Huwebes, Oktubre 28, 2010

Meditation: Potential Key to Leadership Success /What Jolito Ortizo Padilla says about Culture



The two concepts are included in my book "Emotional Intelligence-Putting Things in Proper Perspectives:


Meditation: Potential Key to Leadership Success

New research into brain function and psychological development reveals that peak performers have significantly higher degrees of brain and psychological development than the average population. Subjects from world champion athletes to high level managers and leaders across sectors were compared with average -performing control groups.

The results support the model that leadership ability is closely related to psyco-physiological refinement. The author found that the higher integration of the electrical brain activity more mature moral reasoning and more frequent peak experience are found top performers. The study Higher Development , Brain Integration , and Excellence Leadership is conceptualized in the pages of my book Emotional Intelligence-Putting Things in Proper perspectives.

Dr. Harald Harung, associate professor at Oslo University, " There is a growing agreement among researchers that leadership development is, in essence , self development. The primary dimension in developing leadership is to develop the personality , the consciousness of the potential leader."

Dr. Harung said previous research by Dr, Fred Travis, found that people who had been practising transcendental meditation for up to seven years had a level of brain integration similar to peak performers. Those who had been practicing transcendental meditation for at least 20 years had significantly higher levels.

"Restful alertness during trenscendental meditation activates and so strengthens frontal executives circuits, the basis for successful learning." explains Dr. Travis, director of Maharishi University of Management's Center for Brain,Consciousness and Cognition.

What Jolito Ortizo Padilla say about "Culture"

A company culture is the environment created by the priorities it sets. Sometimes those are explicit in a company's formal mission statement or in the structure of the organization and the power given to different departments. Sometimes they are implicit, what the Financial Times once called" the large number of unspoken sssumptions and beliefs which managers in the organization share about the way we do things around here."

Tom Tierney, a consultant and author of Aligning the Stars, says" A corporation's culture is what determines how people behave when they are not being watched." Several things shape a corporation's culture:
- Employees' behavior: new recruits usually do what they see, not what they are told. This can range from dress codes to respect for technology and standard working hours. It can include the importance given to symbols. For example, exclusive parking spaces , or to the way that senior managers are discussed or during the college meeting, the group discussed senseless ideas and became confrontational, this will evolved on the mind of the new recruit that the meeting is a farce, keeping his idea to himself or providing minimum suggestions.
- The employee selection process: the type of person recruited by an organization reflects and reinforces its culture. Some companies recruit people of a partuclar kind because they believe that kind is best for the job.
- The nature of the business: certain industries , such as movies or banking , foster a particular culture.
- The external environment: companies need to take into account the culture society in which they are operating. For example, one cannot transpose the methods of Manila straight to Hyderabad downtown and expect to have a harmonious operation.

One of the few areas of management study that has been dominated by Europeans rather than Americans is cross cultural management. Europeans have a natural advantage. Fons Trompenaars , an authority in the field, once wrote that his Dutch father and his French mother gave him "an understanding of the fact that if something works in one culture , there is a little chance it will work in another."

Your Career Questions Answered by Jolito Ortizo Padilla - from The Olayan Group-KSA and A Company in Dammam, KSA


" I have the chance to spend shadowing the marketing department, but will it benefit me?"

Try to understand here this opportunity has come from and what you are expected to bring to the role. Many organizations will try to move managers between functions so they are able to understand a wider range of aspects of the business and can contribute to any debate from a balanced point of view. It also ensures that managers don't get stuck in a rut because they are moved on to other business functions before they become stale. Other organizations may have a specific task that they want you to do in the function they are moving you to. Perhaps you have developed a reputation for problem solving that organization believes can be effectively applied in a new setting. Your senior management team may be expecting you to provide a solution to problems that they have identified in the other department.

Try to understand if this is a routine posting or a problem -solving activity . If the latter, you need to understand management's perception of the problem. At least then you start off with an objective to accomplish -even if your invesigation results in different problem definition and hence solution.

