Management basics

Skill & Spirit

1
Table of contents

Introduction
l. Section I Self management (individual)
Chapter 1 Setting the goal
Chapter 2 Task management
Chapter 3 Time management
Chapter 4 Money management (Kakeibo)
Chapter 5 Information management
Coffee break 1: 5S (Japanese management)
Coffee break 2: KAIZEN
Coffee break 3: IWAKURA mission: the starting point of Japanese
modernization

2. Section II Team management (not included)

3. Section III Project management (not included)
4. Section IV Corporate management (not included)
5. Section V Country management (not included)
6. Section VI Case Study: How to change (not included)
About the author (not included)

2
 Introduction

This books addresses to all those who want, as simply as it may sound,
to improve their life and activities, as well as other’s, by adding more value
and control towards a more efficient, fulfilled and happy life. This book
addresses to everyone who wants to improve their lives, irrespective of their
age, profession and personal goals. It will be useful for everyone: students,
teachers, top managers, housewives or political leaders. Through the
following Chapters we will guide the reader into the methods of directing life
through principles and methods of management, showing practical tools of
applying them into all activities.
This book will help you to understand “Management”, and then it will
help you to think yourself and your environment. The knowledge is power, but
you must know the right way of using the power.
The management may not help you to be a rich person financially.
However,
The management will help you to strengthen your intelligence.
The management will help you to open your eye.
The management will help you to form your warm heart.
The management may guide you to the right direction in your life.

Total picture of management structure

In order to grasp total picture of management, I list management topics
as follows.
1. Self- management (Individual)
2. Team management
3. Project management
4. Corporate management
5. Country management (Government)

Each management topics is important, however Self-management is

the foundation for all of management topics.
The individual’s self-management is critical for other management.
The team is composed of the individual team member.
The project is composed of the project member.
The company is composed of employee.
The country is composed of national people. So, the performance and
quality of each unit depends on the individual in the unit.

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1.Individual
layer

2.Team
Layer
Global E
4
 We can expect the performance and quality are on right chart (In detail,
section 6).
Every performance deeply depends on the individual’s capacity and
capability.
If we want to heighten the performance of a team, we have 3 choices.
1st choice is to strengthen the individual capability of each member of the
team, 2nd choice is to improve the quality of the team rules. 3rd choice is to
improve the capability of the team leader. It is important to have a team
composed by individual with high capability, a good rule and a good team
leader. If one of these is week, then it must be improved. However, in the real
life it is not always possible to improve the weakest component. Even if some
of the component must be accepted as they are, for example the team leader,
you can always change the other two in order to heighten the team capability.
If we need to heighten the country performance, we have 3 choices. 1st
choice is to strengthen the capability of national people through education
system. 2nd choice is develop and implement the good social institution in the
country. 3rd choice is to encourage the political leader. We realize all of three
approaches are necessary for the country. It may take a time for choice 2 and
3, however we can start choice 1 today. We can not excuse our current
situation due to the social institution or political leadership. We individually go
abroad, and work as international professional. It is the independent spirit.
I believe individual spirit is the foundation for all of units.

Structure of this handbook

The structure of this handbook relies on the basic principles of
management. It aims to be a practical guide on how to implement and take
advantage of the theoretical notions of management in every part of life.
Regardless if the aim is self-management, team management, business
management or even country management, this book will teach the reader the
basic principles of managing. How is that possible? Whatever the domain, an
efficient management builds upon very simple, highly efficient and universally
applicable principles.
After learning these basic principles, the reader will be able to put them
in practice in every domain desired, to the achievement of all goals. Goals can
be very different, as to win a bargain, run a company, to earn money or to
manage a project. Or even how to have good quality fun in holidays. The
basic principles are the same!
This guidebook does not address those, who only desire are to win the
lottery or those who are passively waiting until life grants them everything they
wish for. The purpose of this guidebook is to offer a practical support to those
who understand that achievements take effort and that, in order to obtain good
results, efforts have to be done in the most efficient ways possible.
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TheoreI
Pe
6
 Importance of will. Royal road is not a shortcut.
What takes for an efficient management, would that be one of personal
life, of a team, a project, a corporation, even of a country, or international
relations?
To get what you want takes:
Tools
Methods
Experience
Will
Tools: There are simple, yet efficient ways of working which will help
you
Methods: The are the ways how to utilise the tools in order to reach
your goal
Experience: Perseverance in applying the methods and tools will
develop experience. Experience needs to be continuously improved, through
a step-by-step process.
Will: Using the knowledge offered by this handbook requires will. The
first component of the will - motivation can be developed through special
training courses. But another component is the spirit, which already belongs to
the psychical structure of the individual. The development of will starts in the
early childhood and is made by parents, school and society. When spirit is
weak, reconstruction is difficult and takes a long time. Yet, a strong spirit is
necessary to continuous improvement, to self-motivation through the ups and
downs of life. Lack of spirit leads to lack of initiatives and no achievements.
Sometime the best way is not the easiest, but the roughest. In order to
achieve a goal a strong will is definitely necessary.
Our handbook will be an unending source of treasure to those who
have a strong will, but will prove of no use to those who lack it. Because if
there is no spirit, there will be no progress.
Simplicity leads to perfection… Putting away the unnecessary things,
that complicate our activities and thus burden our lives, you will get to the
simple but valuable things, which will help to consume your energies usefully
and to maintain enthousiasm even through difficult times.
This guidebook contains part of the Japanese spirit that I inherited from
my parents and my grandparents, but also the experience I gathered in my
activity as a consultant in the USA, Hong-Kong, and all the countries I have
been to.
This book will have no value for the person who has no will.
This book will have no value for the person who has no goal.
This book will be a treasure for the person who has WILL and want to
archive a GOAL.

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 It is up
8
challe
Blank page

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 SECTION I

SELF MANAGEMENT (INDIVIDUAL)

Chapter 1. Setting the Goal

Chapter 2. Task management

Chapter 3. Time management

Chapter 4. Money management [KAKEIBO]

Chapter 5. Information management

Coffee break 1. 5S (Japanese management)

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 Chapter 1: Setting the Goal
MOTTO : “Know Yourself”! Socrates

Personal Life Management for a Creative Life

Setting the Goal
Have you ever wondered why migrating birds never loose their way and
always reach their destinations without being confused? The answer is simple:
birds know where they have to get. Unfortunately us, human beings, we have
not the same guiding facilities. When we are born, no one teaches us what we
have to reach for and where would our destination be.
People are sceptic towards the idea of taking control over their life. It
feels rather strange if someone offers to teach us how to successfully get
through our own lives. But the clue lies in the fact that even everyday practice
proves that we need to perfection ourselves and to lead ourselves by
permanent progress. The progress of the individual can be of a high
contribution to the progress of an entire country.
But we have to know what we want to perfection in ourselves. The road
towards perfection is not an easy one, and if you don’t have a map, stepping
astray can be done in no time… Thus we may reach the end of our lives and
realize that we have hardly even made progresses. What could have
happened? Not much, or we have just omitted a seemingly small, yet very
important detail – to determin our destination, in other words, THE MAJOR
GOAL OF OUR LIFE.
The first and most important step in attaining a goal is to establish it.
Once you have chosen a goal, you can start thinking at the ways you can
attain it. The opposite is also valid: if you do not have a goal, you will not be
able to adequately canalise your efforts.
A life that is lead by goals and lived through establishing and attaining
them fundamentally differs from the one that is led by hazard, lacking precise
destination.
If you have no goals and you do not know towards what purpose to
gather your strengths, life will become a flow of chance, with no direction. Not
only that you will start to loose time, money, but also passion and enthusiasm.
And all these without fulfilling your actual desires!
Following a path towards attending a goal can be very different at each
individual. There are people who, once they settled a goal, manage to head
towards it in a straight line and with a constant speed. Others start fast, then,
as they are heading further on they slow down. Then again, there are others,
who start slow to become more and more faster.
Why to set up a goal? If we set up a goal, we have chance to reach it. If
you do not set the goal, probable you are not going to reach where you want
to.
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 S

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Types of goals

We can define several types of goals:

- professional goals - E.g. I want to become a good cardiologist.
- familial goals - E.g. I want to have a family, a wife and two kids,
and to be perfectly happy together. I want to marry the one I love.
- goals related to community (associations, foundations) E.g. I want
to be a member of the community of helping orphan children
everywhere.
- financial goals – By the end of this year I want to have 20000 euros
- goals in hobby – I want to add 100 pieces of valuable coins to my
collection.
- health – I want to stop eating high fat foods.

