Book excerpt: Kaizen means gradual, unending improvement, doing "little things" better; setting --and achieving --ever higher standards. It is Kaizen, says Masaaki Imai, that is the simple truth behind Japan's economic "miracle" and the real reason the Japanese have become the masters of "flexible manufacturing" technology -- the ability to adapt manufacturing processes to changing customer and market requirements, and do it fast ... For the first time, Western managers have a comprehensive handbook of 16 Kaizen management practices they can put to work. Using more than 100 examples of Kaizen in action, 15 corporate case studies, and 50 charts and graphs, Mr. Imai examines step by step all the roles Kaizen plays in. --inside cover