Charting A Strategy for Quality-and Beyond

This blog post is in response to the September 2014 ASQ Influential Voices topic, "Charting A Strategy for Quality-and Beyond".

Strategic Planning Process:

The strategic planning process involves senior leadership team coming together to deliberate on Vision, Mission, and Values for their organization. They get staff support with information on customers, employees, processes, and finance. The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis tool helps the leaders to perform internal and external scans to take an organization at the next level.

Some Quotes on Vision:

Vision is the art of seeing the invisible. – Jonathan Swift

A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power              and energy to get it done. – Ralph Lauren

Vision/Mission/Values Definitions: 

Vision (Long-term Dream, Destination):

¨Is it inspiring?

¨Is it clear and vivid?

Mission (Purpose of being, Path to your vision):

¨Why you exist? (business purpose)

¨What you hope to achieve in the future?

¨Does the Mission provide focus and inspiration?

¨Does the Mission provide criteria for strategic choices?

Values (Guiding Principles):

¨What is important to people?

¨How will people work together? 

Once the Vision, Mission, and Values are established using the SWOT Analysis, an Integrated Business Plan is developed identifying Goals, Strategies, Objectives and Action Plans as shown in the graphics above. A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a tool used to measure success of a selected strategy when deployed. It has four components and has current, leading,  and lagging indicators as shown in the graphics below.

Deployment of Strategic Plan:

Around the world only 30-35% of strategic plans are successful. 

Key reasons for failures are:

1). Too many strategies-Prioritize few critical strategies.

2). Lack of resources for few strategies-Provide needed resources.

  

3). Lack of communication-Use Hoshin Planning process.

See the Hoshin Planning in Action graphic below.

My ASQ Strategic Deployment Experience:

1). 1998-1999 - ASQ wide Volunteer Recognition Process Team Leader

I had the pleasure to lead the ASQ-wide volunteer recognition process with 

members from Sections, Divisions, and ASQ Staff. After benchmarking

of other professional organizations, the ASQ-wide volunteer recognition 

process was defined, documented, approved, and deployed in 1999.         

2). 1999-2001 - ASQ "Investing in Quality" Capital Campaign Vice Chair 

Based on my fund-raising expertise, I had the pleasure to serve as a Vice Chair 

of the first capital campaign at ASQ. With 24 member Campaign Cabinet 

with ASQ thought leaders from Sections, Divisions, Industry, and Staff. 

In spite the post 9/11 turbulence, the Cabinet was successful in raising $1.75 

million. That allowed a permanent home for the ASQ headquarters in 2001.

I look forward to learning about your success with strategic planning process.

The Future of Quality: Evolutionary or Revolutionary?

This blog post is in response to the August 2014 ASQ Influential Voices topic, "The Future of Quality: Evolutionary or Revolutionary?"

As we all know looking into a crystal ball is mostly a conjuncture. However, as quality professionals we need to ponder about the future of quality. From my personal experience, we will see a mix of both. Let me indulge in quantifying its magnitude - 80% Evolutionary and 20% Revolutionary. From the Pareto Principle, that 20% Revolutionary Quality will provide 80% impact to our Society.

Evolutionary Quality - The evolutionary quality will use seven quality control and seven quality planning tools. Continue improvement at intra-organization level using ISO Standards, lean, and six sigma. These practices will ensure that organizations are able to compete and hold its own in the market place.

Revolutionary Quality - The revolutionary quality will be used to managing global supply chains (SCs) in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation among SC partners at inter-organization level, aligning incentives, open communication and trust leading to value-added products/services to customers. Major tools such as benchmarking, performance excellence models such as US Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework, and streamlined human resources practices to engage associates in the knowledge economy.

If we want to harness the full potential of the revolutionary quality, we need to leverage information technology to its fullest.  In developing worlds, improving education, health care, and government sectors will aid in nation building. As an example, ASQ India has a concerted focus on improving quality of education (system level) and quality in education (curriculum level). To better prepare students in higher education area, we have initiated a Leadership Excellence Series (LES) using Google Hangout on Air at Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India (my alma mater). Major focus of this series is to equip undergraduate students with soft skills and quality management principles, so they are most productive when they enter their work places. Likewise similar projects can be launched in health care and government sectors. 

We need to exploit information technology to instill holistic quality in a global community to eradicate diseases, malnutrition, and poverty. World can benefit tremendously when people and organizations come together using revolutionary quality to ensure economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility (Triple Bottom line). We need to leverage quality make the world a better place to live!

I look forward to your thoughts about the future of quality: revolutionary or evolutionary, or combination of both.