This GOAL once settled, you can design what steps are to follow in order to
reach your “destination”, as well as evaluate the time required in attaining it.
Depending on how good is the planning and the scheduling of each and every
person, the followed path will be more or less direct, but for sure no one will
get lost.

Where are you now, and where is your goal?

Each goal has several dimensions and can be represented on the following
axes:
The personal goals – social goals axis
• Personal goals – the individual is motivated in attaining a
goal that will be for her/his personal use only
• Social goals - the individual is motivated in attaining a
goal in the benefit of others or of society
Practical goals – idealistic goals axis
• Idealistic goals – goals are supported by principles and
ideals. E.g.: improving human welfare in Kenya.
• Practical goals
According to these dimensions, four categories will result:
I – social and idealistic goals:
I fight for peace.
II –practical and social goals:
I want that in our neighborhood to be built another childcare centre:
III – personal and idealistic goals:
I want to enjoy the most beautiful music of the world:
IV – personal and practical goals:
I want a new car. A want to increase my salary by 20%.
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 The Goal
In
Personal
richness
II.
We all hope that the politicians we elect will be in the first category. We hope
that they will have idealistic and social goals. In the reality, most of the
politician are in the forth category, they only have practical and personal
goals.
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 Defining the Goal

First step is to define the goal preciously. In order to set up the goal you
must know yourself and your environment. I question you as follows:
Who are you?
How old are you?
What do you have? Experience, knowledge, human network, financial power,
conscious....
What do you want to be?
What do you want to achieve?
What do you want to do?
Do you like your country?
Do you love your family?
Do you need to be rich financially?
Do you want social honor?
Do you challenge for creating life and public society?
Do you want to be lazy life?
Are you aggressive for your future?
Do you have a good friend?
Where do you want to live? Romania? EU countries? Japan? USA?....
If you can answer all of above, you can define your goal now.

Then, next step is to find the way how to achieve the goal.
You can ask your teacher, read the book, and think by yourself. You can ask
your parents, your friend and some reliable person. You know who is reliable,
if you define the goal. I can advice you if you goal is wrong, you will go wrong.
If your goal is right, you will go right way.
There is no royal road. You must work hard and wise, and then you can find
the chance to achieve the goal.
Step by step. The way to your life goal is starting now. You know 1 day * 365
= 1 year. 1 year * 10 = 10 years. 10 years * 5 = half century. You need a
patient. However, if the goal is right, you can endure every trouble.

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In order to set t
You must revis
carefully, and th
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Management Life Goal Towards a Creative Life

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “ Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what
direction we are moving“.
For beginning, it is important to set up simpler goals, which we try to achieve.
After we succeed, the following goal settlements have to be more and more
ambitious ones, only thus will we be able to progress. It is said that
millionaires are common people who proposed themselves to attain
uncommon results.
All that was related here so far can be imagined like a pyramid on the top of
which is the most important of our goals – THE LIFE GOAL. The basic and
middle levels are the steps that have to be followed to reach the top.
This pyramid can be divided into three parts, according to the three stages in
programming life.

Life Design
After you settled where you want to get, it is necessary to draw the road you
have to follow, in other words:
B. Master Plan - Making an action plan
In order to fulfill your dream, it has to be first transformed in specific objectives
, the objectives in steps and the steps in tasks that have to be ennounced and
programmed in terms of time:
Short term ( one year)
Medium term ( five years)
Long term ( ten years)
C. Operation Schedule Managment - Drawing up an operational
program
Dayly
Weekly
Monthly
Upon this pyramide, the first step in reaching your Life Goal is to administrate
a day of your life, because life is formed by days we have to cross and if the
road is drawn, it is more difficult to get lost. The real succes relies not in
reaching the final destination, but in the life-long voyage that we have to make
towards it. Take control over your life by starting to program your days, than
your weeks, months and years. You will be able to focus your energy towards
the desired things, because you carefully projected your road.

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18
Example for the life goal

Life can be defined 3 period.

First period is education period. We go to school, and study and

learn a lots from teacher and friend in the school. It will take 22to 27 years.
The social system will teach and protect you. You don’t contribute the society
for this period. You only receive a gift from the society. You will establish your
personality in this period. It is important to embody good moral and ethics in
this period beside learning knowledge in the school. This is very important for
your life because you will build your foundation of the life. Good foundation will
give you a good life for you.

2nd period is socialized period. You start to work in the society.

