Personal and Organizational Transformations: The True Challenge of Continual Quality Improvement (The McGraw-Hill Developing Organizations Series)

This book offers triple value: a coherent theory of quality improvement for individuals and organizations that highlights the multiple transformations necessary; real-life case histories of successful applications of the theory; and 'coaching' to help the reader begin putting quality improvement into action each day of the week.Dalmar Fisher and William R. Torbert present a totally fresh perspective on the challenge of improving your organization. With wit and intelligence, experience and case material, they reveal how quality programmes can make an impact on your organization - by first having an impact on the managers who lead them. This book offers ways of developing yourself and your team into people of vision and action who see quality as an ongoing, productive process, rather than a bolt-on extra. These strategies include action inquiry - being aware and responsive to strengths and weaknesses even in the midst of daily management; power - learning how to use your influence to create positive reactions to quality; and personal transformations - are you an Opportunist, Diplomat, Technician, Achiever or Magician, and how can you develop your working ways to meet quality ideals?Personal and Organizational Transformations is not just about the objectives of quality - such as building customer focus - but how to actually achieve these aims. Examples from transforming companies, exercises, studies of leaders, and an unusual case from deep space(!) provide illustrations which will stretch you, your beliefs, and build a convincing and inspiring portrait of how to get to grips with the challenge of continual quality improvement.