A Clear Vision

This blog post is in response to the July 2014 ASQ Influential Voices topic "Do you have a clear vision—and is it giving you the focus you need to succeed?

The Oxford Dictionaries defines vision as "The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom". Why do organizations need vision? The vision provides a purpose, direction, and focus to take an organization to a next height. It is essentially a dream of the future. The vision must be developed by a senior leadership team and then communicated effectively throughout the organization to provide a sense of direction and focus. And, by the way the vision statement should be memorable, short, and uplifting (not several paragraphs put together by outside consultants which become 'Words on the Wall (WOW)').

Now let us look at few excellent examples of Vision statements from the US Baldrige Performance Excellence Award winners in various domains.

• Education: Iredel-Statesville Schools, Statesville, North Carolina (2008) 

         Vision: "A school system committed to improving student learning by igniting a passion 

         for learning."

• Health Care: Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove, Illinois (2010)

         Vision: " To provide an exceptional patient experience marked by superior health 

         outcomes and service." 

• Manufacturing: Cargill Corn Milling, Wayzata, Minnesota (2008)

          Vision: " To be the global leader in nourishing people."

• Nonprofit (including Government): City of Irving, Irving, Texas (2012)

         Vision: "Irving will be the model for safe and beautiful neighborhoods, a vibrant economy, 

         and exceptional, recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities."

• Service: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (1999, 1993) 

          Vision: "We are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen." 

• Small Business: MESA, Tulsa, Oklahoma (2012, 2006)

           Vision: "Lead the corrosion control industry through world-class performance." 

My company's (Business Excellence, Inc.) vision is "A global leader in creating Customer Delight, Employee Satisfaction, Process Excellence, and Enhanced Operational & Financial Performance."

The Nonprofit (Blind Foundation for India) I am leading has a vision of "Prevention and Cure of Blindness, and Education and Rehabilitation of Permanently Blind People in India."

Do you have your favorite Vision Statement to share? I look forward to your views.

Organizational Excellence Journey

This blog post is in response to ASQ's Influential Voices June 2014 topic on Organizational Excellence Journey experience.

I want to share my journey in organizational excellence using Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria and ISO 9001 Standards in for-profit, not-for-profit, academic, and professional organizations.

Since 1989 in my performance excellence journey, I have seen organizations undergoing systematic self assessment to identify areas of strengths and opportunities for improvements. With enlightened and engaged senior leadership teams, I have witnessed organizational transformations to better serve their external and internal customers (employees), leading to sustainable growth and profitability.

• 1989 - Received formal training in Baldrige process (American Society for Quality (ASQ))
• 1989-Present - President, Blind Foundation for India (BFI) - Founded and managed BFI to support over 15 million blind individuals in India using quality management practices. www.blindfoundation.org
• 1990-1994 - Lead Internal Consultant - Workforce Focus category, AT&T International Switching Customer Business Unit (ISCBU) and Switching Systems Business Unit (SSBU) - established Employee Recognition Process
• 1990-1994 - Coach - ASQ Certification Process Improvement project - Reduced cycle time for ASQ certification exam results notification interval from 13 weeks to 3 weeks (now only 1 week), a sustainable change management initiative at ASQ
• 1990-1996 - Lead Internal Consultant & Champion - Customer Focus category, AT&T ISCBU - wrote Customer Focus category description, improved category score from 25% to 60% over 4 years
• 1990-2000 - Lead Internal Consultant - Workforce Focus category, AT&T Bell Labs
• 1990-2000 - Lead Internal Consultant - Operations Focus category, AT&T Bell Labs
• 1993-1999 - Chief Judge, Illinois Team Excellence Award (ITEA) Program - recruited and trained Judges for ITEA Program, judged over 100 teams
• 1993-2005 - Adjunct Professor - taught Quality Management courses using Baldrige criteria at Illinois Institute of Technology, Stuart School of Business
• 1995-1996 - Lead Consultant - Naperville Unified School District 203 - Baldrige in Education criteria pilot, coached on Illinois Performance Excellence Award application development - won Silver level recognition
• 1996-2000 - Voice of the Customer Manager - AT&T Bell Labs/ Lucent Technology 
• 1998-1999 - Team Leader - established ASQ Society-wide Member Leader Recognition process that is still in use
• 2002-2003 - Lead Consultant – Software company (Illinois) – documented enterprise-wide 100+ processes using SIPOC diagram and established measurements 
• 2004-Present - Member, Board of Examiners, Asia Pacific Global Performance Excellence Award Program - judged over 60 award applications in 11 years
• 2005-2007 - Lead Consultant - 3 Medicare Contractors (Arkansas, Alabama & Mississippi) - coached ISO 9001:2004 certified on first attempt without any major no-compliance
• 2006-Present - Adjunct Professor - taught Total Quality Management elective course using Baldrige criteria at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India
• 2006-2007 - Lead Consultant – Medicare Contractor (Arkansas) – established Employee Recognition and Suggestions System Processes that were in use for several years
• 2006-2010 - Chief Judge - Illinois Institute of Technology Alumni Awards Committee - established a robust alumni recognition process, currently in use since 2006
• 2008-2012 - Adjunct Professor - taught Operations Analysis courses using Baldrige criteria at Northern Illinois University, College of Business 
• 2008-Present - Adjunct Instructor – taught Quality Assurance Project Management course at School of Continuing Studies at Northwestern University 
• 2010-2011 - Lead Consultant - coached a Pharmaceutical company (Illinois) for Baldrige and Illinois Performance Excellence Award application development - won Silver level recognition from Illinois
• 2011-Present - Adjunct Professor - taught Operations Management, Total Quality Management, Small Business Ventures, and Project Quality Assurance courses at Ashford University's Forbes School of Business - Online
• 2012-Present - Adjunct professor - taught Introduction to Six Sigma, Advanced Project Management, and Risk Management courses at College of Business and Graduate School of Management, Lewis University.
• 2012 - Lead Consultant - delivered a Workshop on Business Excellence through Sustainable Change Management, Senior Leadership Team at the Mahamaya Technical University, Noida, India
• 2014 - Honorary Adjunct Professor - delivered an address on Educational Excellence through Baldrige in Education Framework to Faculty and Graduate Students at the School of Management, ITM University, Gurgoan, India
• 2014 - delivered an address on Educational Excellence through Baldrige in Education Framework to Senior Faculty and Administrators at the Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad, India
• 2014 - Visiting Professor - taught Total Quality Management workshop to students, faculty, and researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India
• 1971-Present - Over 50 publications and 380 presentations globally on business excellence and quality management areas.
• 1993-Present - Adjunct Professor - taught graduate levels courses in operations and quality management using Baldrige criteria as well as conducted executive training around the globe. Connected with over 30 educational institutions in USA, India, Egypt, and Peru. Touched over 5,000 professionals around the world.

