Our underlying philosophy in achieving Business Excellence is Keep things simple and get the basics right. In our experience many organisations are so far away from doing the basics well, that there is no point in them considering exotic management techniques or the latest fads. Yet that is precisely what they try to do and waste a considerable amount of resource in trying to lay a new idea on flawed fundamentals.
LMQ developed a model for improving business performance called 'Absolute Quality' during the TQM (Total Quality Management) era, because of the gaps that we identified in the way TQM was being implemented. The idea of an all embracing way to business success that TQM tried to achieve was fundamentally sound - it is a shame that in many cases it became overcomplicated and unworkable. AQ however has stood the test of time and the major reason for this is that it is simple.
Definition
An organisation achieves 'Absolute Quality' when:
Everyone in the organisation is making decisions so that the organisation meets its customers agreed requirements at the lowest cost of resources.
"Customers' agreed requirements" includes going the extra mile which is expected but not contracted, plus meeting those needs they may be unaware of - but exist.
An organisation where only the few people at the top make decisions has limited growth potential because of the following:-
- There are only so many hours in a day.
- The business environment is dyanamic and decisions need to be made quickly.
- Those on or close to the front line have a better feel for what is happening.
- Employees are more involved, committed and effective if they are able to make decisions.
- People lose their creativity over time when they are used to being told what to do.
However, it would be inappropriate to delegate this decision making throughout the organisation unless the people within it were equipped with the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes to make those decisions well - and the resources to implement them.
The resources that any organisation has - and in scarce supply are:
People - Time - Money - Physical Assets - Reputation - Information
What your people need
For everyone in the organisation to be able to make good decisions and implement them effectively - they need the following:-- Direction
- Commitment
- Resources
- Core skills
- Empowerment
Missing anyone of the above five and it may be unwise allowing people to make too many decisions.
Where do you start?
What we will do for your organisation is to help you give your people all of the above so that you can grow successfully. However, as you will probably be good in some of these areas, our first task is to identify where the holes are so that we can focus on these. We therefore offer you a no commitment diagnosis as the initial stage in identifying where you can improve and how we can help.
Our track record is such that almost all of our clients have experienced significant improvements in both turnover and profitability.