Qualityworld
Future perfect?
Michael Debenham
Executive director, policy and professional affairs, the CQI
Quality has become essential for business success and survival. Indeed consumer demand for quality means that businesses now distinguish themselves in terms of quality rather than price. The CQI encourages organisations to think of quality in terms of innovation and care. Innovation in relation to products and services is all about recognising who your customers are and what they expect from you and then fulfilling these expectations.
It is about identifying potential customers and markets and how they might be persuaded to use your products or services. Care is about how you deliver your service or product to your customers in accordance with their expectations of quality, delivery and budget. Not forgetting, of course, that you have to make a profit and plan to meet the expectations of tomorrow's customers.
But, perhaps most importantly, managing for quality is about performance improvement. This means improving the quality, delivery schedule and price of your product or service; improving the systems and processes that deliver them and all the resources that support these processes – which includes not only the methods, the infrastructure, machinery and materials, but also human resources. Put another way, innovation.
Everyone in an organisation, from senior management to customer facing personnel, can contribute either directly on indirectly to the quality of the product or service. Indeed the first task of management is to define the organisation's quality policy, objectives and values and then to ensure that everyone is not only aware of them, but understands their importance. If we cannot satisfy our customers' requirements and meet their expectations they will simply walk away from us. Without customers no organisation can exist.
The 21st century definition of quality is very different from that of the 20th century. It is about meeting customers' expectations of quality, cost and delivery, and doing so in a sustainable way that will not harm the environment or disadvantage any of the stakeholders, and will not place anyone at risk of accident or injury. It also addresses corporate responsibility, the exploitation of underprivileged sectors of society and the need to comply with statutory requirements. Quite simply, managing for quality is the foundation of an integrated, and effective, management system.
The new quality management system is one of a number of systems used to direct and control an organisation. However, it is the proper integration of all the disciplines and techniques to manage the delivery of products and services that will really differentiate the successful organisation of tomorrow.
First and foremost, it must provide a structure to deliver an organisation's aims and objectives.This will not only include improving performance but also making efficiencies in the cost of operating business processes. An organisation can expect to see fewer problems caused by lack of consistency or understanding, a reduction in non-value-added activities, the more efficient utilisation of staff and fewer quality related issues and customer complaints.
Next, it must provide effective management of an organisation's exposure to risk. The integrated management system will allow an organisation to clearly identify the risks to which it is exposed and put in place a structured approach to contain nontransferable risks within an acceptable level.
Finally, we can expect our management system to provide a structured platform for establishing a learning culture (or a culture for opportunity) within the organisation and, if applicable, across the partnering arrangements established by the organisation.
The future for the quality professional is indeed exciting. No longer confined to the laboratory or the inspection bays on the production line, our quality professional will be found within the boardrooms of businesses putting the case for or against entering new markets or developing new product lines.
Not constrained by the shackles of the past she will be supporting her colleagues in the way they manage for quality and risk and she will be found championing the culture for opportunity within the organisation. Within her remit will be the health of the integrated system which will extend to the way environmental issues and the health and safety of personnel are managed.
This integrated system will provide the management board with the confidence that corporate social responsibility is in safe hands and that fraud, both internal and external, will be much more difficult to practice without fear of detection. It will also be the vehicle by which an organisation's intellectual property is sustained and developed and through which business processes address the issue of sustainability in the 21st century.
All this is an exciting challenge for our new generation of quality professionals and an equally stimulating challenge for those institutes and universities that educate, develop and support these professionals throughout their career. These bodies must recognise the changing needs or the professional that will inevitably come about. In addition to the traditional quality management tools we must provide the full range of support and above all, the confidence and recognition needed to argue a case at board level or convince management of the correct course of action.
So what advice should we offer our existing professionals coping with the ever-increasing demands placed on their shoulders? Many of them are already planning their career development to take these changes on board and to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills need to meet the challenges.
Surely, this has to be the message that is offered to our professionals who find themselves in the midst of these changing times. Identify the new knowledge and skills that you need to be effective in your changing role and plan your continuing professional development to acquire them in a structured way. Then use your newly acquired knowledge and skills to the benefit of your organisation and the community within which you work.
