Qualityworld
Euro vision
One of the most divisive issues in UK politics is whether or not we should have closer links to Europe. The euro, farmers' subsidies, legislation from Brussels and, of course, the French are all fodder for heated debate over dinner tables throughout the country. But what about the European quality movement? Nicky Farmer finds out what's happening across the channel
The UK's objectives for its presidency of the EU over the coming six months are far-reaching and ambitious: EU competition reform; a cleaner environment; reducing the red tape from Brussels; encouraging cross border trade; developing a more well-skilled workforce and addressing the EU-wide pensions crisis. Whether any or some of these can be achieved remains to be seen, but the resounding 'no' vote from France and Holland in the recent referendums to ratify the new EU constitution only adds fuel to the argument that the discord in Europe runs deep, and that its ability to reach a consensus on major issues is unlikely.
Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 and another four countries have made applications to join (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey). Europe is no longer an old boys' club of elite and wealthy nations debating farming subsidies. It is now a seething, diverse group of emerging economies, eager to compete on the world stage. The range of cultures, religions, expectations and abilities is vast and the job of bringing some kind of cohesive structure to this mass is daunting, if achievable at all.
UK trade with the EU
Ten countries joined the EU from 1 May 2004. Altogether these countries accounted for two per cent of UK exports and two per cent of UK imports in 2001. Of these countries Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic all feature in the UK's top 50 export market and top 50 sources of imports. In recent years the UK has generally recorded surpluses on trade in goods with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia and deficits with Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. Imports of oil are a major contributor to the deficits with Estonia and Latvia.
Not surprisingly, the bulk of UK exports to these countries consists of manufactured goods. In 2001 the most significant exports to these countries, each totalling in excess of £100m, were telecommunications equipment and office machinery to the Czech Republic, electrical machinery to the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary and motor vehicles to Poland. Imports of similar importance in 2001 were motor vehicles from the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Poland; oil from Estonia and Latvia; timber from Latvia; telecommunications equipment from the Czech Republic, electrical machinery from the Czech Republic and Hungary and furniture from Poland.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Perhaps one thing that can pull all of the factions together, particularly where trade is concerned, is the quality movement. It sets benchmarks for international trade, ensures quality, environmental and health and safety standards are met, and addresses the issue of confidence in the supply chain. One of Professor Michael Porter's recommendations for improved UK competitiveness, published in 2003 as part of a DTI report, could just as easily be applied to the EU: 'An inventory and assessment of UK [EU] institutions for collaboration, such as trade associations, quality centres, and standard setting entities, would help to better understand the current situation and to develop appropriate action.'
As the debate over the future of the quality profession and its role continues in the UK, the question remains: is the quality movement in Europe ready for the challenge of providing a cohesive structure to all nations' requirements? The president of the European Organization for Quality (EOQ), Dr Wolfgang Kaerkes is responsible for implementing policy and leading - along with the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) - the European quality movement. The presidency runs over two years and Kaerkes is confident that although this is not enough time for any major changes to be made, the strategy agreed by EOQ four years ago will continue to be implemented. All other activities and initiatives are carried out by the national organisations such as IQA in the UK and the German Society for Quality (DGQ) in Germany
Defining EOQ's role is not easy - does it play a purely supportive role for individual countries or, as a separate organisation, does it have a key role to play in quality in Europe? Kaerkes feels that links with the European Commission must be regained before 'EOQ can be seen as one of the organisations with core competences in innovation, breakthrough, change management and in quality management in general'. On a national level he believes EOQ has to provide a platform to exchange knowledge and experience. A strategy, which began several months ago, focuses on - among other things increasing membership and product development (investigating the key quality products customers are going to need over the next five to ten years, and how these products can be developed nationally and exchanged). Kaerkes explains: 'It makes no sense to develop a quality product on innovation management or risk management in five or six countries in parallel. We should sit together, define tasks for each country and get one product to share'.
Increasing membership means involving not just the quality organisations but universities and companies as well, and Kaerkes is keen that EOQ looks further afield too: 'Why not involve organisations from outside Europe as world partners? We have to find some different kinds of memberships and partnerships. EOQ is more open now than it has been over the last 40 years.'
The European panel
QW spoke to some key figures in the quality movement in Europe to discover the main quality issues on the continent
Antonella Scarpa AS Italian Association for Quality
Professor Teun W Hardjono TH Dutch Foundation for Quality
Dr Pál Molnár PM Hungarian National Committee for EOQ
Vladimir Votapek VV Czech Society for Quality
Dr Wolfgang Kaerkes WK German Society for Quality and president of EOQ
What is your country's perception of quality?
