Processes Archives - Page 7 of 9

Driving in Germany

“From the German Autobahn to the US Interstate System, der Führerschein or driver’s license – over the past few years we have done a LOT of driving in both Germany and the United States.

Although the US Highway System was modeled after the German Autobahn, you might find some surprising differences. Come ride along with us as we roam the roads of both countries!”

Very helpful, and funny, comments. From Germans. Explaining their logic:

“Germany: The problem that you cannot see the traffic light clearly when you are in the front row is resolved by the fact that the car behind you immediately honks when you are not driving when the traffic light changes to green :-)”

“The main reason why traffic lights in Germany are on your side of the crossing is clarity. Germany with its old town centers has many very irregularly shaped crossings, and a traffic light at the opposite side can not easily be attributed to a certain lane or even a road. When the first traffic lights were introduced in the 1920s, Germany experimented with the placement of the traffic lights on the opposite side or hanging down from cables spanned across the crossing. In the 1950s, all those installations were removed due to constant confusion of drivers.”

“Turning right on red lights is not often used in Germany due to pedestrian and bicycling traffic. When you are waiting on a crossing, chances are high that you not only have to watch out for car traffic, but also for pedestrians and other traffic you don’t regularly have in the U.S.. Thus in Germany, turning right on red lights is decided on a case-by-case base.”

“My instructor in Germany told me early on: “You are behind the wheel, you are handling a weapon.” This stuck with me.”

“About the driver’s license: there is a 40% fail rate on both the theoretical and practical exams here in Germany, which says a lot about the quality of the drivers the government is striving for. As I tell my kids: Driving is easy. Being a driver is not.”

Want to know the why for a culture’s behavior? Simply ask them.

New media – New political parties

Before the Internet offered new ways to communicate, small political parties in Germany had barely a chance to make it into the Bundestag, or parliament. By law they have to receive at least 5% of the vote.

Each and every political party receives government subsidies to finance their election campaigns, but based on how many votes they get. The more votes received, the more money to run campaigns. The problem for new parties is that they have to first finance their campaigns out of their own pocket in order to gain any degree of name recognition.

Traditional modes of political advertising are simply too expensive for start-up parties. They can never get enough voter momentum to receive significant amounts of money from the government. A catch-22 situation, or chicken and egg situation.

The rules of the game have changed, however, with the Internet: Facebook, Twitter, and other kinds of social media. Now small, unknown parties like the Piratenpartei, literally Pirate Party, are able to compete with the major, long-established political parties: Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Free Democrats, Green Party.

The Fractal Factory

In 1995 Hans-Jürgen Warnecke, Head of the Fraunhofer Insititute in Munich from 1993 until 2002, published the anthology Aufbruch zum Fraktalen Unternehmen: Praxisbeispiele für neues Denken und Handeln – loosely translated as Breaking out into the Fractal Company: Concrete Examples of New Thinking and Acting.

Warnecke instantly became known in the production world both in Europe and internationally. The book takes a deeper look at manufacturing processes addressing questions such as: On what principle are production processes based? How does change best occur in material flow processes? How can the quality of processes be improved?

Prof. Thomas Bauernhansl from the Institute of Industrial Manufacturing at the University of Stuttgart underscores the ongoing importance of Warnecke’s work:

“The concept of the fractal factory, which Hans-Jürgen Warnecke proposed in the 1990s, remains highly relevant and meaningful today for manufacturing companies. The visionary power of his organizational model can be seen at work in agile and flexible production structures.”

Klaus-Hardy Mühleck, considered one of the top experts among CIOs, stresses time and again the influences of Warnecke on his work.

Process-Pope

Klaus-Hardy Mühdeck, current CIO of ThyssenKrupp and former CIO of Volkswagen, is considered Germany’s Prozesspapst – literally process-pope. He is the first CIO to change his title to Chief Process Officer.

In an interview with Computerwoche – Computer Week – in 2006 Mühdeck described his fascination with process management:

“Processes network functions, no more and no less. Throughout my entire career I have been involved in processes. In most companies it is under the board member responsible for strategy. But the trend is clear. CIO’s are defining processes and systems.”

It is the CIO, says Mühdeck, who is the bridge between the demands of the company and the systems platforms and company-internal processes. CIOs need to be able to communicate with and understand the areas of development and manufacturing.

You can only truly understand a company’s processes if you understand how the various functions and departments actually work.

Processes and Communication

In the American business context the communication within and during a process is very important. In fact, the forward movement of a process is dependent on communication. Parties involved in the process must remove roadblocks, anticipate slow-downs. The process may not come to a halt.

