Indiv Choice and Org'l Need LO11471

Michael D. \ (mdtownes@iAmerica.net)
Sun, 15 Dec 1996 14:46:09 -0800

Replying to LO11408 --

Bill Hendry wrote:

> How can individuals acting independently also act in a manner which fits
> with what the organization wants?
>
> How can leaders and managers ensure that individual employee behavior and
> decisions will always reflect the organization's values?

Actually, the answer seems quite simple, meaning simple to say and some-
thing else to do.

One must be certain that the values being operationalized simultaneously
address three points of view: the customer, the business and the
associates of the organization. We call these the Voice of the Customer,
the Voice of the Business and the Voice of the Employee in the Postal
Service.

While it would seem at first blush that the three may be in conflict, we
are learning that they actually are not. Customers like dealing with
ongoing companies and having work done by employees who value what they
are doing. Businesses need both satisfied customers as well as workers
who will consistently meet those customer expectations in a businesslike
manner. And, employees need both satisfied customers and a healthy
business in/at which to work.

I believe the challenging thing about learning to address all three at the
same time is that our paradigms of doing business have for years been
adversarial. What must occur is the realization that the global
marketplace is such that entities must be in harmony with their key
stakeholder groups.

Best wishes...

-- 

Michael D. Townes, Quality Specialist United States Postal Service P. O. Box 225459, Dallas, TX 75222-5459, U.S.A. mdtownes@iamerica.net 214-819-8797

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