| Author | Message | |||
     steel Citizen Username: Steel Post Number: 343 Registered: 2-2002 |
Ed, I was about to chide you for dodging, (sbenois's excellent local) questions when I noticed that in the first post of this thread you merely invited people to ASK questions, (no promise of answering) and then invited your opponents to answer them. -Pretty slick. Congratulations,- you are already well on your way to becoming a classic politician. PS: I feel compelled for our readers sake to relate my own experience with TQM back in the early 90's, (I really thought that that corporate fad was over) at a company that I worked for at that time. Once upon a time, an overpaid consultant came to our happy busy company who knew nothing about our business and interviewed everybody for ten minutes. Soon thereafter essential people were fired, moral began to slump, survivors became stressed, overworked and paranoid and many left for better jobs, (including me) The company proceeded to lose clients, have trouble attracting qualified new people, had difficulty paying their bills and generally had their reputation suffer for years, -But hey, they did have a nice shiny "mission statement" on the wall. However, I do admire the spirit that you present in your Totally Quixotic Mission! | |||
| mwsilva Real Name Username: Mwsilva Post Number: 375 Registered: 5-2002 |
Hey, do we have any others running for this office that are able to speak up? Or are we going to play the keep silent game? Kathy, Ken? | |||
| Joel S. Ziegler Citizen Username: Joelziegler Post Number: 25 Registered: 4-2003  |
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, (I say that because you the voters of Maplewood will vote to decide who will be the next two citizens to be seated on the Township Committee in our fine municipality.) Bring your questions to Maplewood Center this Saturday morning between 9 AM and 12 Noon and we the Republican Candidates will be there to answer them as best we can, but more importantly to listen to your concerns and interests as to what should be the future of Maplewood as it affects you personally. Joel S. Ziegler, Esq. | |||
| OK, it's Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 488 Registered: 1-2003  |
Ed might tell you that that TQM consultant merely did TQM wrong and that TQM can be done right. My feeling is that TQM and old-fashioned business practices -- whatever you may call them -- can also be done wrong or right. My fear, as I expressed in the form of a question, is that no matter how well Ed knows how to apply the principles and practices, if others don't buy into it, even if it's because it's too weird for them, it won't work. Tom Reingold | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1682 Registered: 9-2001  |
Tom That consultant did not do TQM. I do not want anyone to think that what he did was TQM. Old fashioned business practices can certainly be done wrong or right. Maplewood could certainly use some of them, done right. When starting a TQM project I routinely have to secure the buy-in of those involved. Fortunately, TQM is not weird, and, step by step, makes a lot of sense. We start small, create a small success, generate more buy in, and move on to a slightly larger success. How I wish that all of you could have attended the class I taught last night at NJIT about TQM, or the classes I taught during the summer at Stevens Tech. How I wish that my clients could tell you of their success with ISO 9001:2000, which is akin to TQM. How I wish that Maplewoodians familiar with TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, and ISO 9000, would jump in and explain their positive experiences. Ed May | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1683 Registered: 9-2001 |
steel and mwsilva Joel and I plan to address all twelve of Sbenois' excellent questions. After we do, I invite Kathy and Ken to do the same. "Totally Quixotic Mission" ~ I like that .... sort of like JFK's plan to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth before the decade of the 1960's was out. Ed May | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1684 Registered: 9-2001 |
This is just sort of a mini teaser answer to Question #3 about the illegal students in the school system. See my letter to the editor in today's News-Record and my comments at the Board of Education meeting earlier this week (Channel 35). Ed May | |||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 1857 Registered: 9-2001 |
Ed, how I wish Maplewoodians will take the time to just listen to the possibilities... My feeling is that TQM and old-fashioned business practices -- whatever you may call them -- can also be done wrong or right. Tom. Hey, this is true with any practice. However, the point in all this is Ed and Joel have a proven program for looking at what's wrong, and searching for a solution that is right. It's obvious that something is wrong with the system, and like Ed and Joel, I believe we can find a better way to run the town. Unfortunately, we don't have suggestions, comments, or a plan from the other candidates to compare. It always amazes me how intelligent voters can pull the lever for candidates who avoid discussing the issues and engage in stonewalling and political posturing? BTW, the applied principles and practices of most programs are weird to the uninformed. Meanwhile, whether it’s old or new, weird or whatever, it’s probably better than anything else voters have been asked to buy into thus far? | |||
| Dave Ross Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 5138 Registered: 5-2001  |
Ed, I think you may alienate a lot of people if you use too much business lingo too often. eg. "TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, and ISO 9000." Phrases like "make efficient", "establish goals" and "do more with less" may work better for you. | |||
| hello Citizen Username: Hello Post Number: 150 Registered: 7-2003 |
