Total Quality Management (TQM)

I feel one concept that was interesting to me and needs more discussion than what is in the book is Total Quality Management (TQM), because putting it into practice has such potential for making an organization more effective. I read about it years ago and it made such sense to me. The authors of our book write that TCM “involves a comprehensive intervention that focuses all the organization system on the continuous improvement of quality.” The authors go on to explain that teams previously focused internally on the needs of the organization and externally on the customers of the organization, but now teams are more proactive versus just trying to fix problems.

Either way, I like this approach. As we learned, systems are responsive, interactive and interdependent. An organization is a system within a larger system. The actions an organization takes affects people in the organization, people with whom the organization deals, its customers, etc. If things aren’t going well in the organization, it makes sense to involve everyone in the system in finding ways to continually improve—management, employees, customers, suppliers, other organizations with whom the organization does business, etc. As we learned, diversity leads to more creative solutions, so the more people involved in continually improving, the better. As I wrote, TCM makes so much sense to me.

Collaborative conflict resolution

A collaborative conflict resolution I have been engaged in was with my husband. I was tired of doing most of the work at home. I was tired of having to always ask him to do something. I expected him to see what needed to be done and do it; but that never happened. So we had a discussion. I carefully defined the issue, that I was tired of doing most of the work around the house and couldn’t understand why he didn’t see what needed to be done and do it without me nagging him. Then I listened to his perspective, to what he had to say. It amazed me to hear him say that he was honestly clueless about what needed to be done and that if things went undone, it didn’t bother me as it did him. We were both open, careful and considerate in our conversation. He agreed with me that it wasn’t fair that I did most of the work. I asked him what we could do about it since it bothered me a lot. He suggested that I write down what I’d like him to do each day. I started writing it down and putting it on the refrigerator. That didn’t work since he said he didn’t notice the list. I asked him where I should put the list, and he suggested the bathroom mirror. Now it’s a rare day that I do all of the work anymore!

Forums, panels, colloquiums and symposiums

Forums, panels, colloquiums and symposiums are all means for making a public presentation, but each serves a different purpose. Forums enable a group to have full audience participation and are useful for speaking and listening to a larger audience. In a forum, a group presents to the larger audience and then the audience exams what was presented. Panels consist of a small group of experts discussing an issue or decision in front of an audience. The audience doesn’t get involved except possibly in a Q & A session after the discussion. Colloquiums entail a small group of experts with different views discussing a problem in order to identify, develop and work through solutions in front of an audience. The audience participates and benefits from the discussion of possible solutions to problems. Symposiums are the format for a few brief speeches on different aspects of a generally complex and difficult problem to help the audience understand complex technical information about the problem.

I prefer colloquiums. To me, this type of public presentation combines the two things I enjoy—listening to people who know what they are talking about and having a chance to participate and benefit from a discussion; hopefully resulting in finding some viable solutions to a problem.

Heuristic and algorithmic tasks and creativity

The concept that was interesting to me in this week’s readings was how creativity relates to the different types of tasks. I could easily see myself as good at heuristic tasks since I’m a kinesthetic learner; I learn best by doing, most usually through trial and error. I also am good at algorithmic tasks because I like straight-forward, tried-and-true solutions because they are quickly completed since there’s a clear way to do them successfully. However, I didn’t see myself as creative. And yet the authors of our book write, “Most tasks, even mundane ones…show equifinality—many different ways to reach a workable solution—and are therefore open to creative solutions.”

I guess I am creative after all, since I always try different things as I try to improve whatever I do. Whether it’s finding a shorter way to work, finding a way to make cleaning my house more enjoyable (I don’t think I will ever completely succeed on this one!), discovering ways to do my job or schoolwork better, or simply finding ways to be a better person, I’m always working on being more effective.

Five Cultural Barriers to Creativity

Five cultural barriers to creativity include a requirement for conformity, a dependence on generalizations, a trust in the power of reason and logic, a belief in an either/or perspective on issues, and a reliance on expert knowledge. All of these barriers could keep a group from being creative.

It takes self-confidence for individual group members to take the risk of moving from doing what is expected to creating something different. It’s so much easier for people in a group to conform to what is expected than to be non-conformists and create something new. Dependence on generalizations stifles creativity because when the group sees things as they generally are, they don’t see things as they creatively might be. Trust in the power of reason and logic can keep a group from imagining a solution to a problem that defies reason and logic, but is still possible. Belief in an either/or perspective on issues with no allowance for a grey area keeps a group from seeing creatively collaborative solutions. Reliance on expert knowledge doesn’t allow the group to brainstorm, which can lead to creativity.

I definitely experience lack self-confidence in a group setting. Although I will do so, I don’t like taking a risk to speak up when I don’t know how what I say will be received. I fear taking risks in groups, but force myself to do so when I think of something that would help the group move forward.

I’ve also been in a group in which a few of the members felt an issue was black and white with no shades of grey. Several of us were quite frustrated with those members, who were not open to discussion because they “knew they were right.”

Creativity

At first I thought I would need to use the creative experience of someone else because I don’t consider myself creative. However, I guess I am when I have to be. The old expression is “Necessity is the mother of invention” is true in one instance I know. My husband has been laid off for over five years, so we’ve had to watch every penny we spend. Often when it’s near another once-a-month payday, I can’t just go out and buy ingredients for dinner so I have to go to the freezer and cupboard to find something to cook. I’ve turned into a very good cook, according to my family. They love whatever I throw together even when it involves ingredients that normally don’t go together.

This definitely fits in with the chapter’s discussion of creativity. The authors of our book quoted other authors when they wrote, “In summary, creativity is ‘any form of action that leads to results that are novel, useful, and predictable’ (Denhardt, Denhardt, & Aristigueta, 2009).The meals I create are novel, useful, and predictable in that, luckily for me, my family always likes what I throw together. I use imagination in mixing ingredients, insightful understanding in knowing what will work together, and creativity in coming up with new food dishes that taste good. I use equifinality in that I find countless ways to create food. I definitely have an open mind when I go to look what is in my cupboard and freezer. I don’t always rely on logic and I’m willing to break the rules because most often I’ve never seen the meals I mix together mixed anywhere else.

The only problem is that my family would like to have the same thing again, but because I’ve thrown it together off the cuff and add various spices, I can never make the same thing twice!