There are many synergies between quality and marketing. Marketing is more than advertising and sales. At its heart is capturing customer requirements and incorporating these into the design and delivery of the product and services with the overall objective of providing customer satisfaction. So far it looks as if those in quality and marketing are occupying the same ground.

Where the quality professional can generally add value is using our experience of the process approach. We can ensure the inputs to the marketing process are valid and based on sound market research and that the process is managed from end to end to ensure objectives have been achieved. We can incorporate any lessons learned back into the organization's body of knowledge for future marketing activities.

A role in unfamiliar surroundings brings a new set of challenges. How you tackle them will depend on the brief you have been given. If you are perceived as having been parachuted in to fight fires there maybe some intial problems with people in the department and it will be a good test of your interpersoanl skills. Get to know the people, how the function operates and its key processess before you start to suggest any changes. Leaping to conclusions in this or any other area is a sure fire- way to lose credibility.

Whatever happens , you have an opportunity to learn more about marketing and your on organization-enjoy it.


Helpdesk from A Company in Dammam, KSA. "THE PROBLEM: MY COMPANY IS THINKING OF BECOMING CERTIFIED TO ISO 9001. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION?
While there are useful benefits to using third party certification, achieving the requirements of quality management is the major tangible benefit from working with the ISO 9001 standard.

Choosing a certification body is the most important step in maximising benefit to your enterprise as the body will have the knowledge , experience, expertise to help you achieve your goals.

Third party certification reduces the necessity for repetitive auditing from different companies that can occur with new customers. A credible ISO 9001 certificate from a reputable company gives access to the global market and the ability to demonstrate that your quality management system will achieve your enterprise with a competitive advantage.

Reputable third party certification bodies provide trained individual assessors , internal systems and impartiality in performing quality management assessments. Their support in achieving ISO 9001 certification will give customers the confidence to place business with you, knowing they can expect a consistent product. This will open new markets as large companies will be able to rely on the assurance that your certification will be rigorously maintained by the third party certification body.

But succesful certification ISO 9001 is only the start. You could go on to work with ISO 9004 for a program of sustainable improvement . If your enterprise can try to make things a little better as it grows, with a little good fortune the music may never end.

Biyernes, Oktubre 22, 2010

Using Marketing to Gain Benefits- concept written by Jolito Ortizo Padilla



One year and a half ago in the Land of the Desert, I was told by someone that he is in doubt whether I could write an article or even a research project. I just laugh it off since I know where I stand and I knew myself very well.

So here I am, back to writing my original articles and research projects. Man.. learn from this..

My concept of marketing basics-The Four Ps + Three Ps + SIVA..

Marketing management have a useful model known as the four Ps or the "marketing mix". This model highlights four key areas in which marketers often have a significant interest, as they can be critical to business success. A total quality approach looks for ways to improve and sustain quality in all parts of the organization and its processes. Working closely with marketing people in these areas can have a significant benefit to the firm.

Product
Attention to the product/service is the classic first place to focus. Delivering what is needed , conforming to customer requirements and ensuring the product is fit for the purpose is of intense interest to both quality and marketing people.

Price
Pricing products and services is a black art, where higher prices can create an impression of higher quality and even lead to greater sales. However, if this expectation is set it is critical to ensure that delivery results in delight not anger.

Place
Sales usually have a geographic component that needs to be considered. Where will the buyer be when they order? How will the product be delivered to them? How long will it take? What logistics are involved. Much of this is a part of the buying experience and can affect customer satisfaction as well as adding to business costs. Quality reaches all the way up to when the customer takes delivery of the product and beyond.

Promotion
Marketers put particular effort into making any potential customers aware of the product or service and how it is of benefit to them. Promotion can include advertising , personal selling, publicity , public relations and overall product brand activities. Quality here include ensuring accuracy of communications as well as compliance with advertising and consumer communication legislation.

