The Unholy Trinity - Sales, design and production

[Sidney Vianna]

The need for an epiphany

What I am looking for is, if anyone know what to do when quality suffers because several department pursue different goals and top management is passive.

The basic problem, Gordon, (as I see it) is that quality management is misperceived by most top executives. When "confronted" with the term quality management, they think management of quality, instead of managing for Quality.

Unfortunately, however, it is very hard for underlings to be able to make executives "see the light". Organizational Dysfunction creeps up every day in most organizations around the World. Until the top brass understands that they should get rid of dysfunction in order to improve the organization, very little can be done.

 

[Gordon Clarke]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Sidney, I like your use of the two small (of/for) words to emphasise the difference in thought processing. I've changed your choice of colours from red and green (NoGo/Go) to enhance the point You can also see if I've understood which word should be considered negative and which one positive. Maybe top brass should take the test and see which colour they give which word?
The down side is that you're saying that not much can be done until "top brass" sees the light - and that can often be when the last man leaves the building and switches off the light.
Surely someone out there has managed to help, convince, coerse or persuade top brass to act in time - any examples?
From books I've read on management, there is always someone at a meeting who gives good, logical arguements and everyone sees the light - these books should start "Once upon a time ............" unless, of course, someone has actually seen this happen.

 

[Craig H.]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Sidney, I like your use of the two small (of/for) words to emphasise the difference in thought processing. I've changed your choice of colours from red and green (NoGo/Go) to enhance the point You can also see if I've understood which word should be considered negative and which one positive. Maybe top brass should take the test and see which colour they give which word?
The down side is that you're saying that not much can be done until "top brass" sees the light - and that can often be when the last man leaves the building and switches off the light.
Surely someone out there has managed to help, convince, coerse or persuade top brass to act in time - any examples?
From books I've read on management, there is always someone at a meeting who gives good, logical arguements and everyone sees the light - these books should start "Once upon a time ............" unless, of course, someone has actually seen this happen.

Show me the money.

Dysfunction has a cost. Try to capture that cost, without pointing fingers, and show it to the brass.

 

[Gordon Clarke]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Craig

Show me the money.

Dysfunction has a cost. Try to capture that cost, without pointing fingers, and show it to the brass.

Far from all dysfunctions have a readily measurable cost. What then? I did notice you wrote "try" and capture that cost.
"without pointing fingers" - why not point a finger? If a machine operator makes a mistake he (or she) is usually quickly told that he (or she) has "screwed up" but it's as if the further you get up the ladder, the more tip-toeing has to be done so as not to offend anyone. The "buck" seems to get passed down.
I don't mean that the "offender" has to be hung out to dry in public and/or humilated but diplomacy can be taken too far. A spade can be called a spade - or it can be referred to as an excavating gardening instrument An English teacher long ago told me never to call anyone a liar. Refer to them as "a spreader of terminolgical innexactitudes" he said.
Does anyone have a specific case history they can give as to a dysfunction and how they solved it?
Shall I "invent" a couple of "problems" and let them circulate for responses?

 

[Jim Wynne]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Craig


Far from all dysfunctions have a readily measurable cost. What then? I did notice you wrote "try" and capture that cost.
"without pointing fingers" - why not point a finger? If a machine operator makes a mistake he (or she) is usually quickly told that he (or she) has "screwed up" but it's as if the further you get up the ladder, the more tip-toeing has to be done so as not to offend anyone. The "buck" seems to get passed down.
I don't mean that the "offender" has to be hung out to dry in public and/or humilated but diplomacy can be taken too far. A spade can be called a spade - or it can be referred to as an excavating gardening instrument An English teacher long ago told me never to call anyone a liar. Refer to them as "a spreader of terminolgical innexactitudes" he said.
Does anyone have a specific case history they can give as to a dysfunction and how they solved it?
Shall I "invent" a couple of "problems" and let them circulate for responses?

There are things that can be done at the local level to make things better, but the unavoidable fact is that unless there's a fundamental change in the culture, the big picture will remain dim.

The best thing you can do is get people to talk to each other. Let them know that you're not on a headhunting mission--you want to help them to make their jobs easier. If there are warring factions, sitting them down together and having them each explain their differences with the other side is a good start. Have one person tell what his issues are with the other (or the issues between departments) and then ask the other person to repeat it, but in his own words. Then do it the other way, and make sure each person understands the other's concerns.

At that point, you ask each of them what can be done to make things better--don't give the impression that you have the answers. Let them talk about it and exchange ideas. Mediate--make sure that things don't get personal and that they focus on working together to solve a problem. If there are issues that require a manager higher up to straighten out, be the "point person." Make sure that their suggestions are communicated and implemented.

This strategy has worked for me on an number of occassions, and you might be surprised at how people will actually talk to each other if they know that something good is likely to come from it.

 

[Gordon Clarke]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Jim, Needless to say that I fundamentally agree with you but - yes there is a but

What if two of the "warring" parties just have so much animosity for each other that they just can't or won't agree? Personally, as Quality Manager, I've never had any major problems with production, but huge problems at times with design and a few with sales.When things go well many sales people think they are God's gift to industry and when things go bad it's everyone else's fault. OK, I'm exageratiing to emphasize my point
Design people never make mistakes, at least so they think. Everyone who has tried to get a drawing (blueprint) changed knows this.
Manufacturing always seem to get stuck in the middle and bt that I don't mean they don't ever make mistakes.

"This strategy has worked for me on an number of occassions, and you might be surprised at how people will actually talk to each other if they know that something good is likely to come from it."

Like you, it has worked for me sometimes, but what do you do when it doesn't work?
Could a Quality Manager get away with recommending removing a department manager as a means to improving overall quality? The ones that insist on doing things because "it's always been done like that" are a big problem. Often their goal is status quo until they retire, as that is what they are comfortable with.
I'll bet you've come across a few managers that you don't understand how they manage to keep their jobs.

The ultimate goal of a Quality Manager should be to make himself (or herself) redundant - maybe we (Quality Managers) should be grateful by being surrounded by idiots we'll never be out of a job.

 

[Jim Wynne]

Re: The need for an epiphany

Jim, Needless to say that I fundamentally agree with you but - yes there is a but

What if two of the "warring" parties just have so much animosity for each other that they just can't or won't agree? Personally, as Quality Manager, I've never had any major problems with production, but huge problems at times with design and a few with sales.When things go well many sales people think they are God's gift to industry and when things go bad it's everyone else's fault. OK, I'm exageratiing to emphasize my point
Design people never make mistakes, at least so they think. Everyone who has tried to get a drawing (blueprint) changed knows this.
Manufacturing always seem to get stuck in the middle and bt that I don't mean they don't ever make mistakes.

"This strategy has worked for me on an number of occassions, and you might be surprised at how people will actually talk to each other if they know that something good is likely to come from it."

Like you, it has worked for me sometimes, but what do you do when it doesn't work?
Could a Quality Manager get away with recommending removing a department manager as a means to improving overall quality? The ones that insist on doing things because "it's always been done like that" are a big problem. Often their goal is status quo until they retire, as that is what they are comfortable with.
I'll bet you've come across a few managers that you don't understand how they manage to keep their jobs.

The ultimate goal of a Quality Manager should be to make himself (or herself) redundant - maybe we (Quality Managers) should be grateful by being surrounded by idiots we'll never be out of a job.

If there were a Nobel Prize in Quality Management, discovering the thing you're looking for would win it for you. :truce: