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The Best of Intentions,
It's that time of year again. I.e. the time when industry and commerce spends millions of pounds in the name of celebration and the festive season. For some reason nearly everybody grabs the chance, like a drowning man clutching a straw, to let their hair down (very little in my case), imbibe a little too much alcohol and generally behave in a manner likely to cause severe embarrassment at any other time. Does the stress caused by poor management and lack of systems necessitate an over reaction in the cause of jollity in order to restore some sort of balance in the workplace?
This time of year is also traditional for the making of resolutions and the setting of good intentions for behaviour patterns and targets for the year ahead. This is just as common in our professional lives as in our personal ones.
It is on this point that it is worth noting that, in business terms we 'strike when the iron is hot, not when it is emotionally convenient. We undertake activities as quality managers and the like because there is a real business need to do so. Or do we? Very often, in spite of the objectivity and the business need to have a factual basis for our decisions, the course of businesses is very often dependent upon emotive and emotional factors. Is this a good thing? It is difficult to say but it is a fact of life that our prejudices and habits, our experience and training are all mingled within us in a hotchpotch of neural networks and often resulting in contradicting and confusing signals.
If a resolution for the better is worth making then it is not worth putting off until the first day of the New Year. It seems daft to me that so often resolutions are related to an excess that we first have to experience and then, we resolve not to repeat, or to at least reduce.
There are parallels in business. Sadly December is often associated with the announcement of 'rationalisations' (that's job cuts to you and me), January is also the start of many business years when budgets are set, audit programmes begin and memberships of professional bodies and clubs also start.
We tend not to believe that we are fickle beings. We like to pride ourselves in our professionalism and objectivity and in the way we approach our employment duties. At the same time we tend to need the emotional and psychological prop of a 'new start' and 'new programmes'.
By February of course, all resolutions would have been forgotten. The bad habits of the previous year re-enforced by the pressures of new targets and initiatives will have begun to take their toll to the extent that our workforce will be anticipating yet another excuse to let their hair down: the holiday season.
If we only practiced what we preached then the need for new resolutions and over the top celebrations could be reduced and business efficiency improved. The 8 principles within ISO 9004:2000 clause 4.3 have a lot going for them. These should be observed all through the year and an enthusiastic but balanced effort applied evenly week on week.
Hopefully, by applying the principles and premise of our management standards we will reduce the stress and strife of our professional lives thereby increasing the quality of life for all both at work and at play.
Is it unreasonable to suggest that the quality objective for 2005 should be 'to obviate the need for new year's resolutions in 2006?
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