Still , you need to learn a lot from the society. However, you can start to
contribute the society. You also gain the money with your job. It must be
enough to support your family. It is a mutual process that you will gain the
necessary money through contributing the society. I defined it Socialized
period.
It is very vital and exiting period. You can work in the world
everywhere. If you had studied very well in the 1st period your life, you have
many opportunities and chances in the world. If you contribute a lot to the
society through your work in the world, you will get the honor and blessing
form the people. It is challenging period.

3rd process is contributing the society. You may be already

retired. So, no pressure to work hard for the money. You have a liberty in your
life. 3rd period of the life totally depends on your will. If you want to contribute
the society, you can do it fully. If you wants to enjoy your life in your small
society, it is your life. Nobody enforce you to do something. However, I believe
you wants to keep some relationship with the society. You have enough
experience and wisdom through your 1st and 2nd life period. If you appreciate
your family and your society, you will start to contribute the society. It is not so
important to gain the money through the work.

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 C
Steps and type o

Jump
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 Chapter 2: Task management

To-do List
It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human,
and disorder is our worst enemy. Hesiod
Each day we have to make a list in which we note down all the tasks
we have to accomplish for the day.
We have to fill in the list each morning, before starting work. It should
not take more than 10 minutes.
Right after writing them down we must proceed to accomplish the tasks
after their priority.
As soon as a task is done you can tick it off.
In the case that new tasks appear during the day, they will have to be
immediately put down in the list. At the end of the day, unaccomplished tasks
have to be scheduled on the to-do list for the following day.

Benefits of To-do List

Practical benefits
• Focusing on the daily tasks. Lets your mind organize the
required actions for accomplishing the tasks.
• Establishing priorities. Helps identifying important tasks and
allows focusing on them. Obviously, tasks shall be scheduled
according to their priority. In this way energy will be dosed in
solving the tasks. After solving the first one we can start then
with the following prior task.
• Grouping activities. The list helps you identifying the tasks that
can be done at the same time.
• Fast starting over, whenever interrupted in your work.
• You will not forget important things anymore, and you will not
forget smaller tasks either.
Psychological benefits
• Each time you tick off a tasks, endorphins are produced.
Endorphins are substances secreted by the brain that induce a
state of well-being and euphoria.
• Control raises, together with the feeling of control, thus reducing
stress
• You will not worry anymore about forgetting important things.
Your mind and energy will not focus on remembering the tasks
anymore, but on solving them
• It eases your mind and brings back your calm
With a TO-DO LIST, you will never forget anything!

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 SAMPLE A

N0. Prio

1
When a to-do list is needed?
When you feel you get overwhelmed by your work
6
When keeping terms gets difficult
When you sometimes forget to do important things

2 2
When people starts pressing you to do your work
Making a to do list is a habit that takes only several minutes a day, but
brings in many benefits.

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5
 Chapter 3: Time management

There are some tools for your time management. I can introduce some
useful tools for you. However, tool is tool. It is no more than tools. In order to
utilize those tools, you must have a good method.
Most important factor for time management is “Strong Will”. You must
have a strong will to effectively utilize your time.
Following person must revisit your working style before using tools and
method.
1 - The person who don’t keep promise.
2 - The person who are not punctual.
3 - The person who wait other person in the room.
4 - The person who don’t keep deadline in the work.
5 - The person who don’t have a plan for business and private.
Those people are not respecting the value of the time. It is necessary
for those people to revisit their working style.
The time is the absolute measurement for the performance of your
work and life. It is necessary to respect your time and other person’s time
also. It is recommended that you make a plan at first, and then check the
result.

Time management procedure

Plan
Do
CHECK

It is very simple. However, it is necessary to continue. 1,2,3 steps as

above must be applied for daily schedule, weekly schedule, monthly schedule
and yearly schedule.
You can start from daily schedule. When you get up in the morning,
please list tasks that you must do today. Then, you can arrange your time for
those tasks. Then you can find a lack of time for doing all in one day. Then,
you will realize the necessity to make weekly schedule.
Anyway, you can make the schedule for today, and then check it at the
end of the day. You will find your performance. If you are satisfied with your
performance, please continue it. If not, please revisit the reason why you
couldn’t succeed to complete the tasks in the day.
Continue the 1,2,3 steps for a couple of weeks, and then move on
weekly schedule. Please make the weekly schedule at the end of the week for
next week. You can put every events, appointment, personal business on the
weekly schedule. This is the planning process.
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 Mon
7
8 Morning meeting

10
Theme Topics/ p
Business
24
Ministry of X
trip
11 Univ. Okayama
A
 Next, you can execute the week. It is 2nd step. Then, at the end
of the week, please check your performance. You can check your time
management capability with the review process. Continue the weekly 1,2,3
steps for a couple of weeks.
If you are getting better and better to manage weekly schedule, you
can start to monthly schedule management. You must do same 1,2,3 steps for
monthly schedule management also. After a couple of months, you can
challenge next level, it is yearly schedule management.

