In the full-grown organization executives have a systems view of their organization. They see interrelationships, not things. They manage things and lead people. Change is a mosaic of processes, methods, materials, equipment, work environment and people. The shifting, understood patterns of change are controlled using statistical theory and other quality tools. Controlled not because someone in upper management is atop all the processes and information, but because:
- · Customers and their requirements are known;
- · Processes translating those requirements into action are well defined, understood by all, and improving;
- · Self-control and management by fact result from having stable processes (under statistical control), systems, institutionalized key measures; and
- · Improvement is continuous--everyone is included and focused on the customer.
In the full-grown organization it all begins and ends with the head and tail of the same coin: customer focus, customer satisfaction. The requirements of customers, upon which all are focused, are also measures of satisfaction. Changes in customer requirement, changes in satisfaction change the business of the organization.
In the full-grown organization quality planning and business planning are inseparable; there are no distinctions. Boundaries for ceaseless improvement are clear: Quality is indigenous to everything everyone does all the time. Planning involves everyone (i.e., your extended network of suppliers and customers, internal and external and complementors); planning benefits from the involvement of all, and is made possible because everyone is trained to plan.
Planning is based on meaningful data and information accurately describing customer needs and organizational capability. "The plan" is grounded in reality and reflects aspirations all can support. Because the goals are universally supported within the organization, improvement of processes is concentrated first and primarily on the most important processes using the best available methods. And through the strategic planning process, all organizational activity is aligned making it possible to concentrate resources on the strategies and goals critical to success: Everyone knows what is important to the organization, to the organizational components, to the teams on which one serves, and to oneself.
In the full-grown organization management works smarter rather than harder. Management includes all the people and all the processes because it is the system that is managed; it is the quality that is managed. People mostly manage themselves. Leaders act as coaches instead of enforcers. Managers see a totality from, and including, external suppliers to, and including, satisfied customers and complementors. The mosaic within the purview of management is fertile and vibrant with planning, measurement, analysis, improvement, and inclusion.
In the full-grown organization competitive advantage sprouts from inclusion; everyone is involved, including the customer. No longer irritating no longer contented are the realizations that those who do the work are in the best position to protect and improve quality, to eliminate waste, and to save time. Those who do the work are the perfect instruments for change. They know the processes; they are trained well, and they are empowered to act decisively.
In action, employees in the full-grown organization are members of self-directed teams. They plan, hire, improve, and lead instead of controlling. They work with the customers. They work with the suppliers and distributors and complementors. They understand and manage the value chain and the value system towards optimization. Most importantly, they know that the firm is an interdependent system or network of activities, connected by linkages. They are, in short, responsible for the health of the organization. In introspect, they know and practice personal quality, understand the importance of establishing customer bonding and avoid a product-centric mentality. They treat each other and all others with respect and deference.
In the full-grown organization all employees have the knowledge necessary to work in teams, to collect and analyze data, to initiate activity or to halt it, and to satisfy customers by segmenting them appropriately. They are treated as whole persons and not as functions. Collectively and individually they have the knowledge needed to be responsible and effective with their empowerment. Training is continuous as improvement is continuous. Training in the fundamentals of quality and proper customer segmentation (relative to organizational goals) is universal. It is augmented with specified training specific to the needs of components, teams, or individuals (self-enrichment). And it is constantly in flux, responding and anticipating new customer segments and requirements, new ways to delight, new conditions, new realities.
In the full-grown organization compensation and recognition are aligned with organizational aspirations. Alignment of compensation and recognition, like all the other aspects of the organization, begins and ends with the head and tail of the aforementioned coin: customer focus, customer satisfaction. Employees are involved with the design and constant improvement of compensation and recognition. Recognition and reward are subordinate to the attainment of team goals, not to individual accomplishment. However, individual initiative is encouraged if the organization would benefit as a whole. They are based on measured team performance from data developed, collected, and controlled by the teams, by the employees. In addition, in the full-grown organization a supervisor has only two responsibilities: to assist those who need special help and to improve the system.
In the full-grown organization employees are the paramount asset, they are the building blocks of the bigger order to be built. It is clear the work force, interacting with customers, suppliers and complementors, turns customer needs into products and services, develops, collects, and analyzes the data that are used in the measures that improve the processes. Top management and the work force (in that order) working together are recognized to be the determining factors in success and failure and to be the competitive edge. For this reason, management serves the work force in the full-grown organization. This a real democracy in industry.
In the full-grown organization bringing customers into the organization is intense work but also fun. Contact with customers is continuous. It involves many employees--perhaps them all. Mechanisms for contact are many and varied, formal and informal. Executive responsibility includes interaction with peers at customer organizations. Lessons learned from these interactions are shared at the executive levels and communicated to everyone. Planning and designing include customers, suppliers, distributors and complementors.
In the full-grown organization the design process is not a closed, aristocratic undertaking; no building blocks are delivered to a worn-out and cluttered multitude in waiting. All organizational components converge and participate like in a system. Customers are part of the team, as are suppliers, distributors and complementors. The exchange of information may be unfettered, but the goals are rock solid: satisfy the customer and all of the other stakeholders of the extended enterprise, design quality into the soul of the service (or the product), and produce the service in ever decreasing time cycles.
Will continue...
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