WK Quality is now more of an issue for the quality professionals, rather than the CEOs, general managers and financial managers, who lost the knowledge of the importance of quality and of quality management as a prerequisite for quality products. But now awareness of quality is gradually increasing. DGQ has trained 150,000 people in quality techniques and tools over the last 20-25 years - there are skilled, trained people out there but they need strong support from leaders.
PM It is very positive, as it is all part of competitiveness.
TH Although the attention to quality is declining, it is still present. There is a great interest in process management and a slowly growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
AS It depends very much on the situation. Bigger companies registered years ago are now in search of innovation in product, organisation and management, and especially leadership. Smaller companies are struggling to survive due to economic crisis, but in the public sector, quality awareness is increasing. Food safety and environmental health and safety are now becoming more important.
VV There is a fairly good understanding of the importance of quality management in my country. Czech products have become more competitive on the European market and this success is not just based on lower prices. There are a lot of international companies with offices in the Czech Republic, which transfer their know-how, including quality-related issues. There is also a strong national quality movement, with a government sponsored national quality promotion policy.
Does the European quality movement need to become more cohesive? How could this be done?
WK We cannot start on a European level without a national awareness for quality. What we don't have in Germany, and on the European level, is any real support from politicians. We need a quality campaign in Europe, focusing not just on manufacturing but public administration, the service sector and healthcare. We also need awareness and recognition by politicians and governments, and we need strong support from the media.
PM There needs to more cooperation between EOQ and EFQM, and more consultation with the European Commission.
TH For the eastern European countries, quality is viewed as up-to-date and innovative, so there should be greater connections between the east and the west. In western Europe the traditional quality organisations are falling back rapidly because they cannot mobilise enough intellectual power for innovative ideas. The governments and universities are not willing or able to facilitate quality management professionals to get together for discussions about long term developments and new ideas. Now it's all about how to get a serious return on investment in three months, which six sigma is a frightening example of. Focusing purely on cost reduction with no innovation or people development has a negative impact on an organisation's effectiveness.
AS We have to find ways to exchange best practices, to be more flexible, to accept new ideas and to implement them swiftly.
VV We can all see that Europe is already losing its privileged position in the world's division of labour and well-being. There is no comprehensive Europe-wide quality promotion policy and without one, we can hardly boost European competitiveness and without cultivating competitiveness, we can't retain the European way of life.
What do you think is the relevance of 'quality' to emerging economies?
WK It's an important issue for emerging economies to prove that they are able to act on the same level of quality, maybe on a better level than established economies, to enable them to enter a mature market. The fact that they have to struggle to compete in a globalised market could actually be a real advantage for them. The German economy grew dramatically in the years after the second world war because people wanted to achieve a better life, education and healthcare, and with higher salaries and better welfare in general. But now there is less of a struggle people have become lazy and not so eager to achieve more. Emerging economies have to struggle to be part of the world economy, which is not really a bad thing.
VV The accent on quality is one of the crucial preconditions of the emerging economies' success. Companies, as well as national economies, either thrive or wither away - quality is a vital fertilizer.
What are the specific quality issues facing your country?
WK 'Made in Germany' used to be a high standard quality label. We have lost this, mainly because business leaders were focusing more on reducing costs and the difficulties in the economy as a whole. In Germany the low-level quality personnel were responsible for quality, but business excellence was for top managers. I think this is the wrong way - it has to go together.
PM Everyone agrees on the importance of quality but there isn't enough money for training or financing special quality development projects.
TH Innovation, quality in healthcare, process management, sustainability and CSR are more or less new names for quality management, but this means that 'quality management' as such is now outdated.
AS Quality has been associated with ISO certification and few companies have understood that this is only the first step to improvement. Quality managers now have to see themselves more as change agents, continuously improving their competences and skills.
VV A stronger government sponsorship of quality promotion could boost our success.The Czech government (as well as other national governments in Europe) is wasting money pointlessly to save inefficient companies in dying sectors of the economy. A fraction of such funds could boost Czech competitiveness
EU facts
The roots of the EU lie in the Second World War. The idea of European integration was conceived to prevent the same kind of destruction from ever happening again, and was first proposed by the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, in a speech on 9 May 1950.This 'birthday' of the EU is celebrated annually as Europe Day. There are five EU institutions, each playing a specific role:
- European Parliament (elected by the peoples of the member states)
- Council of the EU (representing the governments of the member states)
- European Commission (driving force and executive body)
- Court of Justice (ensuring compliance with the law)
- Court of Auditors (controlling sound and lawful management of the EU budget)
These are flanked by five other bodies:
- European Economic and Social Committee
- Committee of the Regions
- European Central Bank
- European Ombudsman
- European Investment Bank
Initially, the EU consisted of six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland and the UK joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995. In 2004 the biggest enlargement took place with ten new countries joining.
Source: www.europa.eu.int
