Handbook of Quality and Competence

In this book, Shirley Fletcher focuses on a potential problem area for many trainers. The many ‘quality’ initiatives that are being introduced, particularly by large organizatioins, can leave the trainer, if not the whole workforce, in something of a quandary. The problem is that often there is little or no co-ordination of initiatives linking quality with competence, this book provides a model which shows how all parties can be brought together, with senior management, to establish policy and priority in working towards a common end. Many companies and the managers, decision makers and trainers within them, fiind themselves halfway through the development of quality projects such as Bs5750 and TQM, only to be met by yet another ‘quality concept’-competence. The situation becomes even more difficult when one realizes that similarities between these various initiatives can, and do, create an enormous amount of duplication of effort and increase complexity to unmanageable proportions. There is, therefore, a need to integrate, to build on what is, after all, a common thread in these developments. The pursuit of quality assurance in products and services requires a competent workforce, with each individual operating at clearly specified standards of performance. A system of competence-based standards requires a quality assurance mechanism to maintain consistency of performance. This book draws on experience with a range of blue chip clients from around the world and outlines a model for integration, which builds on a common thread. This model has been developed by Godfrey Durham International Holdings, and copyright materials from this model, known as IBIS (Individual and Business Improvement Strategy), have been included. The book provides guidance for decision makers, managers and trainers.