As with many popular models, a number of people have offered extension and variations. Unsurprisingly, everything begins with P. The "seven Ps" add the following:
- People: People are variables in the overall process, especially when it comes to service delivery
- Process: the whole end to end process, particularly around customer interface , should be examined carefully
- Physical evidence: to sell products or services, evidence such as case -studies, demonstrattions and references can help with the sale.

Other models include extension from "participation" to "personalisation".A counterbalance customer focused model to the four Ps approach is known as SIVA, in which:
- The product creates a helpful solution.
- Promotion provides useful information.
- The price point is one that is seen as good value.
- The place of sale is easily accessible.

The bottomline throughout the model for both the quality professional and the marketer is to nesure a consistent customer experience that is aligned with the business brand while sustaining the minimum necessary costs in doing so. Having happy customers, and more sales leads to happy shareholders , happy bosses and more jobs.

I would like to acknowledged my three Prince Jewels:
1. Justin Luzurriaga Padilla - Cardiologist- Mayo Clinic -Rochester, USA
2. Job Luzurriaga Padilla - Head-Design Engineer- Toyota Corporation, Japan
3. Jolito Luzurriaga Padilla Jr. - Neuro Surgeon - Ronald Reagan Medical Center and Mattel Children's Clinic. LA.


Thank you kids for being understanding and Having FAITH in GOD, which contributed much to your success... A promise is a promise.... Let's go together to a place where I was born..

Challenges in Implementing a Customer Service Quality Assurance Model by Jolito Ortizo Padilla


Jolito Ortizo Padilla looks at the challenges in implementing a customer service quality assurance model within new contexts.

Mixed gender seating is acceptable in some Middle Eastern cities but separate seating areas for men and women are preferred in many areas in the region, with separate branches in Saudi Arabia.


Quality professionals find themselves in the welcome position of being asked to replicate a proven quality assurance function elsewhere. This could be within their organization , for a new employer or client or possibly even in a new country. While this can be an exciting challenge such a task must be approached and a quality professional needs to be aware of the potential pitfalls in implementing a standard solution in a new context.

A standard customer service quality assurance model is based on establishing service standards, measuring and reporting actual service delivery against those standards and realizing improvement opportunities. At its core are the service standards that define the objective measures of service delivery in the context of a specific market and the strategic objectives of the service provider in that market.Service standards also address the interaction between employees and customers and customers' satisfaction with the product and their delivery.

Measure encompasses the measurement of service delivery process times the measurement of service delivery at the point of customer contact( most commonly by mystery shopping) and the measurement of customer satisfaction and complaints including the time taken to close complaints. Reporting will be to senior management and the owners of the specific services whose performance is being reported.

Improvement action is driven by the service quality function that embodies three roles:
1. The service quality manager responsible for ensuring that standards, reporting and action are complete and effective.
2. Complaint management responsible for ensuring that all customer complaints are resolved effectively and are recorded analyzed and input to the service quality reporting.
3. Administration responsible for collecting performance data, producing reports and maintaining records.

Developing Local Standards

Developing service standards appropriate to an organization or market is part of developing the organization's overall business strategy. The quality professional will be part of the wider management team addressing this issue and considerations will include the position in the market that the organization seeks to achieve.

For example in the case of banking this positioning will affect the range and nature of products ( accounts, loans, savings, credit cards) , the delivery channels (branches , ATM, internet, telephone banking) and levels of service (queuing time, transaction time, product delivery time level of customer satisfaction and complaints).

The oobjective standards of service for the new market can be determined relatively easily once the organization's desired market position has been decided, key competitors have been identified and their levels of service have been assessed.

Taking loan application processing as an example, in a developing market taking ten days from application to the disbursement of funds into the customer's account might be quite acceptable for a middle market player. Conversely, in a sophisticated market such as in Kuwait, a customer who requires a loan for a new car will need and expect an instant decision in principle at the dealer's premises and disbursement within 24 hours.