Constant communication is the prerequisite for quick response time. Constant communication also secures a common understanding of the process’ goals. It motivates. Feedback within the process is given on a regular basis.

Not to be underestimated is also the value of communicating interim results upwards, to those on the next level of management who exert influence on the process in general, and who might also be the recipient of its ultimate results.

Richtlinie or guideline

Americans have a higher tolerance for deviating from processes. Americans see processes and procedures fundamentally as tools. Whereas a German colleague sees in a process a Richtlinie (order, instruction), his American counterpart often sees a guideline. The term guideline is often translated into Richtlinie. This translation is false and misleading.

Like their German colleagues, Americans seek that fine line between process-discipline and -flexibility. The moment a process makes unnecessary demands which do not serve the overall goals, that process is deemed rigid. Americans will deviate by reevaluating the most important factors: risk, resources, back-up contingencies, and the final value-added for the end-customer.

Results delivered in a timely fashion, even if the product of a process is not followed step-by-step, are preferred over results delivered too late, but the product of a process vs followed step-by-step. Americans, both as customers and suppliers, can “sleep at night” with the so-called 80%-solution, as long as the missing 20% is compensated by the advantage of speed, responsiveness or price (cost).

When to deviate: Americans are quick to deviate from steps within a process or procedure if: it does not add value, does not help, does not move their work forward; external forces demand it, such as schedule, budget or customer demands; after getting input from experienced colleagues and/or permission from their team lead or process owner; and as long as the deviation conforms (compliant) with laws and regulations.

Americans speak of taking a down and dirty approach, of doing whatever it takes to get the job done, of being pragmatic.

Flexibilität

The German dictionary Duden defines Flexibilität (flexibility) as: flexible property, quality, composition, character; bendability, pliability; the ability to adjust, adapt, conform.

Synonyms: Wendigkeit agility, maneuverability, mobility; Nachgiebigkeit compliance, softness, resilience, yielding; Geschmedigkeit malleability, litheness, limberness.

East meets West

In October 1990 the two Germanies were reunited. East Germany became a part of West Germany. Most of what the East Germans were familiar with disappeared overnight.

Social rules, attitudes and opinions, cultural life, recreational habits, all of these began to change. East Germans had to adapt to a German spoken differently. People greeted each other with a „Hi!“. They ate chicken wings instead of broilers. Pepsi and Coca Cola was substituted for the East German Club-Cola. Colleagues worked in teams instead of in collectives.

East Germans had to quickly adjust. They had to become wary of shifty West German „deal-makers.“ Appliances, machines, automobiles, telephones, etc. worked differently, were confusing. An entire society of over 17 million people had to suddenly adjust to the rules of another society.

The change was difficult and confusing for the East Germans. In every sense of the word they were at a disadvantage over and against their new fellow German citizens. The rules – the processes – were not theirs, not East German. They were West German.

Rules of the Game

Those who write the rules of the game, have the best chance of winning the game. Processes – how the work is done – make up the rules of the game. Within companies. Where the product is critical to success. Where “a better mousetrap” really can, for the most part, sell itself.

Let’s march it backwards. Customer. Product. Manufacturing. Product development. Science and engineering. German. The core is science and engineering. In Germany scientists and engineers are king. They enjoy the prestige. Herr Dr. Soandso. Even better, Herr Professor Dr. Soandso.

Let’s march it backwards. Customer. Solution and profitability. Problem and pain. Relationship management. Sales. Marketing. American. The core is understanding the market, maintaining a constant close relationship with the customer, understanding and meeting needs. The customer is king. Those close to the royal court are king-too. They enjoy the prestige. The insider. The trusted.

Germans want to have the say about process, about how the work is done. For them it is make or break, success or failure. It’s the name of the game. Americans are happy to concede it, as long as the Germans concede to them the customer.

Mistaken thinking, or at most half-thinking. On both sides.

What is quality?

Deduktiv. Deductive. Latin deductivus, deductio. To base on, to continue. Deduction, or the deductive method, is defined in philosophy as arriving at specific conclusions based on assumptions or principles.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle defined deduction as „conclusions about the specific based on the general.“ Induction, or inductive thinking, is the opposite: arriving at general principles based on the observation of particulars.

Normen. Norms. Latin norma, the measurement of an angle; generally excepted rules of interaction among people; standards for size, weight, quality; the average value of something; minimum values of a thing or behaviour.

Qualität ist die Einhaltung von Normen. Quality is meeting all necessary norms. The response of a German engineer to the question „What is quality?“