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  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2018

Applying the Kaizen in Africa

A New Avenue for Industrial Development

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Provides empirical evidence of the benefits and challenges of Kaizen management practices
  • Reflects on cultural and sustainability issues of Kaizen
  • Highlights successes and failures in Africa to date, particularly looking at the cases of Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Botswana

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Softcover Book USD 31.00
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Hardcover Book USD 31.00
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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
  2. How Kaizen Brightens Africa’s Future

    • Tetsushi Sonobe
    Pages 1-30Open Access
  3. Kaizen in Practice

    • Seiji Sugimoto
    Pages 69-110Open Access
  4. Kaizen and Standardization

    • Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Momoko Suzuki
    Pages 111-149Open Access
  5. Kaizen as Policy Instrument: The Case of Ethiopia

    • Getahun Tadesse Mekonen
    Pages 151-198Open Access
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 225-266

About this book

At present, how to develop industries is a burning issue in Africa, where population growth remains high and economic development has thus far failed to provide sufficient jobs for many, especially young people and women. The creation of productive jobs through industrial development ought to be a central issue in steering economic activity across the continent.

The authors of this book, consisting of two development economists and five practitioners, argue that the adoption of Kaizen management practices, which originated in Japan and have become widely used by manufacturers in advanced and emerging economies, is decisively the most effective first step for industrial development in Africa.

This open access book discusses what Kaizen management is, why it is applicable to Africa, and why it can provide Africa with a springboard for sustainable economic growth and employment generation.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

    Keijiro Otsuka

  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tokyo, Japan

    Kimiaki Jin

  • National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo, Japan

    Tetsushi Sonobe

About the editors

Keijiro Otsuka is Professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Japan, and Chief Senior Researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan.

Kimiaki Jin is Senior Assistant Director of the Industrial Development and Public Policy Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan.

Tetsushi Sonobe is Vice President and Chair of the PhD Program Committee, Director of the GRIPS Global Governance Program and Professor of Development Economics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Applying the Kaizen in Africa

  • Book Subtitle: A New Avenue for Industrial Development

  • Editors: Keijiro Otsuka, Kimiaki Jin, Tetsushi Sonobe

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91400-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-91399-5Published: 31 August 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08243-7Published: 08 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-91400-8Published: 22 August 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XX, 266

  • Number of Illustrations: 31 b/w illustrations, 6 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Industrial Organization, Business Strategy/Leadership, Development Economics, African Economics, Labor Economics

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 31.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 31.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access