The subjective service standards require careful development to balance their impact on customer satisfaction against cost. For a bank that is developing in a new market, some considerations for its indirect channels might be:
- ATMs: number and location , range of services , ease of use, reliability
- Telebanking: use of an interactive voice response system, range of services , efficiency and courtesy of agents, reliability
- Internet: speed of loading , ease of security access and navigation, range of services, reliability

The effciency and courtesy of agents brings us to the direct channel: the branch with its staff and facilities. In the US and the UK banking relationships tend to be remote and impersonal, with the majority of customers' satisfaction with the bank being carried out through the internet or at an ATM.

In the Middle East banking relationship tend to be highly personal- indeed loyalty may often be to an individual banker rather than to the institution, which means that branches are at the heart of the customer/bank relationship. Service standards related to branch staff must include appearance, customer interaction, speed, accuracy, courtesy and confidentiality. For the branch premises, service issues will include parking , seating, queuing arrangements, cleanliness, access to remote channels and availability of customer information.

Standards that exist in branches are subject to significant regional differences. For example:
- Parking : this is not an issue in Europe, but is critical in the Middle East where temperature can exceed 50 degree centigrade.
- Seating mixed gender: seating is acceptable in some Middle Eastern cities, but separate seating areas for men and women are preferred in many areas , with separate branches needed in Saudi Arabia.
- Waiting local preferences determine whether waiting in line is acceptable or whether a ticket system and adequate seating is necessary. Similarly, separate queues for nationals and non-nationals and for men and women will have to be considered.
- Customer information: in a few Arabic speaking countries such as Dubai, English may be quite acceptable , but elsewhere dual language or arabic only will be preferred.
Finaly, there are the issues of service standards for the customer -facing staff, the branch staff and the call center agents. Factors that are particularly influenced by cultural preferences in the Middle East are nationality language, forms of address and dress code. For example:
- Nationality local nationals will often be most appropriate for customer -facing positions
-Language customer facing staff should speak the local form of colloquial Arabic, although some cities in the Middle East where English is th customary language of business, English maybe quite acceptable.
- Forms of address where the customer's name is not known the initial form of address should conform to local custom. For example, in Kuwait, staff will commonly address customers as "my brother", "my sister" or "mother" , whereas in nearby Bahrain the equivalents of "sir" and "madam" will be used.
- Dress code where uniforms are not provided for customer-facing staff a dress code can be a potential minefield of cultural considerations particularly with female staff. National dress or a dark business suit is a rule that can safely be applied in most circumstances but there are always exceptions. For example, in Kuwait female staff are typically sophisticated , affluent and competitive. The local service standards for dress code are required to be very specific about what is acceptable and what is not regarding clothing , jewellery and make -up.

Service standards are simi;arly required for customer satisfaction and complaint management. These will generally be agreed at an organization level although there may be statutory requirements for complaint management in some countries.

Local Implemetation

Typically the local quality assurance team needs to report to the local CEO with a dotted line relationship to the central quality manager. The team will be selected from local personnel, mentored by the quality assurance procedures customized for the local function.

Particular consideration should be given to the complaint management function. Given that this is a key role when dealing ith the customer, cultural considerations have the significant influence. Generally customer prefer to deal with "one of their own", for example someone who can pseak the local form of colloquial Arabic. In close communities such as those found in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar the good social standing of the organization's representative is greatly valued.

In these and similar countries in the region, the complaints manager should comand respect and , to the greatest extent possible, be seen to speak with the authority of the senior management. An exception to this rule is Egypt where the reverse pertains : customers have less respect for a fellow Egyptians and prefer to take their complaints to a foreign, generally Western, senior company representative. In each implementation both local staff and customers need to be consulted on their preferences.