I look forward to your experience with organizational excellence journey.

Education and Quality: Foundation for Sustainable Development & Growth

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" - Nelson Mandela

When we examine the world history, one can notice the civilizations that survived for a longer time had a great education system, which served as a foundation for sustainable development and growth.

Based on my personal experience as an Adjunct Professor connected with over 30 educational institutes globally for over two decades, I would like to share my observations regarding education and importance of quality in education (curriculum excellence) and quality of education (systems view).

1. Quality of education has a direct impact on workforce suitability for employment.
2. Must celebrate excellence and success in the classrooms, as opposed to mere attempts.
3. Quality in education plays a very important role in nation building - workforce success based on acquired knowledge through education and skills building. 

In the 20th Century, the focus was on Reading, Writing, and Arithmetics. Going forward in the 21st Century, we need to focus on Teamwork, Problem Solving, and Project Management. The entire education system should gear up to adequately prepare the workforce for the 21st Century.

Perfect examples are Japan and South Korea. Other nations can take a cue from their success of integrating quality in education and building institutional quality at the systems level to achieve economic prosperity and sustainable growth.

We can apply a Balanced Scorecard approach to measure success of a global strategy of establishing outstanding schools and universities (temples of learning) as follows:

                                                              

 USA PUBLIC EDUCATION

K-12 EDUCATION:

Challenges (2012 data):

• The US Public Schools serve 49.4 million students, while Private Schools serve an additional 6 million.
• There are some real challenges, particularly as they relate to career and college preparedness:
• Too many start school behind their peers.
• Too many 4th graders are not proficient in reading and math.
• Too many 8th graders start high school unprepared for higher-level work.
• And of those students who graduate (given a 30% dropout rate), too many need to take remedial classes in college - assuming they attend at all.
• The problems are persistently acute for minority, rural, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
• While female students do better than males as a group, they continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) areas.

·         To create a strong population of adults prepared to earn a living and contribute to society, it is a challenge we must address.

Opportunities:

White House on K-12 Education (http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12):

·         In today’s global economy, a high-quality education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity—it is a prerequisite to success. Because economic progress and educational achievement are inextricably linked, educating every American student to graduate from high school prepared for college and for a career is a national imperative.

·         The President has articulated a goal for America to once again lead the world in college completion by the year 2020, and all of President Obama’s education efforts aim toward this overarching objective.

·         To create an economy built to last, we need to provide every child with a complete and competitive education that will enable them to succeed in a global economy based on knowledge and innovation.

