Blog

This article appeared in ‘Quality India’ magazine (A QCI publication), July-September 2018.

This is truly a Quality Fable. It is a story I have fabricated using a little bit of this; and a little bit of that.

During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against supporters of Israel. The embargo not only banned the export of petroleum to the ta..

Continue reading

At a recent Global Benchmarking Congress in Abu Dhabi, during the course of a panel discussion, I was asked about the status of Performance Excellence in India. I made the following observations:

1. In India, Performance Excellence is pursued by aspiring organizations primarily for recognition. The platforms for recognition being the CII Exim Bank Award (based on the EFQM) and the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (IMC RBNQA, based on the Baldridge model)
2. Continue reading

Pot holes in Mumbai: A Quality Perspective

PROBLEM DEFINITION

At a recent Mumbai First governing board meeting, I was pronounced “guilty” for not improving the Quality of pot holes in Mumbai! I sheepishly smiled. The board was right.

Yes, Mumbai First must do something. So, I reflected on the fundamentals:
» Who defines Quality? The customer. In this case, the citizens of Mumbai.
»  What is Quality? Fitness for use. In this case, use of the pot holes by the citizens of Mumbai.

This leads to the question, does Mumbai have a culture for Quality? In my view, the habit of extraordinary tolerance by citizens, nurtures pot holes in Mumbai.

So, the original question requires disruptive thinking. It is..

Continue reading

We are a rich nation. We can afford waste…. Mountains of waste.

This waste is created by governments, organizations, institutions, households and individuals. In this prioritized order.

Let’s focus on organizations – manufacturing and services. The waste generated by these organizations is typically one-third their total cost. Was..