Quality Systems, Organisational Culture and Diversity

Some key challenges

• Dealing with the ‘softer’ end of organisational systems is hard. Hard to recognise what is good, what is not so good and to work out what to do.

• Overengineered quality systems reduce quality.

• Colleagues differ in personal style and preferred ways of working. There is no universal way of helping them all add value to themselves and your organisation.

• Positive culture is hard to build, but so very easy to destroy

Solutions

• Bespoke organisational culture assessments that don’t rely on generic, trademarked questionnaires and interminable statistical analysis

• Personal and team development that recognises difference, and sets people free to add value responsibly

• Bespoke system analysis that identifies what your quality markers really are and addresses underlying process without creating a vast bureaucratic edifice.

Thinking about the issue

• There are far to many organisational epithets floating around social media, masquerading as wisdom. One that has stood the test of time comes from Peter Drucker: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’

• Colleagues’ diversity is a key asset that should not be homogenised. The experience and talent that comes with diversity is a rich source of organisational treasure. Diversity covers ethnicity, gender, neurodiversity, personal, socio-economic history, education and anything else that enables plurality of thinking

• Quality standards try to maintain desired behaviors via a rule book. Total quality tries to influence behavior via changing organisational culture. Complex quality system interventions can be like wading through treacle. Quality systems need to be eclectic, focused and light touch