Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics PDF
Preview Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics
Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement This impactful volume demonstrates the application and power of psychology and behavioural economics in the pursuit of quality and continuous improvement. It focusses on how the works of stalwarts such as Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and many others can be used to build an organisation that is known for quality products and flawless service delivery. The application of psychology and behavioural economics is still new to quality improvement, and in this book, Debashis Sarkar shares 25 lessons, featuring specific examples based on real life, that show how their application can increase the effectiveness of outcomes. Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics is ideal for business-improvement professionals of all hierarchies and across different functional areas and industries seeking to understand the potential of psychology and behavioural economics and their applications, as well as in training and executive development programmes and for scholars of operations management, quality management, and engineering. Debashis Sarkar is a managing partner at Proliferator Advisory & Consulting, a firm focussed on customer centricity and operational excellence. A pioneer in the field of quality and organisational improvement, Debashis has authored several books, including The Little Big Things in Operational Excellence. He is the recipient of various recognitions such as the Phil Crosby Medal, the Simon Collier Award, and the first Quality Champion Platinum Award from the Quality Council of India – the highest award for quality from the Indian government. He is a fellow of the American Society for Quality. Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics Debashis Sarkar Cover image: © Getty Images First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Debashis Sarkar The right of Debashis Sarkar to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-032-16839-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-16837-1 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-25051-7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003250517 Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC This book is dedicated to my mother, Malabika Sarkar, With love. Ma, we miss you every day since you left us on April 10, 2020. Contents Notes to readers ix Preface x Introduction 1 Lesson: 1 Solidifying the business case 7 Lesson: 2 Cementing relationships 12 Lesson: 3 Gaining commitment 19 Lesson: 4 Getting across the message 25 Lesson: 5 Not always about people 33 Lesson: 6 What quality experts need to know 36 Lesson: 7 When facts are overlooked 42 Lesson: 8 The intricacies of change 48 Lesson: 9 The power of familiarity 58 Lesson: 10 The role of emotions 61 Lesson: 11 Engaging hearts and minds 68 Lesson: 12 The biases in problem-solving 75 viii Contents Lesson: 13 Minimising cognitive overload 84 Lesson: 14 Five rules for customer solution design 92 Lesson: 15 Making quality issues known 98 Lesson: 16 The halo effect 103 Lesson: 17 Building psychological safety 110 Lesson: 18 The power of open-ended questions 119 Lesson: 19 The invisible gorillas 123 Lesson: 20 Goals, measurements, and targets 130 Lesson: 21 When employees are defensive 138 Lesson: 22 Blind optimism during eruptions 145 Lesson: 23 Communicating visually 151 Lesson: 24 Not-so-obvious tactics for solving problems 156 Lesson: 25 Taking employees on board 159 About the author 167 Bibliography 168 Index 179 Notes to readers This book is an assorted set of lessons which have been written in such a way that you can start from any lesson. While “he” has been used as a gender in the book, the words “he” and “she” have been used synonymously. The term “quality professional” refers to someone who uses methods of quality for organisational improvement. It includes professionals engaged in continuous improvement, Lean manufacturing, business excellence, opera- tional excellence and process improvement, intelligent automation, Six Sigma, and so on. The words “quality professional”, “quality-improvement professional”, “continuous-improvement professional”, “quality practitioner”, “continuous- improvement practitioner”, “Master Black Belt”, “Lean Master”, and “quality leader” all refer to a quality professional. The words “quality improvement”, “continuous improvement”, and “qual- ity transformation” have been used synonymously. The terms “continuous-improvement programme”, “quality-improvement programme”, and “quality programme” refer to a journey of quality and con- tinuous improvement, which is often an ongoing effort in an organisation. The terms “company”, “firm”, “business”, “organisation”, “business- organisation”, and “enterprise” all refer to an entity engaged in commercial or business activity. The words “product” and “service” have been synonymously used. When you read the book, I would recommend that you highlight the areas that you find important and see how you can apply them in the world of qual- ity and continuous improvement. The application of behavioural science to quality and continuous improve- ment is new. Over the next few years, I see more information and experience being added to the book of knowledge. Feel free to share with me your chal- lenges and successes; it will help to take this practice forward. My email is in the preface.
The list of books you might like
