MASAAKI IMAI: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS AND PUBLISHED WORKS - DUDAS - 2025

Masaaki Imai is a management consultant and theorist of business organization born in Tokyo in 1930. His main contribution is framed in the field of optimizing the operation of the company, especially the industrial one. Thus, his work has been based on applying the so-called Kaizen system and extending it throughout the world.

Imai graduated from the university in the Japanese capital in 1955, in a context of economic recovery after the defeat of his country in World War II. The arrival of American theorists in Japan had brought new production methods and the incorporation of tools such as statistics.

Masaaki Imai. Roel LINDERS / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

The Japanese theorist was one of those who tried to combine these new tools with others typical of the country's philosophy. The result was the Kaizen system, based on continuous improvement, a concept contrary to conformity.

The works written by Imai contributed to the Kaizen beginning to be used by companies around the world. The author also founded the Kaizen Institute Consulting Group, whose main task is to advise those companies that intend to implement the system and tools for continuous improvement and quality control.

Biography

Masaaki Imai came to the world in Tokyo, capital of Japan, in 1930. His university studies were carried out in the same town and graduated in 1955 with a work on international relations. Already at that time he showed his interest in the concept of continuous improvement.

After completing his studies, Imai moved to the United States to start working at the Japanese Productivity Center. His job was to guide groups of Japanese executives visiting the country through various American companies.

Cambridge Corporation

After working for a few years in the United States, the experience gained allowed Imai to found his own company in 1962. The Cambridge Corporation, the name of the firm, was dedicated to recruiting executives based in Tokyo.

From that moment on, he also started working as a consultant for the international companies that hired them. During this stage, he advised more than 200 companies to improve their organizational and contracting systems.

This work as a consultant lasted until 1976. By that year, Imai had gained considerable prestige for his work. This led to him being appointed president of the Japan Federation of Recruiting and Employment Agency Associations. Masaaki Imai remained in that position for 10 years.

Analysis on Japan

Throughout the previous years, Imai combined his different jobs with the study of business management models present in Japan. The theorist paid special attention to the different systems with which Japanese industry tried to recover after defeat in World War II.

All the information he collected helped him improve his own business management and organization programs.

Kaizen Institute Consulting Group

One of the most important moments on the Masaaki Imai wagon came in 1985, when he founded the Kaizen Institute Consulting Group. The purpose of this company is to advise companies outside of Japan to correctly apply the Kaizen or continuous improvement philosophy.

The following year, the consultant published his book Kaizen, the key to Japan's competitive advantage. In a very short time, the work became a global success and meant the introduction of the Kaizen method to the entire planet. The book sold more than 300,000 copies and was translated into 16 languages.

In the past 30 years, Imai has published other books and articles that delve into improving business management. Likewise, he has traveled around a good part of the planet holding conferences on the subject.

Present

Despite his advanced age, Masaaki Imai continues to be active. At present, he continues to offer lectures on Kaizen at the universities or companies that request it. In addition, he has received numerous public and private recognitions for his work.

Contributions to quality and administration

Board used to implement the kaizen method in a factory - Source: Adrian Grycuk / CC BY-SA 3.0 PL (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/pl/deed.en)

The name of Masaaki Imai is closely related to the Kaizen method, a system that aims to improve the operation of the industrial company.

Kaizen originated in Japan during the years following its defeat in World War II. At that time, the country was under US occupation and was suffering a major economic crisis.

The Americans brought to Japan the use of statistics to control the quality of production processes. Likewise, they began to develop some training programs.

The teachings given by professionals such as Joseph Duran or William Deming were immediately assimilated by the Japanese. In a short time, in addition, they fused the methods that the Americans took with their own philosophy of improvement.

The result of this mix was Kaizen, whose use was one of the keys to the great recovery that Japanese industry experienced in subsequent years.

Masaaki Imai was one of the authors who had the most influence on the application of Kaizen in companies. In addition, he was responsible for the system spread to other parts of the planet.

