Lean Management, Kaizen, Kata and Keiretsu: Best-practice Examples and Industry Insights from Japanese Concepts

This book provides a holistic and practical approach to Japanese concepts of lean management throughout the business value chain. It explains principles like Kaizen, Kata or Keiretsu in a pragmatic and logical way with many industry examples and case studies. The authors describe comprehensively how lean management enables companies to concentrate on value-adding activities and processes to achieve a long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, the book shows how lean management principles are ultimately applied in industries like aviation, civil engineering, automotive, healthcare, education and other industries.

Dr. Marc Helmold is a Professor at the International University of Applied Sciences (IU), Berlin Campus, Germany. He teaches Bachelor, Master and M.B.A. students in lean management, (total) revenue management, negotiations in the international context, performance management, supply management, general management, strategic management and supply chain management. In parallel, he owns the consultancy MaHeLeanCon and supports international transactions and market entry strategies.

Dr. Ayşe Küçük Yilmaz is Professor in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey. Previously, she has served as Vice Dean for the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics and as Airport Business Manager at the International Eskisehir Hasan Polatkan Airport. Her research interests include performance management, risk management, reputation risk, stakeholder relations, airport business management, culture, supply chain risk management,logistics management, organizational behavior. She has authored a variety of books, book chapters and over 50 refereed journal articles and international conference papers.

Dr. Triant Flouris is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Metropolitan College in Athens, Greece. Triant has published numerous works on risk management, strategy, and project management applied to the aviation industry including books, refereed journal articles, and reports.

Dr. Thomas Winner is Professor of Civil Engineering at the International University of Applied Sciences (IU), Berlin Campus, Germany. He teaches civil engineering and is the director of civil engineering at IU International University of Applied Sciences. He has 10 years of professional experience as a civil engineer in structural engineering and in project management.

Violeta Cvetkoska is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia. Her areas of scientific interest include: management science/operational research, decision science, quantitative analysis for management, data science, business analytics, mathematical programing (DEA) and multi-criteria models and methods for business decision making. She has published one book and various scientific papers in international journals and proceedings of international conferences and symposia.

Dr. Tracy Datheis Professor at the Macromedia University in Berlin and works as a business consultant. She has many years of experience in German and Chinese companies, including as CFO of a multinational SME.