Creating culture

In this blog I would first like to analyze the two words that were put together in the title, according to my personal concepts:

• Create: produce, generate something from people's capabilities.
• Culture: The sum of values, principles and beliefs of each one of the members of an organization.

 It means that creating a culture is the effort of generating a set of values, principles, beliefs for a group of people, based on the realities and individual capabilities, allowing to align the efforts of the entire team to achieve common goals.

In the blog of the ASQ, presented this time by James Lawther, part of the Influential Voices of Quality, under the title "Creating a Performance Culture: What Not To Do",  we can find a number of ideas of what  should not be done  to create a culture that projects us to results. If we focus mainly on the rewards, the results in culture are not necessarily accomplished.

The issue of developing a culture of quality has also been investigated by the ASQ  in alliance with Forbes, whose findings of what is said in organizations and what has been done can be found in the study which can be downloaded from this website.

Organizations are a result of people, who are making quality every day  through all the activities carried out. People who are at higher hierarchical levels have more impact in  the culture through their values ​​and actions. The chief executive therefore has the strongest impact on the organization's culture either positively or negatively and should be aware of this responsibility.

A successful culture begins with a common language that everyone use to first communicate positively with each other and then with customers to ensure their satisfaction. It includes all human interactions beginning from the greeting, smile, respect.

Preferably, the culture should be declared through the definition of a mission to give a sense of purpose, vision that allows developing and moving to the future, values ​​and principles that should be shared, the policies set to these values ​​and principles to become reality.

Leaders need to adopt and live the desired culture, identify gaps and generate actions to eliminate anti values ​​that are part of human nature.

The main part of culture is the development of values based on individualities and all of them together give the final values ​​of the organization.

I always find a very interesting method of Benjamin Franklin for the development of virtues and I will share the list trough this link. The most important virtue is humility, which he defines as imitating Jesus and Socrates.

Finally, the questions at the end of each day should be:

What actions did I do  this day to support the improvement of the culture of my organization?

César Díaz

 

Each person is different

 

All humans’ beings are different, and our needs and expectations are different.

 Tastes of the colors are different, the clothes that we like are different, the food we like is different..

Our thoughts and way of seeing the world depend on the environment in which we have grown, our home, our beliefs and traditions.

For that reason our definition of quality depends on our cultural environment.

Now if we do a tour in our lives, what we appreciate as good at age 15, is different from what we feel at 40, to 50 to 60.

Men appreciate different things than women.

In Ecuador, the people of a city or region appreciate things differently. We have different food, different clothes, still we speak differently.

How do we generate common paradigms that allow us to speak  and feel quality in the same way?

Through sharing experiences, experiences, culture, beliefs.

If inside an organization, we would like that everybody appreciate the quality in the same way, first we need to develop a common corporate culture that leads to improvement.

If I want my customers to feel and appreciate the quality of my products I need first to educate them.

How can I make that human beings embrace quality? Using different ways for different people

 

Cesar Diaz

Feelings and Quality Culture

In his blog "A view from the Q", Paul Borawski, ASQ CEO gives us a series of questions regarding the importance of "creating" a Quality Culture within the organizations, which  I would respond based on my own experience working in Ecuador.

Before it is important to define the concept of "Quality Culture", which to me are the set of beliefs shared by a group of people that drive to live by making quality as a key element in the companies and their personal actions.

I will answer questions from Paul:

What you should look for in hiring people in an organization?

·      People with an inner passion within to do things with excellence, and has  proven that even in small things, people with a talent for which he has worked and an inner effort to make always something better.

·      With positive attitude towards life and willing to learn at all times and teach others.

·      With resilience, having the ability to stand up against obstacles, and  have learned from those things they do not go well.

·      People that know to start small, building block to block solid organizations and always respect the successes of their peers.

·      With focus on results, but always with the conviction that these are a result of the people who produce them.

·      People that know how to work in teams and in turn serve others with humility and respect.

How to know if an applicant will contribute to, thwart, or work at Quality Culture  goals?

·      Looking for evidence on their previous experiences to strengthen the elements outlined in the previous question.

·      Seeing that the job offer represents a challenge and helps applicant to stay motivated.

I think more important is to ask whether the position to which that person is going, will allow him to grow in knowledge,  as a human being and thus contribute positively to the organization.

What attitudes support to be successful in developing a Quality Culture?

The answer to this question is through the example that  leaders should  always give, fostering a culture of service and teamwork, knowing that the only way to do Quality it is through quality people with quality inside.

Are the personal attributes universal, or do they in your experience differ around the world?

Personal attributes are universal, and can differ in the manner of expression. Basically all humans need recognition for a job well done,  and everyone in our inner essence are looking for self improvement.

When you are immersed in a Culture of Quality, how do you feel?

I think it's something special, you can see in all the human beings involved in the experience. There is a feeling of mutual welfare and the desire to improve is evident. The spirit of service is demonstrable and customers in turn try to support the company to improve,  generating brand loyalty.

A good measure of Quality Culture is how many genuine smiles we see on the faces of everyone in the chain and on the faces of the client. So the question Gilberto Concepción asked in the last ASQ World Conference is very important. Are you having fun at work? If the answer is yes we are in the right direction.

As final thoughts, have a Quality Culture is a state towards which we must work every day, and there's always something to do, a state in which people pay attention to what he does and has the intention to improve all day, knowing that in this way contribute to the organiztion, but also to their  personal and professional growth and development. In this environment the feeling of love of work, spirit of service and loyalty are a consequence of daily actions.

How easy is to achieve the above? Not easy, is a way of life, but it's worth.

Cesar Diaz