What is continuous improvement? Continuous improvement, defined by www.businessdictionary.com as "a scheduled and almost uninterrupted flow of improvements made under a program such as Kaizan, lean manufacturing, or total quality management (TQM) ". Evans and Lindsay define continuous improvement as incremental changes, which are small and gradual, and breakthrough improvements, or large and rapid. They go on to argue that improvements can take many forms, such as increasing customer value through new and improved products and services; Reduce errors, defects, waste and their associated costs; Increase productivity and efficiency in the use of all resources; and improve responsiveness and cycle time performance for processes such as resolving customer complaints or introducing new products. I am an auditor by profession and continuous improvement in my field of work involves simplifying work processes and simultaneously improving quality and productivity. The role of continuous improvement in management I believe that all management activities are aimed at improvement. Managers strive to improve performance; if the business remains stationary, they will lose their competitive advantage. Having worked for a health insurance contract auditing company, I know that a competitive advantage is very important if the company is to survive. Management provides us with a focused audit process that integrates all aspects of continuous improvement. The process involves how we handle certain reviews from start to finish, and even involves the working papers used to complete the audits. The working papers are constantly updated to respond to federal government policy changes, and management also improves the effectiveness of each working sheet...... middle of document ......vely as the Management plays a vital role in the success of the organization. Whether by improving policies, procedures or improving workflow management, the work process continually improves. This contributes to greater efficiency at lower cost while increasing revenue. Managers who successfully apply continuous improvement have leadership skills and are able to manage multiple tasks at once. The greater the knowledge of continuous management improvement, the better off the organization is. Works cited Continuous improvement. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/continuous-improvement.htmlDew, Dr. John Robert. The essential role of audit in continuous improvement. National Productivity Review, Summer/1994Evans, JR and Lindsay, WM (2008). Managing for excellence in quality and performance. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education.