Measurement and Data Collection

Further cultural differences must be considered when it comes to monitoring the success of customer service . MEasurement requirements will usually be met by the following:
- Service delivery processes such as loan processing measured by end to end process time and error rate measurement.
- Customer facilities such as branches measured by a physical survey
- Customer/staff interaction measured by mystery shopping
- Customer view measured by satisfaction surveys, feedback via branch forms, telephone and internet surveys and complaints.

A number of issues may arise when rolling out standard service quality measurement in different geographies and cultures. For example:
- Process time and error rate data: common systems and data extraction tools may make this simple but, more frequently ad hoc solutions and considerable support to the staff concerned will be needed.
- Mystery Shopping: Mystery shopping of service outlets is best outsourced to specialist suppliers. In certain countries the selction of appropriate research agents is critical if they are not to be recognized as mystery shoppers. For example , in the small country of Kuwait , essentially a city state , branch staff in the conservative Jara area will immediately identify Kuwaitis from outside that area by subtle differences in dress, manner and accent.
- Customer satisfaction surveys: a standardized questionnaire that addresses the local service deliverables should form the basis of the survey.Local preferences may be for the survey to be conducted by telephone , by paper questionnaire or face to face. An externally sourced telephone interview tends to be acceptable to customers in all locations and provide reliable data.

Reporting , Action and Review

Reporting and reviewing the performance of the local service quality deliverables will usually below the standardized format developed by the central quality professional. Presentation will be to the senior management team and any attempt by local mamangement to relegate service quality reporting to a lower level should be resisted. As with the other management issues , action will be agreed , documented and folloed up through senior management team meetings. The central quality professional will ensure that action is effective and overall service quality meets the standard agreed by management.

Some of the issues in replicating a proven quality assurance model have been discussed here. But perhaps the most fascinating of these issues are those related to the diverse people and cultures encountered that make each project a unique and enjoyable challenge for the quality professional involved.






Biyernes, Oktubre 15, 2010

DEVELOPING QUALITY- Excerpts from Jolito Ortizo Padilla Book.. Strategic Management -Building Competitive Advantage.



In my book, Strategic Management- Building Competitive Advantage describes how Selex Galileo developed a competency framework to train new generation of quality professionals.

Selex Galileo employs 7,200 personnel with operations within the US, UK and Italy. The company develops integrated capability solutions which deliver enhanced situational awareness , security, and safety across land, sea, and air. It develops a complete range of solutions from surveillance, tracking, and targeting equipment to protection and navigation control systems for military and government missions. Selex Galileo systems provide the capability to achieve mission success and quality has a key role to play in those systems.

As part of an initiative to position quality as a key business contribution and to develop a higher profile for quality assurance as a career of choice for graduates, particularly those looking for a career in aerospace, Selex Galileo decided to develop a scheme for quality assurance competence development. Entitled Quality Developing You, the starting point was to define what quality means within the business.

Quality within Selex Galileo

Quality at Selex Galileo is defined as a combination of the business management system, internal audit and assurance.

Business Management System

Selex Galileo maintains an effective business management system which provide a definition of management intent and acts as a knowledge management system, capturing best practice and references to other resources, so activities can be undertaken in a consistent manner. The BMS constitutes the company's set of standard operating processes and ensures compliance with mandatory external certification requirements such as ISO 9001, AS 9100, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. The BMS must ensure that policies and processes are totally aligned with management intent for the scope of work undertaken and, where necessary , how this work is to be carried out.

Internal Audit


Internal Audit is an evaluation process aimed at assessing the level of conformity of the company of the company, with respect to defined requirements or standards and/or processes. The evaluation is based on systematic methods and an objective findings approach.

The internal audit approach addresses the following aspects:
1. BMS audits: utilising resource from the process owner to support the effective undertaking of the audit, to verify deployment of management intent as defined within the BMS documentation.
2. Project surviellance sudits: targeted at identified and agreed risk areas, to verify compliance with project management plans and assesses both process and product.
Both types of internal audit are aimed at assuring compliance with management intent and the identification and implementation of corrective action and improvemnt activities.

