Citation
(2002), "Standards what standards (2)?", Work Study, Vol. 51 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2002.07951aaa.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
Standards what standards (2)?
Standards – what standards (2)?
And just to show that I am turning into a crusty old <fill in the blank with noun of your choice>, I do sometimes get upset by current standards of dress and behaviour. Increasing freedom is all well and good but, along with the restrictions on "personal liberty" that we remove, we also – by default – remove personal disciplines. What has this got to do with Work Study?, I hear. Well, my "ear to the ground" tells me that working disciplines are harder to maintain; structured and disciplined working is essential for high productivity – and for safe working. The Japanese have shown us that it is possible to have highly disciplined working – and creativity and innovation. They may even be connected, since we seem to be losing both. Perhaps it was their (unique?) blend of creativity and discipline which allowed the Japanese to properly exploit the fruits of their creativity. We, in the UK, had (occasionally, still have) the ideas – but we were not structured and disciplined about the ways in which we turned them into profitable goods and services.