Archive for April, 2009
« Previous EntriesWalter Reuther Couldn’t Have Predicted This One
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Walter Reuther couldn’t have predicted that his union would become the big dog on the Board of Chrysler. His union, the United Auto Workers, will end up having the majority interest in Chrysler after the bankruptcy proceedings. In the near future, they will probably end-up in a similar situation at General Motors. Who knows about [...]
Arlen Is Now A Democrat & You Know What That Means
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Yes, you know what it means. It means that “IT” is back. It is back on the table. The dreaded thing is back. You thought it was over. You were tired of hearing about “it.” Arlen Specter, as a Republican, was against “it.” You know that as a Democrat, he will be for “it.” And, [...]
I Got The Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009If you haven’t ever heard, “The Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” by Johnny Rivers, you should find it and listen to it. The latest flu pandemic (I bet most people don’t even know what that word means), got me humming this old rock and roll song. It also got me to wonder why [...]
3 Reasons Why You Don’t Hear “Empowerment” Anymore
Monday, April 27th, 2009You used to hear managers throwing the term, “empowerment” around all of the time. You did, until it bit them, “you know where.” I still like the word, myself. I think that we overpay way too many employees because they aren’t empowered to really to do their job. Most managers have to ask, “May I” before [...]
Will It Ever Change?
Sunday, April 26th, 2009The other day, I was talking to two of my friends, Beth and Amy. They are good people – well-educated, positive and good citizens. Both of them haven’t been in the job force for quite some time. When they were working, they didn’t trust Human Resources.
Beth: I didn’t mind my job, I just hated the politics. When I [...]
I Promise – Last Entry On TQM/Six Sigma (for now)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 I told you that Bill Conway, one of my TQM Gurus, had another tool for us in Human Resources -
“Imagineering is a key concept in problem solving; it involves the visualization of a process, procedure, or operation with all waste eliminated.”
Now, I know that Bill was referring to processes in a manufacturing environment, but the concept of “Imagineering” is a powerful [...]
We Got The “Juice” To Make It Happen
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009Another TQM/Six Sigma Guru is Bill Conway. He initially started with “6 Tools for Quality Improvement.” For us Human Resource professionals, there are 2 out of the 6 which are significant. The first one is: “Human Relations skills - the responsibility of management is to create at every level, among all employees, the motivation and training [...]
We Need To Hire Nice People
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Yes, that is what Quality Guru, Philip Crosby said to do and I agree with him. Here is what I think Crosby meant by “nice” people..
Nice people…
are team players
are courteous
are dedicated to the mission
have values that match the values of the organization
hold others accountable
I added the last bullet because I worked with a lot of [...]
I Ain’t No Water Boy – More on TQM
Monday, April 20th, 2009Why more on TQM/Six Sigma? Because I was able to do more with my HR initiatives when I became the Quality Czar at an electronics company. If you recall, I’m big on being in the middle of the business, not on the sidelines like a lot of Human Resource Departments. I ain’t no water boy.
Anyway, I want [...]
Management’s Job Per Deming
Sunday, April 19th, 2009So, we learned about Deming’s 14 Points For Management. He specifically stated in his Step #5, that managements’ job is to “Find problems…and to work continually on the system.” I wonder if most managers today would think that this was their “job.”
What I have discovered when managers work on the system, most of the people [...]