Comment

Yeah, this kinda shit is fucking hilarious but people don’t realize it. There’s this corporate training BS called Kaizen where they take a lot of normal Japanese words like 無理 (muri) and associate weird Eastern mystic significance to them.

Literally just means “impossible” and is frequently used in slang to be like “no no no I couldn’t possibly [talk to that hot guy]”. Having it put up on a slide and presented by some white dudes in suits who were nodding solely and talking about the secret Japanese knowledge was just too much to hear.

source

Sort:hotnew top

Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I fucking hate Kaizen. I had to go through it as part of a job placement program and was convinced it was a cult. Like no, I am not going to call “Leaving a reminder for myself” a Gemba. I’m calling it a note because the japanese didn’t fucking invent the idea of writing things down for later.

source
- Usernamemonopoly@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It’s all the same bullshit as six sigma with their black belts and shit. Or if you are devops the utter trash called “Agile”.
  
  source
  - c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Sprints away
    
    source
  - teuniac_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    How can you say Six Sigma is bullshit?
    
    It’s literally just a method of identifying a problem, measuring and analyzing its impact, and implementing a lasting solution.
    
    The difference between the six sigma method and traditional organizations is that:
    
    Six sigma gives power to experts (instead of middle managers), * It involves staff who are actually doing the work
    
    It tests solutions before they’re implemented
    
    It acknowledges that many things can’t be forced top-down by the boss
    
    source
    raptir@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Because I’m not a six sigma whatever belt and all those things you listed are things that are just common sense.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
- WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  They didn’t invent the idea of comic books either, so why do we call them “manga” if they come from Japan?
  
  source
  - Syrc@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Because it’s a way to distinguish them. In Italy, we also call American comics “comics” (instead of the Italian word for comics) for example.
    
    source
  - orphiebaby@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Manga are a kind of comic, they’re just pretty specific about their format and choices. Anime is a kind of animated cartoon, it’s just specific about its choices. Even “coming from Japan” isn’t a requirement as long as it follows those traditionally(-ish) Japanese choices.
    
    source
    Syrc@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Eh, there’s different schools of thought. Artists like Junji Ito or Kabi Nagata make stuff very different from the usual manga, but they’re still called “manga”. In the same way, Radiant isn’t considered a manga by many even though it’s so close to the actual ones it even got an anime.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
  - thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Because they come from Japan…
    
    source
    neshura@bookwormstory.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Also probably because the reading direction is flipped
    
    source
- Aceticon@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Shame on you!
  
  You’re taking food out of the mouths of the children of Management Consultants with your reckless disregards for the latest corporate management fad!
  
  source
elscallr@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
God damn I just tried to read the Wikipedia page on Kaizen and I have never seen so many words used to describe nothing.

source
- teuniac_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  You say that probably because many components in it look like common sense.
  
  “Duh, of course the response to a problem should be to rectify it” (simplifying slightly)
  
  Lots of companies don’t though. Or they jump to a conclusion about the best solution. Or some middle manager decides he knows what’s best and then proceeds to break things.
  
  It’s quite useful to have a philosophy that gives authority to non-traditional but logical steps.
  
  source
rockerface@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Is it the corporate equivalent of getting a tattoo that just says “eggs and ham” in Chinese or something?

source
notatoad@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I bet they get really mad if you call them business weebs

source
teuniac_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I mean, that’s what people do with models and methodologies right? In my language English terms are used when using an English methodology.

Kaizen comes from Japan, was developed in Japan, and it was quite successful there. It’s not that strange to copy it word for word.

The idea behind it is quite different from what tends to happen in traditional Western companies. Since companies want to be better than their competitors and organizational change is hard, it makes sense to look for ready-made tools, rather than try to reinvent the wheel.

Of course, since (organizational) change makes many employees nervous, depending on how the organization goes about it Kaizen could get a bad name.

source