Excerpts:

Q. How long does a management student take to implement Quality in his or her workplace? Which determinants would s/he require for that?

A management graduate has options to adopt a work methodology based on quality principles and techniques. This enhances his or her personal effectiveness at job. It won’t take long once s/he starts implementing Quality at work. Maybe from the day one. This is ASQ’s objective for working with educational institutes.

Determinants are overall organizational effectiveness, its systems and culture where the student joins. These have to be oriented towards Quality which is the job of the senior leadership. An individual cannot create a wide impact in an organization if the environment does not support him or her. The role of organisational leadership is paramount in building a culture with strong systems. This takes time. At least two or three years of sustained efforts, we found.

Students who join an organization forms the leadership talent pipeline. Quality-based management mindset at an early orientation helps them pave the way for a quality culture in their organizations. Gradually this takes them to leadership roles.

Q. It’s believed, that growing volumes of trade between two inimical countries would be prohibitive for both to forsake huge incomes and go to war. Will Quality education play any role in bringing peace between such nations? Dr Deming's principles helped Japan emerge out of rubble and forget revenge, you say as an example?

The modern world today has evolved to a global environment with tightly coupled economic systems. Isolation due to adversarial mindset is not possible today. Collaborative mindset has to prevail, otherwise one looses. Political and geographical power count for nothing if economic power based on competitive abilities are not built systematically. This is but principles and methods of quality science.

Yes. The case of Japan proves the point clearly. They learnt from the US, adopting the teachings of US quality gurus like Dr. Deming, Dr. Juran, and Dr. Shewart to emerge as a super economic power after the War-II despite severe political ramifications.

Nations can excel only through sustained adoption of quality in every sector including government, education and healthcare apart from the industry, even in the face of adversity. Because the quality approach creates the spirit of working for common good, service to nation first before self, and that builds discipline, intrinsic strength and character among its citizens. Japan and other developed countries in western world will reflect this common trait including China in Asia. India has huge potential, the key to unlock this is quality based management.

Q. When you teach students to point fingers at one's own self first, before pointing them to others, what exactly do you mean?

This means that one must learn critical thinking, and apply critical thinking in a very scientific and structured manner starting with one self and pursue self perfection. This perfection can be set by setting an example for others in the organization or society for emulating.

This is nothing but the highest level of moral leadership. It means, to lead by example. This helps in building up true leadership in any organization or society.

People usually leave the responsibility of improvement to others which is a defeatist attitude. Such attitude erodes will power for making positive change with impact. Young students have a fertile mind to adopt critical thinking. They start questioning old ideas through their critical faculty. This indeed is the driving force for change in any society.

Q. World Cafe seems to be a new concept. How do you take it forward to bolster a company’s economy ?

World Cafe is synonym of a cafe where all come together as equals with a free spirit of learning, sharing and solving problems through healthy dialogue. It represents global economy that is integrated. It invites all countries to come together to evolve common approaches that can sustain our common ecosystem, solve common problems for common good through scientific methods of dialogue by applying quality principles, rather than applying destructive methods which are politically oriented without strong socio-economic foundations.

Quality and economics for common good go hand in hand. It builds common bonds of friendship and trust. Tatas in India are a classic example of adoption of this philosophy 'Leadership with trust'. They globalize with presence in more than 85 countries. ASQ is supporting the Tatas for building a universal quality body of knowledge and work culture out of it. They are a true case study illustrating success from India supporting the concept of World Cafe.

Q. Quality education aims to inculcate grit and honesty in one’s character. Perhaps this is in the tenets of all philosophies ever since said in human history, in individualistic ways. What is special about these in ASQ’s Quality Education?

ASQ’s Quality education is based on strong fundamentals of ethics and moral character. Without these, quality has little meaning. ASQ’s system adds scientific approach to implement the ageold philosophies. It is about execution of philosophies and bringing them to life with concrete tangible action. The ASQ body of knowledge integrates all quality doctrines and principles which are universal and timeless, irrespective of geography or religions.

Q. Customer services and customer satisfaction are not the same, we know. How ASQ education of Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for operational excellence would institute the culture of sustained customer satisfaction?

Improving customer satisfaction and in turn customer loyalty through excellence in service is the primary goal of a quality based management approach. The customer could be a citizen consuming public services from the government, a child receiving education, a patient receiving healthcare or anyone consuming a product or service from an industry. For any activity customers are a must and the sole cause for any organization to exist.

Organizational Excellence Framework like that the Malcolm Baldrige preaches, facilitates organizations to become customer focused and orient its complete management and leadership system to deliver the brand promise. We quote from age old wisdom of Gandhi, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him”. (IPA Service)