Find your suitable time management style

Through the exercise as above, you can find the best time
management style for you. Some person manages all the cycle. Others may
manage weekly schedule management only. It is OK.
If you are Top management person, you must have yearly plan. If you
work in the office as assistant, weekly schedule management is necessary,
but not yearly maybe. The purpose of the time management is for your
performance and productivity in the business and personal life.
Some key words in time management
• Priority
• Set up goal (Deadline)
• Keep the promise
• Punctuality
• Flexibility
Make the plan, execute, and check it. It is 1,2,3 steps. You will find your
weakness, and then you try to strengthen that.
As I explain as first, tool is tool. You must have strong will to continue
that, purse better life. Then, you must have courage to change your
working style. It is not easy to admit your weakness; however it is
necessary to sincerely challenge and deny yourself for your better life.

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Category Priority Main

International High J-Gov

Organization Medium IBRD

Ministry X Low Produ

High Tokyo
26

Company X Medium NARU

 Chapter 4: Money management
[ KAKEIBO ]

Motto: You can be in control of your money, instead of letting your

money control you!
KAKEIBO is the Japanese term used for the “Japanese Household
Accounts Book” and is the tool that helps us to get the maximum benefits out
of the limited amount of money we have at our disposal.
KAKEIBO is a registry that tracks all the incomes and the expenditures
made in a household during a month time.
Each income and expenditure is recorded according to the date,
amount, description and the category of expenditure to which it belongs.
Eventually, for a very strict tracking, the number of receipt is also noted.
At the end of the month a calculation is made to see how much money
was spent on each category of expenditure.
Looks quite simple, isn’t it? And yes, it is very simple. Then why should
we use this simple, almost ordinary tool? The answer is also simple: using a
tool as simple as this will bring along extraordinary benefits!

Why to use KAKEIBO?

Benefits:
• Control
– You will be the one to decide what will happen to the money
you’ve earned through hard working. It will be only you to decide
on what and how you spend your money.
– You can organize your incomes and expenditures in order to
gain the results you wish. Keeping control on your expenditures
will help you for a better planning on which category of
expenditures you prefer to spend money on: For e.g., if I notice
that in the last two months I have spent only 2% of my income
for healthcare, 1%for beauty-care, but I’ve spent 20% for
gasoline, I will be able to make the necessary correction in the
next months. As you can see, this tool will allow you to direct
your resources towards the desired goals
– You will always know what amount of money you have at your
disposal, how much and on what have you spent.
• Saving
– Saving: in every budget are useless expenditures. Through
cutting down the unnecessary expenditures that exist in a
budget, a financial plus is created which can be spent on the
things you really need.

27
 2008.1.2
2008.1.5
28

2008.1.25
Summary of
 – Indirectly acts on the human tendency of saving “if I record in
KAKEIBO every expenditure I make, I will think twice before
spending money on something”.
• Satisfaction
– By cutting down unnecessary expenditures you will be able to
spend the spare money on the things that offer you the greatest
satisfaction.
– In each month you will have at your disposal a sum of money
that you will be able to spend on what you want without having
any feeling of guilt about it.
• Avoiding financial problems: Most of the times families become to face
severe financial problems get there because they lack the knowledge
and the habit of using money efficiently.
• This method helps identifying the potential problem sources. Thus, if
the expenditures were bigger than the income in a month, the
KAKEIBO will serve the function of an alarm signal.
• You can calculate exactly what is the amount of credit you can apply for
and what is the realistic amount of interest you afford to pay.
• Psychological benefits
– Raises the control and the feeling of control upon your life
– Reduces stress and brings back your calm
– Using a common KAKEIBO in a couple is a way to improve
communication and a good method of solving arguments related
to money

Why using KAKEIBO? Simply to have control over our money, to use it
in the most appropriate way we want to.