What is Kaizen

The word Kaizen is formed by the word "kai", which means "change" in Japanese, and by "zen", which can be translated as "for the better".

In this way, the translation of Kaizen is, more or less, “the action of change”. This change is understood as a continuous, gradual and orderly improvement. The ultimate goal is to eliminate anything that detracts from industrial production.

In order to implement Kaizen, it is mandatory that all components of the company change their way of thinking. It is, in this sense, a complete philosophy and not just a series of methodologies to be applied.

The main message of Kaizen is that every day there must be some kind of improvement in the company.

The concept, as explained by Imai, goes beyond its classic identification with Total Quality. For the author, it could be likened to an umbrella that covers a large number of Japanese practices, among which are, apart from Total Quality, Just in Time (Just in Time) or Quality Circles.

Kaizen according to Imai

The author explained his views on this philosophy in his book Kaizen, the key to Japanese competitive advantage. He also did it in a very didactic and simple way.

In his own words, “Kaizen means improvement, even more so it means progressive improvement that involves everyone and that means that our way of life, whether at work or in social and family life, is so valuable that it deserves to be constantly improved. ”.

For Imai, Kaizen brings together the essence of all administrative practices developed in Japan. These include, by way of example, quality control activities, quality circles, zero defects, or productivity improvement.

One of the main differences of Kaizen with respect to other Western systems is that it focuses on people who work in the industry, regardless of the area.

On the other hand, Kaizen is based on the so-called Total Quality Culture, in which achieving this point is essential to satisfy the customer.

Imai as promoter of Kaizen

In the 1970s, American industry began to use some work systems that had proven their worth in Japan. These were methods such as total quality control or Just in Time, along with others that were protected by the metaphor of the umbrella that Imai spoke of.

However, the true expansion of the Kaizen philosophy did not occur until Imai published his book: Kaizen, the key to Japanese competitive advantage. This publication, together with the founding of the Kaizen Institute, made the author an international reference for all industries wishing to implement the system.

Published works

Masaaki Imai is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with the Kaizen philosophy and techniques to improve production processes in industry.

Kaizen, the key to Japanese competitive advantage

This book, perhaps the best known by its author, was published in 1986 and achieved immediate global success.

With this work, Masaaki introduced the Kaizen concept to companies outside of Japan. Its sales exceeded 300,000 copies and it was translated into 16 languages.

Gemba Kaizen. How to implement Kaizen in the workplace

Just over 10 years after the publication of the first of his books on Kaizen, Imai published a new treatise focused on explaining the various techniques aimed at optimizing results in the most important areas of business management.

The term Gemba was defined by the author as the actual place where products are developed, from the design table to the laboratory, passing through the production plant or the logistics section. It is in these places where Kaizen acts generating improvements that multiply the successes of the company.

The book points out that, contrary to other methods, Kaizen does not require modern technologies to generate profits. As Imai himself points out, "the best solutions are the simple ones."

Other works

- 1975. The Japanese businessman: An introduction to his behavior and business strategy

- 1978. Never Take YES for an Answer - An Inside Look at Japanese Business for Foreign Businessmen. The Simul Press Inc.

- 1985. 16 Ways to Avoid Saying No

- 1986. Kaizen, The Key to Japanese Competitive Advantage

- 1997. Gemba Kaizen. An approach to continuous improvement of the strategy

- 1999. Gemba kaizen. Berrett-Koehler Communications

- How to implement Kaizen in the workplace (Gemba)

References

1. Kaizen Institute Spain. Masaaki Imai. Founder of the Kaizen Institute. Retrieved from es.kaizen.com
2. History and biography. Biography of Masaaki Imai. Obtained from historia-biografia.com
3. BPI. Masaaki Imai. Retrieved from leansixsigmadefinition.com
4. Revolvy. Masaaki Imai. Retrieved from revolvy.com
5. Kanbanchi. What is Kaizen ?. Retrieved from kanbanchi.com
6. Lviv Business School of UCU. Masaaki Imai, founder of Kaizen philosophy. Obtained from lvbs.com.ua