Articles

The manufacturing operations at sportswear company Nike have been under frequent scrutiny for decades after allegations that it utilised sweatshops to manufacture its products in the 1970's. This week their operations have been in the news for an altogether more positive reason -the tremendous results the company has seen from an adoption of lean manufacturing throughout its factories. Read more

Business process management (BPM) programme combines two of the most essential competencies for a sustainable business – a strong IT infrastructure, and a comprehensive approach to continuous improvement. Companies that ignore the need for harmony between IT professionals and the business do so at their peril. So why do so many associated BPM as an IT-function? Read more

It’s time for the telecommunications industry “to really show that we know how to upgrade our processes in this new virtual world” says Karl Schultz, Vice President within TeliaSonera - northern Europe’s largest telecoms operator and one of the top 3 carriers worldwide. One of the main challenges, he argues, is the cultural differences between approaches to quality and customer care of internet, IT, and telecommunications companies. As the world converges and customers are accessing various content services on different hardware devices via telecommunication platforms, the old rules no longer apply. Read more

The IMF forecasts growth in the Middle East to top 4% this year, according to a recent Bloomberg newswire. But dealing with growth presents a challenge in itself for one of the biggest employers in the region. Read more

Not hitting your numbers this month? Don’t blame other staff, it’s time to look at how your processes either support or limit your results. Read more

Do you run Kaizen events to address workplace problems? If you’re only focussing on what you can see, you might not be getting at the real root causes. Contributor Subikash Roy, looks at the importance of tuning into small, subtle and sometimes almost imperceptible signs to understand and address what is really going wrong with our organizations. Read more

American conglomerate Honeywell has had a difficult time since their takeover by GE was quashed in 2001 by the European Union. British magazine, The Economist reports on the resurgence at the company, due in large part to their strong adoption of a culture of continuous improvement. Read more

Did you miss PEX Week Europe? If you weren't able to attend the continent's premier cross-industry event for process excellence professionals in person you can still catch the highlights here. Read more

“The principle aim [of leadership] is to help people do a better job, improving quality in everything,” says Hazel Cannon of the UK-based Deming Forum. This means improving “your product, your services, your employees, stakeholders, customers, suppliers.” Transcript of interview on Deming's approach to leadership. Read more

Process Excellence Week Europe, a cross industry gathering of process professionals, kicked off on Monday in London, amid deepening gloom over the state of European economies. For process improvement specialists that means continued pressure to “lean” out and adapt processes to respond to changing conditions. Read more

Promoted to a new role but can’t stop doing your old job? That was what Joseph Varascia found he was doing after he become Continuous Process Improvement Leader after 20+ years in areas of aeronautical maintenance. It can be hard to step away from an area you know so well – but here’s why it’s essential that you do for the sake of the business and yourself. Read more