Assurance


The head of quality of each Selex Galileo site deploys a number of product assurance managers in support of the project teams and lines of business. Each PAM operates as part of an integrated project team or teams. The PAM is responsible for establishing the assurance estimate , the association assurance plan (quality plan) and for managing the assurance activities established, in accordance with the particular needs of the programme.

Each programme considers the requirements for the "Seven Domains of Assurance" to support the Integrated Project Team. They are:
1. Product Assurance Management
2. Systems Assurance
3. Softare Assurance
4. Hardware Assurance
5. Supply Chain Assurance
6. Operations
7. In-service support Assurance
Assurance is focued on identifying product issues such as defects, non conformances, risks, and failures as early as possible in the product life cycle. IPTs will therefore be informed about status, non conformances and agreed corrective actions managed to closure, involving appropriate level of management through established escalation mechanisms such as weekly IPT meetings, monthly business project reviews or through effective monthly reporting ith defined items for escalation.

Defined processes have been created for each of the domains explaining how they are undertaken. For example, software assurance is approved by the head of softare.

During the initial bid phase of a project , the product assurance manager works in partnership with the project team to establish which areas of assurance (independent consideration and review) will mitigate risk. This is based on a consideration of the customer's requirements, the project's key output / deliverables, its key suppliers and the key processes in each of the domains.

It as very evident that having defined quality and how the assurance activity should be undertaken , success in these areas is totally dependent on the capability of our people to deploy it effectively. This led us to embark on the career map and competency work for QDY.

Quality Developing You

Before embarking on a definition of QDY competencies, two important documents were developed in order to put in place the business governance and framework requirements for the quality function. These are the framework for the management of quality within the company- a top level policy documents and quality career map. (see the example of quality career map in my book Strategic Management). Galileo needed to define competency. It as decided that competency is a combination of:
- Knowledge - an understanding of the activity
- Skill - the ability to undertake an activity
- Behavior- how we go about things and conduct ourselves
- Experience- how long someone has been undertaking an activity

Competency Development

Next we undertook research and brainstorming exercises to determine the competency requirements for the Seven Domains of Assurance , BMS and audit. This research included reference to the CQI Body of Knowledge , AS 9100C- a standard for quality management system in aviation, space and defense- and the International Aerospace Quality Group Guidance Material PCAAP 001- a standard for competence management within the aerospace sector. This was the most difficult and complex part of the project , as we needed to create a simple but effective competency set from a huge amount of supporting information.

Having defined the competencies using the four categories of knowledge, skill, behavior and experience , the next challenge was to develop these into two further categories:
- Generic- competencies that apply to all quality related activities i.e ISO 9001.
- Specific- competencies that apply specifically to an aspect of quality and this is predominantly relevant to Seven Domains of Assurance, ie software assurance and Fagan inspection.

Competency levels

Having developed a career map and a set of competencies , we needed to establish what level as required for each career map position against the competencies. The level of competency required would obviously increase with ptogression to higher positions on the career map. (Illustration is on page 156 of my book Strategic Management)

Putting It all together

The next step in the QDY development as to get all the factor considered. so people within the organization and what their training and development needs are with regards career progression. Factors to consider are:
- Career map positions
- Genetic competency requirements
- Specific competency requirements
- Skill, Knoledge, behavior and experience per competency per career map position

Having completed the documentation of the competencies against career map positions including the required levels, this was approved for publication on the BMS. The different requirements were built into a company database/analysis tool (SKATE) which enabled the following processes to be easily undertaken electronically:
- Individual's current career map position loaded into SKATE with all the associated skills, knowledge , behavior and experience requirements and levels being automatically populated against their profile.
- Individuals can self -assess against all requirements for their job role
- Line Managers can review self-assessments and approve overall competency profiles.
- Individuals "gap" against job role requirements can be reviewed
- Individuals can undertake "what if" gap analysis against other roles within the business , not just quality
- Individual's learning and development program can be agreed

What Next?

