A Long Term Focus for Corporate Asia by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

There are three issues in my opinion that are critical to a long term focus for Corporate Asia.

1. The concept of customer satisfaction
    The word customer service reveals a concept linked to the traditional process model of interpretation of the definition as "a generic term for the person who buys goods or services from a supplier". The traditional process model of inputs-process intuitively recognizes waste as a result of economic activity, but interprets waste as unavoidable externality.

The quality profession has led the way in waste reduction by developing techniques and tools such as lean manufaturing and six sigma. However, this innovations were never designed to account for the effects of externalities such as carbon emissions resulting from global industrialization and fossil fuel consumption. From this perspective, the concept of the customer should be redefined to include all persons affected by the activity of the organization. Extending the concept clearly redefines quality beyond the boundaries of mere product and service conformity, to include its role in sustainable development

2. The decoupling of quality from sustainable development
     The seminal definition of sustainable development as "development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" has influenced all approaches to sustainability over the past two decades. Inherent in this definition is the concept of satisfaction of the "needs" of humanity, both present and future.

The quality profession is perfectly placed to assist corporation in reinterpreting its approach to sustainable development and investment, by focusing efforts on the development of sustainble culture based on the use of quality principles and techniques. The messaging of the importance and applicability of basic techniques , such as the plan-do-check-act cycle in implementing sustainable solutions to business functions, is steadily being usurped by a recent emphasis on the use of triple bottom line reporting by organization.

This has led, in some instances, to a distinct focus on economic, environmental and social indicators, to the detriment of quality and safety indicators. The result of this focus by corporations has contributed to product failures at unfortunate -but-unavoidable disasters such as BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

3. The inability to respond to the dilemma inherent in the agency principal relationship
    The recent financial crisis identified with terrific clarity the failings in the agent principal relationship. This is clearly demonstrated by the bancruptcy of Lehman Brothers in autumn of 2008., when lack of definition of the term"customer" , or a focus on customer satisfaction and the needs of the customer from the perspective of sustainable development, were at fault. The entire focus of the company was on short term profits to the detriment of the principals;i.e shareholders, investors and society. Lehman's customer or principal in this context was global society, due to its size and reach. The board failed to understand their duty to society and this translated into unsustainable practices, such as bonuses linked to purely financial indicators and investment decisions that resulted in the end of this 158 year old institution.

It is imperative that the quality profession extend its uniques selling proposition beyond its traditional roles of quality assurance and ISO 9000, and extend it remit. It should become a lead body for knowledge on management systems in general, including business continuity, risk management and social responsibility as major parts of the quality professional's role. This is expressed in ISO 26000; the new social responsibility standard.

This expansion is necessary if the corporation is to continue to attract the individuals who can contribute to the development of the profession.

I subscribe to the view a corporation can regain its competitiveness, but this can only happen if quality is placed right at the heart of sustainable development by focusing not on the management of quality, but the quality management.

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