Morality IS A BYPRODUCT OF
QUALITY
Those of you who regularly read the Indiana Professional
Engineer may remember that last issue dealt with the problems (financial and
immoral business leadership) our big system has gotten into as a result of poor
leadership, incentives, and short term thinking. Subsequently, Mike Fink, one
of our members from the
This prompted me to recall that about 15 years ago as a manager I was struggling with this new way of management that some were referring to as Total Quality Management (TQM). I remember finally writing a definition for myself.
TQM
AN ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY THAT RECOGNIZES THAT BUSINESS IS A SYSTEM WITH AN AIM THAT IS CONTINUOUSLY DIRECTED TOWARD OPTIMIZATION, EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTIONS, GROWTH OF EMPLOYEES, AND LEAVING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
Tucked into the definition are such things as system thinking, process standardization and improvement, internal and external customer surprise and delight, teams and teamwork, cooperation, learning, empowerment, experimentation, use of data, a journey not a program, coaching, prediction, risk taking, planning, reducing waste, and a culture or set of values that embrace openness, honesty and higher purpose.
What is not there includes quotas, ranking of employees, competition, fear, arbitrary numerical goals, and a culture of greed and corruption.
Since our “big system” is having some morality problems right now, how can TQM, or as I like to refer to it, Continuous Improvement help? There are two very specific ways to illustrate the connection. First there is the issue of satisfying the customer. The second is the values included in the organization’s Aim or Constancy of Purpose Statement.
To satisfy the customer we must reduce waste from operations and administrative areas and eliminate defects and expense from the products and services we sell. This means looking at everything in our system - from our suppliers to our customers. We have to make all decisions based on what will most satisfy our customers. And we must not forget to consider what will sustain the long-run satisfaction of the customers. As Bateman and Becker stated it, “TQM requires and demands honest effort and honest dealing.”
When an organization develops and stays true to a meaningful set of values or guiding principles it can have a profound effect. I recently had the pleasure of helping a social agency write down their values. It was apparent that the values were there, but they were never written down. This organization is growing and moving into new headquarters. The leaders were worried that they may loose their values if they didn’t write them down.
Here is what they agreed upon.
UNCONDITIONAL CARE
We welcome all in a compassionate, culturally sensitive manner and strive to remove barriers and expand access to care.
PERSERVERENCE
We are strong, hardworking, and dedicated to providing what ever is needed for our patients.
QUALITY CARE
We pride ourselves in providing the best possible professional care for our patients.
COMMUNITY
We strive to empower and embody the community around us by staying true to our grassroots as a Latino service organization.
If an organization has a set of values such as this, it will be much more difficult to go wrong.
So if your organization, the one you own or lead, or the one you work for, has conduct or morality issues, you now know there is a solution. Continuous improvement, done correctly, can not coexist with immorality. It is that simple. Begin by developing a set of values that govern how you make decisions. And begin the continuous improvement journey today.