Quality in the Mainstream by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

In the late 1990s I became infatuated with the Community Quality Council movement in Singapore. These councils were invariably founded by Deming enthusiasts and focused on transforming communities to the quality way. At the same time in Asia we were seeing the development of PQASSO, a standard for voluntary organizations, the Charter Mark and Investors in People in the public sector. It seemed to me that everywhere I looked quality was finally emerging from the manufacturing industry to take its rightful place at the heart of communities.

I was so enthusiastic that in 2000  I began an intensive two year project in a town of Cavite with the sole purpose of spreading the quality message. The plan was to engage with individuals, interest groups, industries and institution to help them achieve their goals through the use of various tools and techniques. Over the two years we maintained a staffs office and work with voluntary groups , local industries, schools and church. It wasn't easy but it was never dull, as a preconceived notion and conviction I held about quality and people's desire to practice it were tested to the limit.

Around early 2000 a bombshell struck;it seems the CQM movement in Asia was a failure. This was shocking, but it did not surprise me as it had become obvious the CQM approach was not going to work in the mainstream. The people we engaged with had no time for quality tools and techniques training. They wanted action and saw quality as adding nothing but time. Of course, they wanted to do a good job and do the right things right, but they told us that this trait cam after from within and could not be taught.

I was faced with a dilemma as I was equally convinced that quality had a major contribution to make community level whether in the form of ISO 9001 certification, Whole School Evaluation scheme or the application of lean or six sigma. I was enthusiastic about what quality could do in the mainstream that I was blind and do as to what community could do for quality.

Everyday the community was showing me and telling me that quality has become a core value embedded in every individual, interest group, institution and industry in the community. Most quality professionals reading this article will accept this at face value. The problem for a layperson is that there is no vocabulary to help describe and practice this "quality" at such an important personal level. What the quality profession has to offer appears alien and "organizational" to them. Communities are not organizations, but we all know that organisations are communities are communities; both are also systems.

Most professionals recognize that 21st century systems are socio-cultural, self organizing, open, purposeful and information bonded. They have the power to determine the task and he means of achieving it. Intrinsically they want they want to do the right thing and require a high degree of autonomy to be able to adapt and grow in a rapidly changing environment. The task facing the quality profession is to provide a structure to harness this dynamism and help these systems to succeed.

The closest quality has come to this so far is the promotion of concept of excellence, but definition of excellence is weak and organizational. What is needed is a definition of excellence that people can embrace as intuitively good. I propose the following definition: "Excellence is a voluntary ongoing process of agreeing emerging expectations. It involves all creators, consumers and complement's. in the system defining, realizing and delivering these expectations in an effective, efficient, ethical, elegant and enjoyable manner."

People accept this definition of excellence as it emphasizes what they know already. Its practice must become the universal aim of all systems and it must become the universal method underpinning every activity. It needs to attach itself like a good virus to very task and system undertakes.

Before embarking on your own community crusade, recognize that community systems operate in your workplace and this is where experimentation should begin. The formality of organizations makes it easier to hold people's attention.

At a community level both inside and outside organizations we can all promote the core value of doing the right things right. Nobody will resist this fundamental desire and it opens up a questions of "who decides?" and " by what method?" Your answers will come easily. The system decides by practicing excellence. The systems serves us. Now let the fun begin as we all develop systems capable of practicing excellence and reaping its just rewards.