As as the competencies that have been defined are used as part of the company personal development review process to support engineers' career development , these will undoubtedly continue to develop to support the quality approach that we need to build into our business. It will be important to keep the competency set up to date and fresh. In particular, this will address the Seven Domains of Assurance specific competencies.

The next major challenge for the project will be working out how to address the "gaps" identified through company assessments and PDRs. Our future focus will be on learning and development asset as we aim to develop the quality professionals we require to contribute effectively and make a real difference within our business.Work is underway with the CQI in order to get the competency set and subsequent approved review documents designated as valid entry criteria for CQI membership. They have been endoresed by two CQI Fellows (which JOP is a member) and will hopefully be accredited and approved shortly . This will enable us to encourage membership of the CQI as part of our personal development review process with minimal additional efforts.

The CQI has a huge part to play in defining and implementing the remit of the quality professional within industry. A key contribution that the CQI can make will be to help create and provide learning and development support such as courses, opportunities within other businesses, presentation material and a refresh of the Body of Quality Knowledge.This will also mean the CQI engaging to meet, support and lead quality within today's industry , covering the complete range from schoolchildren thinking about a career in aerospace, defense and security industry to seasoned professionals of many years' standing.

The Article is my 4th Research work for the year 2010 and is included in one of my book "Strategic Management-Building Competitive Advantage"..

Biyernes, Oktubre 8, 2010

Supply Chain Sustainability by Jolito Ortizo Padilla


With the increased focus on sustainable developement, it has made clear commitments to lead the construction industry in improving standards and performance in the built environment. As a result, those involved in designing , supplying and building for the public sector are under greater scrutiny to find ways in which to prove that their buildings are constructed with sustainability in mind.

Public sector buildings such as schools, hospitals, leisure centers and law courts are now individually certified by BREEAM- the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, , which is the most widely used environmental assessment methods for building. BREEAM sets the standard for best practice in sustainable and enable developers and designers to demonstrate and prove the environmental credentials of the buildings to planners and clients.

One element of the environmental assessment is the responsible sourcing of products used in their construction and the onus of proof is incrasingly being passed down to the manufacturers of those construction products. Responsibly sourcing materials provides a holistic approach to managing a product from the point at which material is sourced in its raw state through manufacture and processing , use, reuse and recycling until its final disposal as waste.

To enable construction product manufacturers to ensure and then prove that their have been made with constituent materials that has been responsibly sourced, BRE Global has published BES 601. The standard provides framework for the independent assessment and certification of construction products. To obtain certification of their products organization must demostrate that they satisfy compulsory elements including:
- They have responsible sourcing policy
- They have identified applicable legal requirements and understand how they apply.
- They have a quality management system in place that meets the principles of ISO 9001.
- They have a management system for the purchasing process and approval of suppliers.
- They can trace at least 60% of the constituent materials through supply chain.
- Materials are traceable to supply chain organizations with a documented environmental management system that follows the principles of ISO 14001
- Materials are traceable to supply chain organizations with a documented health and safety management system that follows the principles of OHSAS 18001
- They establish a policy and metrics for green house gas emissions, resource use, waste management , life cycle analysis, transport impacts, employment and skills and consultation with local communities.

Products are rated as pass, good, very good or excellent depending on the number of optional points achieved. Higher levels of compliance are available that can result in a higher performance rating being awarded.

Organization have the option to undertake third-party assessment t and certification that will assess whether the BES 6001 framework is implemented, evaluated and verified. Following a successful assessment, a certificate of registration will be awarded that demonstrates which products have been assessed and what level they have been awarded. Certificates are valid for 12 months and approved products are listed on BRE's Green Book Live website at www.greenbooklive.com. This free online database has been designed to help specifiers and end-users identify products and services that can help to reduce their impact on the environment.