so you DO talk about the schools when bashing illegal students, but not about "intelligent design"? speak up, newt! | |||
| OK, it's Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 495 Registered: 1-2003 |
Don't get me wrong. I don't fear weird things. I'm just saying that it might be an uphill battle to get buy-in. I'm not saying it's destined to fail. I've read some literature about this stuff, and it makes sense. But like so many other fields, it invents its own nomenclature, which seems to serve as an obstacle to newcomers. Good luck to you, Ed and Joel. My mind is still open, despite the doubting tone of my questions. It is to your credit that you make yourselves so available for questions. Tom Reingold | |||
| bottomline Citizen Username: Bottomline Post Number: 12 Registered: 8-2003 |
ajc, When you say “Ed and Joel have a proven program”, are you referring to TQM? If so, I must take issue with your statement. It would be fair to say that TQM has proven effective in manufacturing and other settings where results can be carefully measured. The experts do not agree, however, that TQM can be applied effectively in an organizational setting, especially in the public sector. If Ed tells you it’s a sure thing he’s not telling the whole story. The failure rate of TQM in non-manufacturing settings is very high. The literature is full of interesting papers discussing how and whether TQM can be successful in the public sector. Tom Reingold and Dave are correct that the vocabulary creates an obstacle to understanding TQM, much less accepting it. The problem for TQM zealots, however, is that when the jargon is stripped away it looks a lot like plain old common sense. Consider the key concepts of the Continuous Improvement Process: listening to customers, empowering employees, building consensus in making decisions, reducing errors by setting standards and measuring results, etc. These are all worthy goals, but does a small town need a complex methodology in order to achieve them? We should all listen with open minds, as Reingold has promised. After that, we should make sure our minds to do some critical analysis of what we’ve heard. | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1685 Registered: 9-2001 |
ajc, dave, tom, bottomline: Good comments all. Ed May | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1686 Registered: 9-2001 |
For tonight's lesson: Definitions of Total Quality Management: “the set of management processes and systems that create delighted customers through empowered employees, leading to higher revenue and lower cost” Juran “an integrative management concept for continuously improving the quality of goods and services delivered through the participation of all levels and functions of the organization” Evans and Lindsay “a people-focused management system that aims at continual increase of customer satisfaction at continually lower cost” Quality Magazine Ed May | |||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1687 Registered: 9-2001 |
Today's Lesson: Benefits of TQM improving customer satisfaction enhancing the quality of goods and services reducing waste and inventory, thus reducing costs improving productivity reducing product development time increasing flexibility in meeting market demands reducing work in process improving customer service and delivery times better utilizing human resources Ed May | |||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 1859 Registered: 9-2001 |
I'm sure you realize anyone can make a case either way on this subject, however, I'm not the specialist here... I will trust Ed and Joel to give you the answer you seek. The only thing we see for sure is, they have a plan, and their Democratic opponents don't! | |||
| Dave Ross Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 5143 Registered: 5-2001 |
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| Dave Ross Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 5144 Registered: 5-2001 |
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| bottomline Citizen Username: Bottomline Post Number: 13 Registered: 8-2003 |
Yesterday, in discussing TQM, ajc wrote, “I'm not the specialist here... I will trust Ed and Joel to give you the answer you seek. The only thing we see for sure is, they have a plan, and their Democratic opponents don't!” At the beginning of this thread Joel Ziegler wrote, “Total Quality Management is not as easily summarized, and even though I ran on a TQM platform a few years ago, I will let Ed explain TQM to you, in detail, later.” This is starting to sound like something out of the Wizard of Oz: only one person in the kingdom can explain everything, but he is illusive. My fear is that soon we will hear somebody say, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Or maybe we’ll hear, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!” | |||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 1862 Registered: 9-2001 |
"Or maybe we’ll hear, “Toto, now that we have some Republicans on the township committee, I have a feeling we’re not going to keep paying higher taxes in Maplewood anymore!" The truth is, “Total Quality Management” is not easily summarized. However, Ed has started the process to explain it. TQM is the only plan to control spending and expenses I’ve seen presented to our residents in many years. Tell us, what’s really your bottomline, bottomline? Shall we keep doing the same old thing year in and year out, or shall we try and move on to a better system that holds possibility for controlling how our tax dollars are being spent? BTW, how are we to know which candidates have a better plan for our town? Right now friends, in case no one has noticed, the only open public conversation in Maplewood about lowering taxes is coming from Ed and Joel... When is the last time we all had that conversation? |
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