Chapter 5: Information management

Information Management
Where there is information, there is need to organize it in order to use it
the most efficient and easiest way possible. Thus, information management
applies for the personal computer, for the office, for the shelves and for the
documents.

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 There are several ways of organising information:
• By time
• By category/type
• By project
• By priorities

L F
• By importance
• Alphabetical index

SH E
The benefits that the organising documents bring along are:
• Whenever you need an information it will be fast to get, this is
especially useful in urgent/crisis situations

o c u
• Organizing increases the feeling of control and psychological comfort
• Useful information will be at your disposal
• You will be not overwhelmed by useless information
D
Once a system of organizing the information is developed, this has to
be used repeatedly, over and over again. This is an ongoing process and it
takes a strong will to permanently and efficiently organise them.

Bo o k
30

o k s
Bo
 SHOSAI, The study room

In Japan, people who are working in an intellectual field, such as

teachers and researchers, writers, always have a personal working space, a
room called SHOSAI.
In this room are gathered all the available information and resources:
documents, books, magazines, newspapers, computer, TV, radio, mobile,
board, office, shelves and desk.
One look at the study-room of a person and you will be able to form an
opinion on her/his style. You will understand how intelligently this person uses
the information resources. A desk full of papers, bookshelves lying one on the
top of another, a desktop over-crowded with all sort of files and icons are clear
clues that the person using them has a more disorganised style. A SHOSAI
that is organised in the way that all information is easy to found indicates an
efficient person.
Over all, information rules our brain. One of the main functions of the
brain is to analyse the information. For efficient processing information has to
be structured.
The way of organizing information depends very much on the
personality of each and every person, as well as their way of thinking. Some
can organize information according to several criteria at the same time - but
this method is only for the advanced ones! For beginners we always
recommend using a single criterion of organizing.
The environment in which we are working is a creative one and is a
reflection of our working-style, but we should never forget that this influence is
reciprocal, the environment also influences the way in which we think and
work.

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32
 The Process of Organising the Information (1)
Organising the informations requieres three steps
Step 1 – Selecting
Selecting the information is the process through which we
extract the relevant information from the total amount of information.
It was shown through statistics that usually 95% of the information is
useless. Only a small percentage of 5% is useful and worthy to be selected.
There is no use to storage and deposit the useless information. If we
want to have efficiency we will have to distinguish intelligently between the
useful information that is worth to be deposited and the useless one, which we
need to get rid of.
Throwing a glance at the desk of a person makes us realise how many
of the information deposited on the desk should have been thrown away long
time ago! Getting ride of the useless information is quite difficult for those who
are not good at organising it. These people live with the fear that sooner or
later they will need the information they have thrown away! And for this reason
they prefer to keep all the information without throwing anything and their
SHOSAI ends up in being an enormous deposit of information of all kind, the
majority of them being useless or difficult to use.
Getting rid of something takes courage: you have to take the decision
that you will never need again an information and you have to accept that
once this decision was taken, getting back is not possible.
A person that masters the process of organising the information knows
to make the difference between useful and useless information and can easily
make the decision of throwing away the entire useless one.
And indeed, for an efficient organising of the information we need
wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, experience and will.

The Process of Organising the Information (2)

Step 2 - Organising: Once we decided which information is useful, we
have to organise it according to a criterion or several criteria (such as time,
cathegory, etc.)
Step 3 - Storing: The information obtained is stored on diverse types
of supports (such as in a notebook, on a shelf, on the desk, in a drawer or in
the computer, thus being prepared for use)
• Storing information will allow you to easily reuse it every time you will
need to. But if this information will never be used again than you better
start throwing it away!
Step 4 Using the information: Don’t forget: an information that will
not be used has no value and it is better to throw it away! Through organising
the information we increase their values.

33
 II Organize th

Information
-Paper

-TV
Data: Data are the initial raw information, which are unorganised, not
-Radio
systematized. Some of them are neutral, others useful, and others of no use.
Information: Through organising data, information is obtained.
Knowledge: through analysing and systematizing data, as well as
applying of some organising structures, information becomes knowledge.

Value
Wisdom: Through assimilating knowledge, through transforming them

-Internet
in habits, wisdom is attained. Automatic knowledge will not disappear.
Data becomes information, information becomes knowledge and
knowledge becomes wisdom.
This process is the source of intelligent creativity in the SHOSAI.

