I was having a conversation with a colleague recently who said, “quality is a given,” now we are looking at other things in our organization. The sense of the conversation was that (1) we know we need quality in our products and services; (2) the need for quality improvement is assumed and (3) we think our products and services are high quality already.

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the conversation, but at the time I couldn’t decide why.  As I have thought more about it, I wondered how widespread this belief is; and whether or not it is true. On the positive side, my colleague seemed to be saying that quality improvement was totally integrated into the organization, that everyone understood its importance and it would remain that way into the future.  If this is what was meant, then I applaud any companies that have reached that point.

On the negative side, some organizations might see “quality as a given,” to mean that they have achieved certain level of quality and are “done.”  If this is what it means, then there is trouble –--you are never “done” in your quest for quality or learning–--improvement and innovation are the lifeblood of viability, success and profit for any business.

If you want to see how well you are doing in at integrating quality improvement into your organization, here are some questions to ask yourself, your co-workers and leaders:

• Is the mission or aim of our organization something that all employees are aware of and try to pay attention to in their daily lives at work?
• Do we look at processes and try to improve them, instead of looking at people to blame when things go wrong?
• Are we always trying the quality “fad of the day,” or do we understand that we are never “done,” with improving quality?
• Do we understand that variation is a natural part of our processes and are we learning how to listen to what the variation might be telling us?
• Do we have a methodology for learning–--in order to improve we need to learn, and having a method or methods to help us learn is imperative.
• Does our organization have structures (pay, procedures, policies, training, education, benefits and so on) that encourage all employees to do their work and continually look for improvement without fear?
• Do management and leadership have a systems view of our organization when making decisions?
• Are our customers the focus for what we are doing and do we have ways of getting feedback from them?

These are just a few of the big picture questions we can ask in our organizations to decide if we can say that “quality is a given,” and have it mean that we have fully embraced it.  If your answers to these questions aren’t as complete or positive as they could be, or if you never asked them before, then you have some challenges in front of you in order to join my colleague in saying, “quality is a given.”

You do not have to tackle all the questions at once, as looking deeply into your organization at any one improvement will lead you to the others.

I look forward to a time in the future when most organizations can truly say, “quality is a given” and mean it is so well integrated into the way they do business, they know they will never “be done”----and that they are looking at the questions I posed with more positives and then seeking new questions to ask.

		Adrian Bass Adrian Bass is Director of Capital Quality Initiative (CQI) at Lansing Community College.  CQI inspires continuous improvement and excellence through learning opportunities for individuals and organizations to promote quality.