·         To provide a high-quality education to all American children, President Obama has advanced reforms around four key objectives: 

o    Higher standards and better assessment that will prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace

o    Higher ambitious efforts to recruit, prepare, develop, and advance effective teachers and principals, especially in the classrooms where they are most needed

o    Smarter data systems to measure student growth and success, and help educators improve instruction

o    New attention and a national effort to turn around our lowest-achieving schools.

Since taking office, the Obama Administration has designed and implemented several initiatives to strengthen public education for students in every community nationwide:

.          Race to the Top - This initiative offers bold incentives to states willing to spur systemic reform to improve teaching and learning in America’s schools.

 Redesigning and Reforming No Child Left Behind - Reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to address issues arising from the No Chide Left behind.

 Redesigning America's High Schools - High School redesign initiative will encourage America's school districts and their partners to use existing federal, state and local resources to transform the high school experience for America's youth through a whole school redesign effort. This effort will challenge high schools and their partners to rethink teaching and learning and put in place learning models that are rigorous, relevant, and better focused on real-world experiences. 

 Keeping Teachers in the Classroom - America cannot build a world-class education system without teachers in our classrooms.

 UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:

Challenges (http://chronicle.com/article/A-Perfect-Storm-in/126451/):

• Lack of Student Preparations - students come unprepared but have strong convictions about their abilities
• Grade inflation - difficult to give students honest feedback due to fear of reprisals
•  Student retention - college-age population decline necessitates recruiting unprepared students who must be retained shifting academic success from student on to the teacher
• Student evaluations of  Teachers - using Internet students can retaliate against professors
• Enrollment Minimums - students gravitate to lenient professors and easy courses
• Lack of Uniform Expectations - difficult to maintain high expectations due to lack of uniformity of standards among faculty of comparable courses
• Contingent Teaching - instead of full-tenured faculty most of the undergraduate teaching is done by graduate students and part-time faculties
• Time Constraints  - more focus on research for tenured faculty, teaching becomes a distraction from highly rewarded activity.
• Curricular Chaos - lack of adequate sequencing of course due to transient teachers and multi-tasking administrators, difficult to develop a logical sequencing of courses
• Demoralized Faculty Members - college teachers are suffering from lack of confidence due to unemployment fears 

Opportunities (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/Fy%202015%20STEM%20ed.pdf)

President Obama strongly believes that the US must equip many more students to excel in STEM. That’s why the President’s 2015 Budget invests $2.9 billion, an increase of 3.7 percent over the 2014 enacted level, in programs across the Federal Government on STEM education. The 2015 Budget includes critical investments in a number of areas that will benefit aspiring students:

·         Recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent STEM teachers, with $40 million to support the President’s goal of preparing 100,000 excellent STEM teachers over the next decade and $20 million to launch a pilot STEM Master Teacher Corps.

·         Supporting more STEM-focused school districts, with an investment of $110 million to create new STEM Innovation Networks to better connect school districts with local, regional, and national resources to transform K-12 STEM teaching and learning. The Budget provides $150 million for a new program to redesign high schools to focus on providing students with challenging, relevant learning experiences that will help them gain the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in today’s economy, including in

STEM fields.

·         Improving undergraduate STEM education, with the National Science Foundation (NSF) investing $118 million to improve retention of undergraduate STEM majors and improve undergraduate teaching and learning in STEM subjects to meet the President’s goal of  preparing 1 million more STEM graduates over the next decade.

·         Investing in breakthrough research on STEM teaching and learning, with approximately $50 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education (ARPA-ED), through which the Department of Education (ED) would support high-risk, high-return research on next-generation learning innovations and technologies, including for STEM education.

In addition, the Budget proposes a fresh reorganization of Federal STEM education programs to enable more strategic investments in STEM education and more critical evaluation of outcomes.

There are different set of challenges and opportunities for higher education in India. Please visit my earlier blog post "State of Higher Ed in India: Time to Act is Now" from February 21, 2014 at:
http://voraonquality.blogspot.com/2014/02/state-of-higher-ed-in-india-time-to-act.html

Additional viewpoint on "Current Scenario of Engineering in India" at:
http://jobsiit.com/blog/2014/05/current-scenario/

I look forward to your views on quality and education. 

State of Higher Ed in India: Time to Act is Now

I would like to share an urgent issue of "State of Higher Ed in India: Time to Act is Now".

The views expressed in the table below are my personal observations reflecting on education system in India and the United States. I also have a vantage point of working in the industry for over 39 years and joining academia with my industry experience 20 years ago. In the last two decades, I have an honor to associate with 30 different educational institutions globally.

