Managing a business or organization is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Proper Management takes a proven concept, system and product and comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling an organization for the purpose of accomplishing it’s goals which is to make money and create jobs.
This is why franchising in theory,  works so well because you have a great product or idea, combined with a proven system if followed correctly will produce great results.  The issue is that great concepts and systems work if you execute or deliver properly at the store level.  This is where things begin to fall apart, and the system and product have proven successful in the past so we often blame the management and staff at the store level for their lack of implementation.

However, the Japanese philosophy of “Kaizen” places the emphasis on the process rather than the outcome as the most effective means of improving customer service.  Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy  for " continuous improvement", or "change for the better" of processes in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare, government, banking, and other industries. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, Kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the front line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics,  that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chains.
There are five key elements to Kaizen
Teamwork
Personal Discipline
Improved Morale
Quality Circles
Suggestions for Improvement
For simplicity, we will focus on Store Operations. 
In your stores you have a process for everything you do.  The focus is on the process using the collective of ten instead of one or many instead of a few, with the primary focus of reducing or eliminating hard work ( muri ) or an absurd or unreasonable way of getting things done.  Everyone in the organization looks for ways to avoid the overburden of work, by developing standardized work sequences, by breaking each step down to improve flow, the steps it takes, and the time it takes to complete this task.
This approach to problem solving leads to:
 Heightened Employee Morale
Higher Quality
Improved Productivity, and
Reduced Costs

Kaizen is designed to deliver small improvements, but the culture of small improvements and standardization yields large results over a period of time.  It is completely different than the “command and control “ programs that many Managers use today. 
This last point is very important, why?  Let me explain.  In the past you would begin a job with a company, often from an entry level position. In time you learned how to do the job and eventually worked your way up the ladder.  Today, very few companies follow this formula and todays workforce is primary focus is all about lifestyle.  Most young workers are looking for a job that matches and compliments their current lifestyle, as well as finding a job where they know they can make a difference.  Today’s employee is saying I don’t need to travel one hour into the office each day, I can do this job from home or my nearest coffee shop and do a better job in much less time.
Today’s employee wants to feel empowered with the ability to speak out and make changes.  They want to know that they will be heard and that they do make a difference.  If not, they will simply go somewhere else leading to high employee turnover and subsequently increased costs. Not just the hard costs of re-hiring and training a new employee but the soft costs of decreased productivity, poor customer service and decreased morale due to a lack of teamwork.

The Kaizen philosophy involves everyone from the CEO down to the front line employee.
 Begin by giving  everyone an opportunity to say what is wrong with the company or management and then take these comments and put them back on the employee as their responsibility to make change.  They are in control, they can make a difference and don’t need to wait for a Manager to tell them what to do.
This approach is a complete transformation in how your Owner/Managers think, and this transformation is discontinuous.  It comes from an understanding of the system and a profound knowledge of how the system works and why it works so well.  Each employee, once transformed, will have a new outlook on life, to events, to numbers and to interaction between customers.
Once the employee understands the system, they will apply it’s principles in every interaction they have will people.  They will have a basis for making their own decisions, and will transform the organization they belong to and they themselves will begin to

Lead by example
Be a good listener
Teach others

There are 12 key Management points of Kaizen.
 Create an atmosphere or culture of purpose toward improvement of innovation of products, and service, with a goal to become competitive, to stay in business and to provide employment.
A complete adoption of the new philosophy of the “ learning organization”.  Management must accept the challenge, and become leaders of change.  Consistent defects in the system, uncorrected errors and negativity are unacceptable.
Discontinue the practice of depending on inspection to achieve quality by building quality into the system in the first place, and monitor results based on customer satisfaction.
Discontinue the practice of awarding vendors and suppliers based on price.  Focus on minimizing total costs and move towards a single supplier who is committed long term in a relationship of loyalty and trust.
Constantly look to improve the system of production and service to improve quality and productivity, which will reduce costs, constantly and forever.
Initiate on the job training, retrain often
Drive out fear.  Eliminate performance appraisals.  ( see my notes on performance without appraisals)
Develop open communication between all departments
Eliminate work force targets for new levels of productivity and substitute leadership.  Eliminate management by objective, or by numbers or by goals, substitute leadership.
 Change focus from sheer numbers to quality.  Quality is everything and make it part of your culture.  This will create joy in work, innovation and cooperation.
 Initiate programs of education and self improvement.
 This transformation is everyone’s job.