Daily Times

Quality Management System (MQS) focus is on customer satisfaction. Products and services are delivered as per customer’s expectations, which include specifications, timely delivery and within budget. Japan leads the world in implementing effective QMS. Today Toyota Motors Company (TMC) is the largest car manufacturer in the world, which has left the US auto giants like General Motors and Ford behind. It was total commitment to quality that propelled the Japanese industry into world leadership position.

In the eighties when Bush Sr. was the President, the US Navy was facing several operational difficulties. There were mishaps and hiccups that could not be controlled. In every review there were cover-ups and excuses with no solutions, typical of the situation that we face today in Pakistan. It is a futile blame game. Un-necessary audits, legal opinions and the veto of the finance ministry play a villainous role. At the end of the day the people are made to suffer. There is no remorse or effort to provide relief to the suffering masses. The federal and all provincial governments have millions of dissatisfied customers complaining about their repeated bashing by the state apparatus.

As a result, President Bush Sr. called the Naval Chief and issued instructions to clear the mess. He personally agreed to provide all facilities and resources so there could be no excuses. Within months the Navy was back on its feel, all operational issues were resolved. The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) emerged i.e. fix whatever is not functional as per customer requirements. Today TQM is widely practiced and taught as a subject.

‘Can a colonial system based on bashing be converted into serving?’ The simple answer is ‘no’. A system that was designed to control cannot serve. After over seven decades the performance of the state apparatus has declined, not improved. Even office hours are not observed, and hardly any serious work is done on a regular basis at most government offices

What we have in Pakistan can be termed as Total Quality Bashing (TQB) which means working against the interests of the customer. In 2003 as Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) I decided to implement ISO 9000 QMS. After certification of PSF, as the implementation was in place, services were offered to other government departments to implement QMS. Supreme Court of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau, Ministry of Science and Technology agreed on building customer friendly quality systems based on ISO 9000 QMS. A letter was received from the registrar of the Lahore High Court (LHC) asking me to explain the proposed system. I explained to him that basically it provides an effective framework to deal with customers. His reply shocked me, as according to him the court had no customers only litigants. In my opinion any organization that does not have customers should either be shut down or declared redundant.

Question is ‘Can a colonial system based on bashing be converted into serving?’ The simple answer is ‘No’. A system that was designed to control cannot serve. After over seven decades the performance of the state apparatus has declined not improved. Even office hours are not observed. Most government offices are deserted till 10 AM and then the preparations for ‘Namaz’ starts at around 12 PM, hardly any serious work is done on a regular basis.

Let the light of stars spread to make Pakistan bright and prosperous. TQB has to be replaced with TQM which most civilized nations have adopted to advance. Kaptaan can lead this crusade to fix the ailing system of governance in the country to propel it into the twenty-first century

The performance yardsticks have changed. One of my walking partner who is a retired bureaucrat usually boasts of his honest innings. I asked him what time did he got to office, his reply was 9AM. After a quick calculation I told him that every year his duties were short by 300 hours, so for thirty years of service it comes to 9000 hours or 375 days which is little over a year.

Kaptaan desires to fix the system. While addressing the bureaucrats he pledged to protect them. There is a lot of inertia, moving from TQB to TQM is not a simple task. Old habits die hard. Most countries had to dismantle the colonial systems in order to advance. China went through a revolution to establish ‘People’s Power’. Their Army is called People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The Communist Party of China (CPC) is in total control of the country that has grass root structure and representation. In the nineties Hong Kong was handed over to China, Chris Patton the last Governor was driven to the airport and his mansion was converted into a museum. No Chinese leader ever lived in it; a fresh start was made.

In order to deliver customer satisfaction kaptaan can either implement TQM phase wise starting with direct public access departments like LDA, CDA etc. and then expand the coverage. Some work was carried out at the Supreme Court which can be restored. The other option is to introduce major reforms in the administrative structure to introduce customer satisfaction that has been missing. Our colonial bureaucracy has unlimited powers with no accountability. Crimes of omission go unpunished while commission has become hazardous business.

Justice A. R. Cornelius who was himself from the India Civil Service (ICS) prepared detailed report on Administrative Reforms which was sabotaged by the CSP embers of the commission. The findings were then made part of the Justice Fullerton report and implemented in UK.

It was an effective attempt to change which can be reviewed and updated for possible implementation. In the words of Iqbal, “Every citizen is a star for the nation”. Let the light of stars spread to make Pakistan bright and prosperous. TQB has to be replaced with TQM which most civilized nations have adopted to advance. Kaptaan can lead this crusade to fix the ailing system of governance in the country to propel it into the 21st century.

The writer is an ex-Chairman of Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached: fmaliks@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, October 9^th 2018.