Rejuvenating a Program LO14509

John Zavacki (jzavacki@wolff.com)
Mon, 28 Jul 1997 06:39:54 -0400

Replying to LO14497 --

Eugene Taurman <ilx@execpc.com> writes:

>TQM and teams are not programs but a way of life. If top management look
>at these as programs and not a way of life these can turn into destructive
>forays into new ideas. Some people see the light and wait to see if the
>effort to change will pay off. Others stay on the sideline. Conflict
>results. Calluses grow.
>
>As management treats these as programs each successive one unfolds to a
>more jaded group of employees. That makes change much harder. It is only
>when they are seen as a new way of life that will not go away that they
>take root and change the company.

As a quality professional, with a couple of dead "programs" under my belt,
I can't agree more. The programmatic nature of many TQM efforts is a
major reason we've seen the articles on the death of TQM. All management
is management for quality in a learning organization. TQM is a tool set
used within a philosophy of continuous improvement. Put it in
perspective, add to it a philosophy of innovation and the tool set which
brings that to bear, and don't forget the tools of TQC (Total Quality
Control), the perceived politically incorrect control tools which give us
the feedback loops we need for identifying the problem sets we need to use
TQM and Innovation in our daily lives.

-- 
jzavacki@wolff.com
John Zavacki
The Wolff Group
800-282-1218
http://www.wolff.com/

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