The standard has been introduced to help the industry demonstrate the resposible sourcing of construction products and its responsibility to sustainable development. Third party assessment and certification is one option available to organizations to provide independent assurance that organizations and products do meet the requirements for responsible sourcing, thereby giving the specifiers confidence in the suppliers being used and the contributions they can make to the BREEAM rating for the building and sustainable development philosophy.

Biyernes, Oktubre 1, 2010

Group Think and Individualism - Included in the New Book "Managing People" of Jolito Ortizo Padilla


Managing People by Jolito Ortizo Padilla will be launched in Shangrila Hotel-Singapore on the 2nd week of November, 2010...

Group Think and Individualism----

The team is in, and individual is out. The Texan Cowboys and American frontiers men of old-many of them rugged individuals have either retired or moved to the next world. And as if following the dictates of fashion, we have put what we once prized greatly on the back-burner.

Teams achieve more than what individuals can achieve in their own. True. But there's no denying that some dysfunctional teams on the contrary, achieve less than what individual can achieve on their own. So before we exalt the virtue of teamwork to the skies, let's take a more balanced perspective, and we'll see how individualism plays a part in counter acting the excesses of team dynamics.

The danger of being too "teamy" are well documented. A good example is the Abilene Paradox, a phenomena highlighted by management expert Jerry B. Harvey. The gist of the paradox is that a group of well-meaning people, out of desire not to rock the boat, collectively decided on a course of action that was counter to the wishes of every individual in the group. Described as a form of group think by experts, the Abiline paradox is but among various factors that can cause healthy team dynamics to quickly degenerate into sentimental and irrational collectivism.

Spotting the Danger Signs

Of course, team not always fall victim to group think and the first step is to recognize the problem for what it is. Simply being aware of the characteristics and danger of group think is at times enough to catalyze a certain degree of caution which is a good start.

Some of the telltale signs of teams in the danger zone are: extreme cohesiveness, leading a disproportionate lack of dissent; highly charismatic leaders who operate more in the basis of emotions than logic, homogenuity with members coming from similar socio-economic or functional backgrounds; and reticent members showing a general lack of confidence. When one or more of three characteristics are present in a team, it is time to raise the red flag.

Counteracting Group Think

Introducing a healthy dose of individualism into a team is often beneficial and counteractive against mindless collectivism. Individualism is after all, right at the heart of economic premised upon Laissez- faire capitalism , and it would be totally incongruous to extol the virtues of capitalistic society and denigrate individualism in the same breath.

Here are some easily actionable things you can implement for your teams:

Support Individual Expertise

Teams have better chance of making decisions when members are not allowed to bring their individual perspectives and expertise to bear. Team leaders should encourage all members to speak openly without deferring to the preferences of the leader or more senior team members. If a group is intially reticent, the leader may need to address members one by one to solicit his or her ideas; in time to come, the team members will start to understand that their contribution is expected and appreciated.

Reward Individual Contribution

While it is important to reward collective effort and achievements, leaders should not gloss over outstanding contributions from individuals within the group. One of the pitfalls focusing too much on the group at the expense of the individual is that performance may drop to the lowest denomination ; nobody is willing to work harder or contribute more than the next person , since everyone gets the same reward in the end.

Demand Individual Accountability

By making team members individually accountable for their assigned responsibilities, each person will have a vested interest in fighting collective tendencies or decisions that undermine their ability to deliver results expected of them.

Create Constructive Conflict

Differences is beautiful. Disagreement often gives birth to new perspectives and novel ways of solving problems. The trick is to manage conflict and not to escalate to a point that it tears your team apart. While encouraging argument and contention, leaders must at the same time lay firm ground rules on acceptable behavior. The leader must be strong enough to eventually guide the team to a healthy concensus , while members agree to disaggree, yet proceed with the best solution available.