34
-Direct
 Coffee break 1
5S

You may know “KAIZEN” and “5S”. These are the key words for Japanese
quality and productivity. They are developed in Japan, and widespread in the
world now.
“KAIZEN” is interpreted like continuous improvement in English. However, it is
more than that. It is a kind of cultural heritage in manufacturing in Japan.
Toyota has TPS (Toyota Production System), and under the TPS, there is
“KAIZEN” working style as basics.
5S is also interpreted as one of the management method in English; however
it is more than that. 5S is also basic principle in Japanese factory. Each
company may have another different name; however it has the same roots. 5S
is as follows:
1. SEIRI: Shifting
2. SEITON: Sorting
3. SEISO: Cleaning, Shining, Spick and span
4. SEIKETU: Standardization, Maintaining
5. SHITUKE: Discipline, Sustaining
The purpose of 5S is to improve profitability, productivity and quality of work. It
will be defined as follows:
Purpose 1: Improvement in operation efficiency. Quality up, Cost reduction
and Reliability.
Purpose 2: Improvement in Safety. Clean working environment reduce
accident and provide us comfort in the daily work.
Purpose 3: Improvement in Moral. Motivation for creative work, voluntary work
in the workplace, keeping high ethics in the business and so on.
You may know TQM (Total Quality Management), TQC (Total Quality
Control), Lean production system and 6 Sigma. There are the key concepts in
manufacturing originally. However; it is applicable to personal office work and
team management. You can start 5S and “KAIZEN” today without huge
investment. It is up to you. If you want high performance in your work, you
must be cleaver enough to change your working style precisely. 5S and
“KAIZEN” will be a good guideline for your personal work and life.
1. SEIRI: Shifting, arrangement, order, compact, organize precisely.
Key words

1. Distinguish the necessary items from the unnecessary items

2. Separate the necessary information form unnecessary information.
3. Decide timely and execute.
4. Productive working environment will be designed by following criteria:
1) Importance,
35
 2) Priority,
3) Frequency,
You must organize your task, information, time money and staff based
upon the criteria as above.
5. Separate personal belongings and company belongings

1. SEITON: Sorting
Key words
1. To make it ready for your work at anytime.
2. You need to know what is necessary.
3. You need to know how much you need it.
4. Every staff (goods, information and money) must be ready for the timely
use.
5. Then you can reduce the waste.
6. Waste creates nothing. Waste makes minus productivity.
7. We must eliminate waste in your working place and your life.

2. SEISO: Cleaning, Shining, Spick and span

Key words
1. You need to clean up your office environment while you are working in the
place.
2. You may be OK the dirty working place, however others (Customer,
colleague, and your boss) may not like the dirty working place.
3. Prevent the accident and loosing some important staff, it is important to
keep clean the working place.
4. If the working place were dirty, your mind and brain may be dirty also.
5. The working place is your mirror of your heart.

2. SEIKETSU: Standardizing , Maintaining

Key words
1. Always keep your workplace in a good condition for your work.
2. You can clean your workplace with SEISO.
3. However, cleanness is not the goal. It is the process for the high
productivity.
4. You should not be satisfying the cleanness in the work place.
5. If clean work place disturbs your work performance, it is wrong 5S.
6. Maintain the workplace in a good condition clean, easy access and
comfortable.
7. We must achieve the high performance of the work.
8. So the work place must be clean and functional.

36
 3. SHITUKE
Key words
1. You must have a rule in your office or factory.
2. First, you must keep it. No exception.
3. It is not easy to keep the rule.
1) Keep the promise
2) Keep it on time and on schedule (Punctual)
3) Keep high quality of the work in any difficult condition
4) Keep recap your result everyday
5) Keep good communication with your boss, colleague and so on.
4. You must do it again and again, over and over.
5. Plan, Do, Check, Revisit and collection, and start again.
6. If you continue to keep it, it will be your custom gradually.
7. Then, keeping the rule will be embodied to you and your team member.
8. This is the permanent process. It is endless.
9. It is better to start SHITUKE in early age, like childhood. Starting SHITUKE
after working in the company, it will be very difficult to custom good
manner.
10. SHITUKE in childhood is very important and it will be a lifetime asset for
the person.

37
 Coffee break 2
KAIZEN
Have you heard the word “KAIZEN”? It is a Japanese word, which is
popularized in the world as one of the management key words. It is not easy
to define the word. Because it is a custom, working style, philosophy and
practice in the normal course of life and business.
(Examples to explain the “KAIZEN”)
• Continuous improvement on the production line and corporate activity
• Challenge for productivity and quality
• Voluntary activity in the company
• Share the idea in the community
• Endless, continuous challenge
• Corporate culture and Philosophy for the management and every
employee

KA
Return
KAIZEN is the endless challenge to improve the quality, performance, and
productivity. It is the working style, and mindset for the work. If we apply
KAIZEN to the organization like the company, it will be described as follows. It
must be implemented as corporate culture for everybody. Top management
demonstrate KAIZEN mind, and the middle management and operation staff
also realize the importance of KAIZEN.

38

Share the
 CSF: Man
KAIZEN is for a who
executing

“KAIZEN is not the special things. You can start it today. For example, it is
KAIZEN that you organize your belongings on the desk. It is KAIZEN to clean
up your desk. It is KAIZEN to write the daily work report in order to revisit your
work. It is KAIZEN to clean your room in order for easy to work.
It is not a big challenge, it is a small thing, and however the accumulation of
Top
such a small change can be a good foundation for you. You can start KAIZEN Top
by yourself; you can consult KAIZEN with your team in the office, you can
Management
propose KAIZEN to your company. You can apply KAIZEN to your Managem
YES
government.
If you are satisfied with your current situation, you may not care KAIZEN.
However, if you are interested in better life, KAIZEN is necessary for your life.
Middle Middle
Management Managem
And And

E
HQ staff HQ
YESstaf
Productivity
And
“GENBA” “GENB
Definitely, YE
Achievement
Field operation Field oper

R
39 1.Ch
2.Reform
40
 Coffee break 3
IWAKURA Mission: The starting point of Japanese modernization

What is IWAKURA mission?

In Japan, it was EDO era between 1603 and 1867. It is SAMURAI period.
It was the feudal system governed by TOKUGAWA shogunate. The
TOKUGAWA shogunate closed the country as the state policy. It was
national isolation.
However, after 265 years EDO era, Japan opened the country to oversea
because of the pressure from great power of western countries, and
internal conflict within the federal system.
When Japan opened the country, they realized that Japan had been far
behind from the western society because of 265 years national isolation.
Then they decide to visit and learn modern social system and technology.
The new government, it was MEIJI government, organized the mission
with the senior minister Mr. IWAKURA as the mission leader.
(IWAKURA Mission)
1871-73 (18 months world visiting)
USA and Europe (London, Brussels, Roma,,)
The leader was senior minister “IWAKURA”
50 high- ranking officials of MEIJI government
Including 5 girls from 6 to 15 years old.
Purpose of this mission: Discuss the actual operation of the treaties with
the head of foreign offices, and then Examine Western society closely.
After coming back to Japan, they started to reconstruct Japanese system
(Bunmei-kaika).

After the mission, they recognize that Japan must study and learn a lot of
things from the western society. In order to catch up quickly, Japan must
invite many foreign professional. It was OYATOI-GAIKOKUJIN (Foreign
professional hired by the Japanese government).

(OYATOI-GAIKOKUJIN )
(Foreign professional hired by the Japanese government).
The several thousand foreign teachers, technologist, and advisor who
were hired by the Japanese government in Meiji period to provide
experience in the wide range of fields in which it was felt that the Western
excelled.
Significant role in the rapid transformation of Japan from feudal
backwardness into a world power in a little more than a generation.
Japanese government hired more than 2 dozen nations, English, German,
French, and American. There are 2 important aspect as follows.
41
 1. Japanese government hired them with their budget (Their salary was
high surprisingly. 75 % of them received salaries equal to those
Japanese officials in the first and second levels of the bureaucratic
hierarchy).
2. Japanese people learned those military science, engineering, foreign
affairs, agriculture, surveying, and medicine in a short period.

At the MEIJI restoration, Japanese people realize far behind in the practical
technology. Also, the economic system is different from the western society.
However, the level of traditional education system was good enough for
national people. So, it is necessary to modernize the system, but that is
enough.
On the other aspect of comparison, Japan confirmed the culture level is same
or higher. The spirit for independence is strong enough. So, Japan should
keep the traditional culture and learn modern system with the spirit of
independence.
I believe no country has a chance to achieve sound growing in the world
without the spirit of independence. Fortunately, Japan had the spirit at the
MEIJI restoration in 1867. This enabled the quick catch up to western society.

Japanese sp
W
so

1 Practical technology A
42