What is the relationship between Quality Improvement and the 12 steps of Purposeful Action?
Which of the 12 steps are most applicable to Quality Improvement and Kaizen?
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24 thoughts on “Quality and Framework of Purposeful Action”
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Per the website at the following link, http://patientsafetyed.duhs.duke.edu/module_a/introduction/introduction.html
“Quality Improvement is a formal approach to the analysis of performance and systematic efforts to improve it.”
The 12 Steps encompasses all aspects of this definition. Phase 3 which is renewal and review is the analysis of performance. In order to do the “systematic efforts to improve” the performance, we must complete the steps in phase 1 and phase 2.
Step 11, renewal or revising the plan, is the most applicable to quality improvement and Kaizen.
Quality Improvement is a formal approach to the analysis of performance and systematic efforts to improve it.There is a true relationship between quality improvement and the 12 steps under purposeful action.there exists a great similarity between the quality improvement models and the steps. it represents an action and change.for example the FADE model: Focus, analyze, develop,execute and evaluate are the replica of the 12 steps.
The step 10 under puposeful action , assesment and evaluation indicates the process of continous improvement.
Both are systematic methods of moving towards a particular end, whether that be fulfillment of a vision via the execution of purposeful actions or the overall improvement in the quality of a product through refinements in a manufacturing process. It would seem that there are characteristics of each in the other. In other words, certain aspects of Quality Improvement are inherent in the Framework and vice versa. To the extent that certain phases of the Framework are cyclical it makes sense that applying various Quality Improvement techniques can improve the likelihood of success. As an example let us look at Step 8, which is personnel and resource allocation, or selecting the right people for the right jobs. I would not just want to make sure I was selecting the right people I want also to incorporate quality circles into the organization I was building. The feedback generated from these quality circles would prove invaluable during Phase 3 of the Framework where the plan was being reviewed and revised. This is just one small example of how Quality Improvement techniques can be incorporated into the Framework.
Likewise, the goal of Quality Improvement is to improve the overall reliability of a process in order to achieve a desired outcome. Just as in the Framework there is a desired state that is being strived for. The various techniques employed in QI are not meant to change a process in a random manner but instead are meant to spur purposeful change that results in achieving the desired state. Sig Sigma, Taguchi methods, Lean Manufacturing, Histograms, Pareto charts – all of these are tools that create a foundation on which to make purpose actions, or purposeful change to a process.
It would seem that both Quality Improvement and the Framework provide a system with which to achieve a desired state. In that respect the very first step of the Framework seems most applicable to QI and Kaizen. One could argue that is noble simply to improve a process just for the sake of improvement, but without a desired outcome how does one know where to go? As Kaizen means “continuous improvement” I would say that Phase 3 of the Framework is also directly applicable as the steps in this phase represent the “continuous” nature of the Framework.
Since quality improvement is a continuous circle, just like the twelve steps, the twelve steps of purposeful action can be applied to quality improvement. Step 2 realization, step 4 goal, step 10 assessment, and step 12 renewal are the major components of the twelve steps.
Step 10, assessment, is the most applicable to quality improvement and Kaizen. If you can assess the issues, you than have a starting point to create a realization of the next desired state, and start the process over again.
http://www.qualitydigest.com/april06/departments/profiles_quality.shtml
The 12 steps of purposeful action is seen as the phases and steps that will lead you to success. Although not always followed exactly, their main purpose is obtaining success.
Continuous improvement, or Kaizen, can be regarded as a guiding attitude or philosophy at the heart of quality improvement programs in general.
The quality increases as and when success is obtained. I agree with Jimy about the phase II been the part that is the most effective and crucial.
The Framework of Purposeful Action is means to create value-added change through action in a business or a person’s life. Because things do not always go as plan, the assessing and renewing steps of the 12 steps of Purposeful Action can allow for away to continuously improve the quality of plans and goals.
The translation for Kaizen is “change for the better.” It is a process when implement results in continuous improvement. Steps 10 and 11 are applicable to Quality Improvement, which assesses and redirects action to improve future results.