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After several decades in quality assurance, I am, as you would expect, frail in both mind and body.
I work for a multi-national organization which has its head office in the dark, frozen wastes of northern Europe and, as only those with a disease of the throat can speak the Scandinavian languages, the company has decreed English to be it's chosen mode of communication.
Unfortunately, our management has discovered Japanese and it has become fashionable amongst the upper echelons to toss in the occasional oriental expression when discussing quality. I'm too old to learn another language but have got used to Kaisen, Muda and so on.
Yesterday, my manager asked for meetings to be arranged on the shop floor to include "Gemba". I hadn't come across this and, assuming it to be another Japanese term, you can imagine my surprise when I Googled my way to gemba.org.uk to find it was an acronym.
Quite what the Gloucestershire Ethnic Minority Business Association will bring to the meeting I'm not sure (I just hope they're not too noisy) but, as my manager is so commited, I felt it only fair to share this information with fellow Covers.
I'm now going to partake of some warm milk and retire to a darkened room until the voices stop.
May our American friends have a truly joyous Thanksgiving.
I work for a multi-national organization which has its head office in the dark, frozen wastes of northern Europe and, as only those with a disease of the throat can speak the Scandinavian languages, the company has decreed English to be it's chosen mode of communication.
Unfortunately, our management has discovered Japanese and it has become fashionable amongst the upper echelons to toss in the occasional oriental expression when discussing quality. I'm too old to learn another language but have got used to Kaisen, Muda and so on.
Yesterday, my manager asked for meetings to be arranged on the shop floor to include "Gemba". I hadn't come across this and, assuming it to be another Japanese term, you can imagine my surprise when I Googled my way to gemba.org.uk to find it was an acronym.
Quite what the Gloucestershire Ethnic Minority Business Association will bring to the meeting I'm not sure (I just hope they're not too noisy) but, as my manager is so commited, I felt it only fair to share this information with fellow Covers.
I'm now going to partake of some warm milk and retire to a darkened room until the voices stop.
May our American friends have a truly joyous Thanksgiving.
