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Is the Pareto Principle Coming Home to Roost?

20 percent of quality pros could be doing 80 percent of the work. The rest? Well...

Davis Balestracci
Wed, 12/09/2009 - 05:30
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The economy has become a convenient excuse on which to pin the blame for everything—especially job losses. Well, in the case of quality positions, yes… and no.

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A sobering thought: Will the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule) inevitably apply to the quality profession? I think so. It’s time to “connect the dots” for executives regarding the integration of quality improvement into organizational culture. How much longer can we as a quality profession wait?

I did a seminar recently for a state health care agency, and the cuts they had experienced were nothing short of incredible—with quality improvement budgets and personnel bearing the brunt. Think about it, what message does this send to the quality profession about how they’re perceived? Do most executives still see “quality” as an annoying add-on that isn’t needed any more because tough standards with draconian enforcement and old-fashioned individual accountability should do it?

Hey! What about all that statistics and “belt” training I shelled out for?

 …

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Comments

Submitted by Tripp Babbitt on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 12:56

Nothing New, but we need to say it more often

Davis brings up some valid points. Seems like all the "knowledge" institutes (ASQ, LEI, etc) have gone the way of most corporations and governments, focused on revenue growth by using belts and tools training.

I have found that projects and tools are not going to get us to the promised land. A read of John Seddon's Freedom from Command and Control or Systems Thinking in the Public Sector are some of the best on systems or "holistic" thinking.

I agree that change management programs have become something we do to workers and processes. We certainly can't keep ignoring the executives that are so focused on costs that they forget about finding the causes of costs.

Regards,
Tripp Babbitt
www.newsystemsthinking.com
Free download on "Understanding Your Organization as A System" available from website

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