Higher Business Management - Japanese Words that have become part of the Business language

Kanban Cards – cards that display information showing where the parts should be delivered next in the production process or if a reorder is needed. Kanban means signboard in Japanese.

Kaizen – means continuous improvement and is a key concept of TQM. This was used extensively by Toyota and others in pursuit of satisfying customer needs with quality products.

Jidoka – this is defined by Toyota as automation with a human touch.

Andan – another word from Toyota, this means to pull the cord, in other words if a defect is found in production an assembly line worker may stop the line, which obviously places a great deal of responsibility on workers.