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Insight : Changing Employee Attitude - ABC Doesn’t Work, CBA does! |
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Volume:01 / Issue:07 - Published on
October 2005 |
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"Often, managers see themselves as problem-solvers whose job is to "fix what's broken" in the organization, not learn from what is working." – Jay R. Tombaugh
Traditional wisdom has it that, of all the challenges confronting organizations, matters related to attitude, behavior and commitment are the most difficult ones to tackle. Whether it is technology adoption, new policies, practices or anything that rocks their comfort zones and forces them to adapt to a new way of work, employees tend to resist the change. This forces organizations to brace themselves for a long haul of change management. In spite of persuasive strategies, there is no guarantee that change would be easy or successful. The traditional approach is to work on the attitude of a difficult employee, in the hope that behavior will change/improve with the expectation that an organization can get employee’s commitment to a corporate objective. This simply does not work.
So, what does? How can organizations create a work environment that has an energized and inspired workforce, open to new ideas, learning, growth and positive change? Is employee attitude an insurmountable problem? Can the behavior be changed? Can employees wholeheartedly give long-term commitment without coercion? These are some of the questions that managers are grappling with. And there seem to be no simple answers. |
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Insight : ISO Certification: Standardizing Excellence or Mediocrity? |
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Volume:01 / Issue:06 - Published on
October 2005 |
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This conversation is a real-life incident between a Japanese supplier and an ISO 9000 auditor who went to audit them. After the audit, the company asked the auditor if he had seen everything he wanted to see:
“Well almost,” he said,”I haven’t been able to find your goods inwards stores and finished goods stores.”
“We do not have any.”
Taken aback, the auditor continued, “I would also like to see the stores for rejects or substandard parts.”
“We don’t have these either!”
Unbelievable as it may sound, this hits the nail on the head and challenges the propaganda of ISO certification agencies implying ISO equals quality. Ever since Admiral D. G. Spickernell, the head of the British Standards Institution persuaded the British military to use the defence standard in assessing defence contractors, the concept of standards started to take root in the civilian space. And since then, there has been a virtual stampede among corporations world over for getting ISO certification. Whoever got certified advertised the fact that they were certified and milked it for marketing purposes. The larger question however, remained: Is ISO a standard for worldclass quality? Or simply put, does ISO guarantee quality? |
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Insight : Building Customer Focused Businesses - The Role of the Leadership |
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Volume:01 / Issue:05 - Published on
September 2005 |
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"Set high goals and keep raising them once they’re achieved. If you don’t, somebody will blow right by you while you’re telling yourself what a great job you’ve done.”
– Carl Sewell in Customers for Life
Erik Granered makes a telling point in his 2005 book “Global Call Centers.” One day, he opened the door for a FedEx delivery agent who was returning a crate containing their conference booth. The agent, a young woman handling a 110-pound crate on a hand truck, asked Granered as to where he wanted her to unload the crate. Though the crate was supposed to be deposited in the storeroom, he was reluctant to tell her so and hence asked her to unload it in the room. “No,” she insisted. “I have it up on the hand truck now, so why don’t you just tell me where you want me to put it?” On the way to the storeroom, she explained to Granered that the lid was broken and that she had taped it up, but she recommended getting a new crate as tape would not do the trick next time. This interaction left him amazed and wondering. How a lowly delivery agent who so deeply cared about doing a good job and walk that extra mile? Does the famed FedEx’s service really permeate across all its employees? Is it possible to build a company with people who are so focused on the customer? |
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Insight : World-Class Purchasing - Ditching Cost-Centric Mindset Profitably |
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Volume:01 / Issue:04 - Published on
July 2005 |
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"Economic success comes not from doing what others do well, but from doing what others cannot do, or cannot do as well." – John Kay
Whether they are internal efficiency projects or aggressive, all-out market share shoring up programmes, companies have seldom involved purchasing function in the strategic planning process. Often treated as a backroom operation, purchasing was rarely considered strategic enough to merit close attention from the senior management. Predictably, purchasing has largely remained cost-focused and in some situations, delivery schedules bound. However, world-class companies do it differently. Cost, quality, scale and delivery are some of the prerequisites they look for. But, what they buy is the capability. And they do it for a lot less than what it costs others. For these companies, purchasing has moved on from being a cost centre to a profit centre. |
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Insight : Small Wins, Big Gains - The Story of Improvement and Innovation |
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Volume:01 / Issue:03 - Published on
July 2005 |
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“Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who's forging a bullet with your company's name on it. You've got one option now - to shoot first. You've got to outinnovate the innovators."– Gary Hamel
Worldwide, companies are facing fierce competition that is "…set in truly global context, with more capable players, higher stakes, and vastly different rules of engagement from those (known) to date." Driven to the point of paranoia, many fail to seize the opportunity and make successful moves. Halfhearted strategies that do not fully exploit the philosophy of continuous improvement and creatively harness the knowledge/ideas for innovation leave the companies stranded in a state of indecision. They remain stuck in doing “the same old things in the same old way.” To thrive in the new economy,companies must continuously improve, probe and learn, and innovate. |
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Insight : Creating Leadership Systems - Walk the Talk |
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Volume:01 / Issue:02 - Published on
April 2005 |
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“Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.” – Warren Bennis
The concept of ‘Leadership System’ is one of the pillars on which, world-class organizations are built. The Malcolm Balridge Criteria defines it as “…the basis for and the way key decisions are made, communicated and carried out (within an organization)”. The system inculcates a sense of ownership among employees and spawns a customer-focused culture. Moreover, it helps in aligning personal goals with organizations goals and fosters norms for adhering to values. For organizations facing intense competition outside and high rate of attrition within, there is no alternative to creating a strong leadership system and ecology that nurtures it. |
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Insight : COPQ - The Truth behind the Hidden Plant |
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Volume:01 / Issue:01 - Published on
April 2005 |
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That quality is a prerequisite and is no longer a differentiator in today’s intensely competitive business climate, is well known.
However, what is not as clearly known is the fact that the cost of poor quality (COPQ) is substantial.COPQ cannot be mapped by current accounting practices and hence remains hidden.Reducing the COPQ can potentially unlock huge value, but it must be driven by the leaders.By addressing COPQ, companies can look to adding 10-15% of the total costs to the bottom line without any capital investment. |
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