This book reports a literature review on kaizen, its industrial
applications, critical success factors, benefits gained, journals that
publish about it, main authors (research groups) and universities.
Kaizen is treated in this book in three stages: planning, implementation
and control. The authors provide a questionnaire designed with
activities in every stage, highlighting the benefits gained in each
stage. The study has been applied to more than 400 managers and leaders
in continuous improvement in Mexican maquiladoras. A univariate analysis
is provided to the activities in every stage. Moreover, structural
equation models associating those activities with the benefits gained
are presented for a statistical validation. Such a relationship between
activities and benefits helps managers to identify the most important
factor affecting their benefits and financial income.