Compliant management

Citation

Heap, J. (2003), "Compliant management", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952baa.001

Compliant management

Compliant management

According to lots of people, the 1990s saw UK – and worldwide – industry undergo a quality revolution. There were lots of papers, books, articles, etc. on quality issues (even some in Work Study) and we all mouthed the TQM mantra. Of course, in practical terms, most of us then went and signed up with BS 5750 and ISO 9000. We did our job. We could prove that we were certified as "quality organisations".

Those of you who read my musings in the Random observations column (and I am sure that's most of you!) will know that I sometimes take a slightly jaundiced view of this alleged revolution. We are now all compliant with the strictures of our quality procedures, but whether we actually have quality …

The same is true of a number of other initiatives/movements. Of course, being good employers and managers, we all have our equal opportunity statements, our policies for diversity, our approach to racial equality, etc. Again, in practice, this means that we have established a range of procedures and then we end up policing compliance. Oh yes, we can prove that we adhere to the terms of any legislation and any industry guidelines, but do we have an inclusive workforce?

I am not (though I admit it seems like it) "knocking" compliance. There are things that we need to do, and often it is important that we are seen to do them. That demands compliance – and compliance monitoring. It's just that I think that in nearly every case, compliance is necessary but not sufficient. We need to go further, to do more. We need – and here's the difficult bit – to change culture and to change behaviour. Not by continually exhorting people to be compliant – but by making people recognise the real business benefits that accrue from "real" quality and "real" inclusiveness.

Such culture change isn't easy – but that's not an excuse for not trying. Changing culture requires effective leadership, not good management. Now, where have I seen that term recently? Oh yes, there has been an awful lot of papers, books, articles, etc. about leadership recently. But that's another part of the saga. We need to read less and do more. It is important to read new ideas, to understand best practice elsewhere, to learn from others. If I didn't believe that, I'd be a poorer journal editor! But we have to translate what we read into action. Not many of the world's great leaders were known for their reading (though I'm sure that many of them were avid readers).

So – after reading this issue of Work Study – consider how its going to change your behaviour. Imperceptibly, slowly, gradually, perhaps – but you need to allow yourself to be changed by what you read and learn. Otherwise, you're only reading to confirm your prejudices. And for someone in a change profession like productivity improvement, that would be unforgivable.

John Heap