Handbook of Business Strategy

Purpose – One of the key miracles of Japan’s success in dominating international markets for such a long period of time is their approach to strategic planning. This article talks about their success.

Design/methodology/approach – It first presents the origins, definition and methodology involved in Hoshin, contrasts it with other approaches to strategic planning and argues the case by demonstrating how Hoshin can be integrated with total quality management and performance measurement, two essential requirements for modern business practice. The paper covers various best practice case studies and concludes with a roadmap for the effective implementation of Hoshin.

Findings – The spread of Hosin planning from Japan to the USA has been well documented. The uptake of Hoshin in the West seems on the whole to be associated with organizations that are advocating the use of total quality management. This is an “implicit” consideration that Japanese corporations make, having always based their approach to doing business on the use of quality methods and techniques.

Originality/value – Several case studies of the successful implementation of this pioneering concept are illustrated and a proposed roadmap of Implementing Hoshin Planning is discussed. The roadmap is meant to assist organizations of different sizes and from different sectors, manage their strategic thinking more effectively.