No.	Current State	Future State
1	Focus on Rote Learning (Memorization)	Encourage Inquiry-based Learning
2	Focus on Dry Theories	Include Best-In-Class Practices
3	Irrelevant Curriculum	Align Curriculum with Industry Needs
4	Lack of Soft Skills in Curriculum	Focus on Soft Skills in Curriculum (Communication, Leadership, Project Management) (Interpersonal skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork)
5	No Social Service Requirement (Unused Potential)	Require Social Service for Graduation (Engage the Youth in Nation Building)
6	Lack of Quality in Education (Curriculum, Entire System)	Instill Quality in Education (In Curriculum, System-Wide Excellence)
7	Faculty Lack Industry Experience	Recruit Faculty with Few Years of Industrial Experience
8	Static Faculty Knowledge (Use of Old Teaching Materials)	Require Faculty Knowledge Upgrade Continuously
9	Lack of Industry Interactions	Create Advisory Boards with Industry Leaders Tie-Up with Professional Organizations
10	Lack of Alumni Interactions	Strengthen Alumni Association for Better Branding

Post Secondary Higher Education (age 18 and above):

As per Report of the Higher Education in India, key issues are related to Expansion, Inclusiveness, Quality, and Finance (University Grants Commission [UGC], September 2010). The access to higher education measured in term of Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) increased from 0.7% in 1950/1951 to 1.4% in 1960–61. By 2006/2007 the GER increased to about 11 percent. By 2012, (the end of 11th plan objective) is to increase it to 15%.

Education and The World Bank:

Education is fundamental to development as it contributes strongly to economic growth. It also holds sustainable, proven benefits for people in terms of higher earnings, better health, and greater resilience to shocks. 

Helping countries reform their education systems to promote learning for all is a central thrust of the World Bank’s Education Strategy. The concept is broad, recognizing that it takes multiple actors and reforms to realize progress.

Why Systems?

Because a systems approach focuses on education outcomes, and how inputs contribute best. The results depend not only on having enough classrooms, teachers, and textbooks but also on having the policy environment, resources, and accountability mechanisms that can promote—and not obstruct—education results.

SABER (Systems Approach for Better Education Results) is a global knowledge platform that is helping countries assess their education policies and identify actionable priorities to help education systems achieve learning for all. Policy areas covered by SABER include early child development, student assessment, teachers, and workforce development.  

• By collecting data on policies and institutions that matter for success (according to evidence) and producing an objective snapshot of how well the system is performing in relation to global good practice (and other countries).
• By providing metrics to measure and monitor progress.
• By promoting cross-country learning.

US Baldrige Performance Excellence in Education Framework:

In the Unites States, by the Act of Congress in 1987, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Award Program was established. In 2001, Education category was included in the Program. Since 2001, there are 10 educational institutes that have won the prestigious national award for Excellence in Education. It includes seven K-12 schools, one community college, one undergraduate business school, and one university. You can learn more about Baldrige in Education at http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/education_criteria.cfm.

These criteria focus on Systems Approach and include seven categories starting with Leadership and ending with Results. Personally, I have a pleasure to use the Baldrige Criteria at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Illinois School System, and in my Operations Management/Quality Management courses since 1993 at various business schools in the Chicago area and in India.

The ASQ India has a singular focus of uplifting educational excellence at all levels (primary, secondary, and in higher education areas). We firmly believe that by using the Baldrige in Education Criteria, one can begin the assessment of an institution, identify areas of strengths, and opportunities for improvement. There are various role model examples of Baldrige Award Winners in Education. Learning and adapting some of the best practices from the winners will serve Indian Educational Institutions well.

I welcome your thoughts and comments on this critical issue of transforming education system in India.

Quality Moments

I want to share my quality moment from organizing ASQ Northern Illinois Quality Conference (NIQC) in 1998. Five Chicago area ASQ Sections' member leaders came together to form an alliance with an objective of providing state-of-the-art quality management conference for both ASQ members and non-members.

A cohesive team of 8-10 Section member leaders put together a fantastic program for one-day conference at an affordable price. The response was overwhelming with over 300 attendees participating in the conference. At NIQC, the quality moment was understanding the member needs for such conference for their continuing education and delivering an outstanding program.

Learning from the positive results, we pursued this journey and continued hosting NIQC for total of 15 years, ending in 2012. In 2003, we added one-day workshops for in-depth knowledge sharing. The entire NIQC process was managed well both technically and in fiscally responsible manner.

In summary, my learnings and quality moments came when we understood ASQ member needs, forged alliance with member leaders from various sections, and delivered world-class conference with workshops at a very reasonable price and with high value.

I look forward to learning from your quality moments.