study in early in the day or finishing my homework ahead of schedule instead of procrastinating. Being able to make a schedule and stick to it can help form great habits that you will likely one day use in the future. Organizing your notes, writing hand-written notes for better retention, and practicing active recall five minutes before bed can help students better recall information, reduce stress, and improve their confidence. I have applied this one in my own life, and since I started, I have had a lot less anxiety, and I've been recalling vocabulary and grammar a lot better for my Japanese language study. 

The next aspect that students can apply is breaking down big projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. Make smaller, more achievable goals for each week that will lead you to your longer-term goals. In my case, learning 15 new words a day while reviewing the past ones I have learned is a manageable goal that is drastically speeding up my journey towards fluency. Next is to seek feedback and reflect on your past work. After completing a project for school or for work, think about what went well and what you could improve on for next time. Do not be afraid to ask your professors or managers for advice and feedback on your work. I appreciate it when professors, especially in writing classes, give me feedback on my writing and what I could improve on for the next assignment. 

One of the biggest aspects of applying kaizen is to adopt a growth mindset. Students need to realize that they will have setbacks. Albeit in academics or the workplace, they will face struggles and adversity that they will need to overcome. Being able to see your slip-ups as lessons for the future and as things to improve upon, rather than as hindering setbacks, can completely change your experience. View your mistakes as opportunities for growth and be grateful for the chance to improve. Even a one percent improvement every day can stack up to massive improvements over the course of a year. The last thing students can do to apply kaizen in academics is by applying what they have learned beyond the classroom. I'm going to expand on this by adding, finding new, challenging ways to push your current knowledge or skills. Being able to adapt to new, sometimes challenging situations is a great skill for students and employees to have. This is the one aspect that I have not been sticking to very well. I have not been applying my Japanese in daily life, mainly because I don't have anyone to speak with. Which is honestly a bad excuse since we have access to the internet with hundreds of chatting platforms that I could utilize.

Summary

Hopefully, after reading this, you now have some tangible takeaways from kaizen that you can start applying in your life. Let me know if you already practice some of the applications I discussed. What has worked well for you and what hasn't? Thanks for joining me, I'll see you soon!

Sources:

Juneja, Prachi . “What Is Kaizen ? - Five S of Kaizen.” Managementstudyguide.com, 2015, www.managementstudyguide.com/what-is-kaizen.htm.