Improving health care from the bottom up: Factors for the successful implementation of kaizen in acute care hospitals.

Kosta Shatrov,Carl Rudolf Blankart,Bernhard Thomet,Andreas Gutzeit,Camilla Pessina,Kaspar Huber,Sharon Mary Brownie

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257412

Abstract

Kaizen-a management technique increasingly employed in health care-enables employees, regardless of their hierarchy level, to contribute to the improvement of their organization. The approach puts special emphasis on frontline employees because it represents one of their main opportunities to participate directly in decision making. In this study, we aimed to (1) understand the experiences of nurses in two hospitals that had recently implemented kaizen, and (2) identify factors affecting the implementation of the technique. By means of purposeful sampling, we selected 30 nurses from different units in two private acute care hospitals in Switzerland in May 2018. We used the Organizational Transformation Model to conduct semi-structured interviews and perform qualitative content analysis. Lastly, originating from Herzberg's motivation theory, we suggest two types of factor influencing the implementation of kaizen-hygiene factors that may prevent nurses from getting demotivated, and motivational factors that may boost their motivation. Nurses generally experienced kaizen as a positive practice that enabled them to discuss work-related activities in a more comprehensive manner. In some cases, however, a lack of visible improvement in the workplace lowered nurses' motivation to make suggestions. Nurses' attitudes towards kaizen differed across both hospitals depending on the available managerial support, resources such as infrastructure and staffing levels. From our findings, we derived several coping strategies to help health practitioners implement kaizen for the benefit of their organization and employees: Strong managerial support, appropriate use of kaizen tools, and a greater sense of team cohesion, among other factors, can influence how effectively hospital teams implement kaizen. To reap the benefits of kaizen, hospital managers should promote the exchange of opinions across hierarchy levels, allocate the necessary resources in terms of personnel and infrastructure, and show nurses how the technique can help them improve their workplace.

Highlights

Kaizen is a management approach that aims for the continuous, incremental improvement of an organization
Kaizen—a management technique increasingly employed in health care—enables employees, regardless of their hierarchy level, to contribute to the improvement of their organization
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Summary

Introduction

Kaizen is a management approach that aims for the continuous, incremental improvement of an organization. If implemented successfully, it empowers employees, regardless of their hierarchy level, to address problems and take actions to solve them [1]. The concept promotes organizational change and a culture of continuous improvement with the ultimate goals of avoiding waste and increasing quality throughout the organization [2]. In this context, improvement is regarded as a recurring process and not a project with a predefined timeframe.

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