How can quality managers test their strategic aware-ness to assess the effects of technology? An immediate issue is whether planning is, in fact, collective or top-down. Another is how strategic decisions are defined. How many encompass the whole firm, require commitment and are not easy to reverse?
Is quality included in strategic, as well as operational, decisions? How many include technology? Even if everyone is not yet invited to the table, some simple approaches can help. One approach is to formulate a strategy statement.
How difficult is it to write a 35-word statement encompassing your organization’s strategy?
If it’s too challenging, especially for quality managers, something is wrong. Some questions to consider include:+Does the statement reflect prospects of purposeful engage-ment of technology? +Do the organization’s systems support the strategy?
Are human resources and training, for example, a good fit with new technologies? +How is strategy communicated? +Is it linked to quality?
+What kind of leadership is required to integrate elements of strategy and inspire collaboration?
