Next event

Date:     Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Eric Stern, MBA, MSc chemist, Coach & Consultant, ASQ Senior Member & CQA
Raymond E. Dyer, BSc, MBA, ASQ Senior Member, CMQ/OE, & CQA

Part I: Annual General Assembly. The agenda will include: Call to order; Adoption of agenda; Review & approval of previous General Assembly minutes; Section Treasurer’s report; Section Chair’s report (including highlights from other Chairs); Election of new officers; Section Awards & Recognition; Closing

Part II: A short discussion and presentation on the theory and practice of networking. Eric & Ray will lead a discussion on what ASQ members seek in terms of networking opportunities when they come to such events. They’ll also review some effective networking tips for students, professionals and business people.

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Bring your business cards and be ready to network!

The Editor's Corner

A Word from your Section Chair

What ASQ can do for you!

Before getting involved with the ASQ Leadership Team, I asked one senior member – he will surely recognize our conversation - what he had gained from his numerous years on the ASQ Executive Committee. I was surprised by his answer.

“Confidence” he said. That was the last thing I would have expected from someone like him, i.e. it seemed to me since I have been on the Executive he always had confidence in himself. He always seems comfortable and confident. I thought he was born with that confidence. He told me that being on the Executive Committee taught him to acquire confidence and staying on the team for so many years had helped him master that confidence.

Yes, you are no doubt seeing me approach my theme. We are seeking more participation from our members. We want to increase our section membership and also more new participants on our Executive Committee. We are looking for people like you. A Leadership Team member mentioned that being on the ASQ Executive Committee was a ‘safe way to learn’. I could not agree more. It is indeed a safe way to learn how to balance a financial sheet, how to lead a team, how to manage projects. I myself have learned tremendously since I have been with the ASQ, and particularly on the Executive of Montreal Section 0401. The opportunities for learning and meeting people are huge. This is an experience that I recommend to anyone willing to learn.

Our next General Assembly - on April 16th - is a good opportunity for you to meet other members of our section and to see what ASQ can do for you. This year, we will again hold an interesting presentation right after our General Assembly. Please join us and do not forget to let us know the topics and events you would like your section to hold.

See you on April 16th!

This season’s planned events

Welcome to our new members

Sustaining Members

Proposed Slate of Officers for 2008/09 Montreal Section 401 Executive

The Right Stuff

Note from the Newsletter editor : This is the third of a three part article submitted by ASQ Montreal Section 0401 member Hélène Giroux who is an Associate Professor in Operations and Logistics Management at HEC Montréal.

By Hélène Giroux, Associate Professor, Operations and Logistics Management HEC Montréal, Senior member

Persistence

The quality profession is not for the faint-hearted or the hot-tempered. Patience and tenacity are the qualities that were the most often mentioned by the professionals that I interviewed. “You need to have a thick skin,” said a few, because people still tend to shoot the messenger. No one likes to hear that they have made mistakes or that the methods that they have been using for years may not be the best ones. They might argue that the tests you performed are inaccurate, that your analyses are flawed, or that the specifications you set are impossible to meet. They’ll accuse you of slowing production, increasing costs or delaying shipment. You need a level head to face that kind of criticism without firing back or backing down. As one interviewee put it, “you got to be tough. If you want an easy job or if you don’t want to fight for what you believe in, then don’t go into quality.”

Tenacity and patience are also essential when you have to contend with management’s wavering support. “You’re constantly fighting the uphill battle in the organization,” said one interviewee, while another observed, “you know that they’re driving the thing into the gutter and all you have to do is hang on long enough until they’ll come and ask you to help them get out of the gutter.” Management ostensibly expects you to stop poor quality from going out the door, but they will sometimes overturn your decision when you try to do so. A good dose of humor, coupled with unfaltering optimism helps you cope with these difficult moments: “quality is about seeing the good in the bad… you have to deal with the negative, but from a positive perspective.” Stay humble and realistic. Quality professionals usually are in a staff position: you work hard to build your case, you do your best to be persuasive, but ultimately others will make the decisions. You have to be able to let go, like the physician who has to accept that she will not be able to save all her patients.

Part three

Full article

Other ASQ event / autre événement de l'ASQ

Had You Come to  the Last Event

ASQ Montreal Section Education Program 2007-2008

Questions? In house courses, etc.: David Tozer:  (514) 694-2830, mailto:davidtozer@qualitiqua.com

Executive Committee Meetings

ASQ Certification & Recertification

Is Your Recertification Due?

By Norman Dickinson, CQE, CQA, Certification, Recertification, Internet Liaison & Section Examining

Look at your wallet card to see when your present certification is due to expire.. If it says December 31, 2008 you are in luck but barely. Get your journal, with supporting objective evidence (you should know what that is), to me before the end of June 2008. If it says that you are due in June 2008 then you have until the end of December 2008 to submit your journal, but you can still submit it now if you are ready and have the points.

If you did not renew for extenuating circumstances and are past the final deadline there is still hope. Contact ASQ at 1-800-248-1946 and explain the circumstances.

Maybe you’ve decided not to recertify because (a) you are unemployed, (b) no longer in the quality field or perhaps (c ) your employer no longer will pay for it? Think about this, your certification belongs to you and no one else. Remember how hard you had to study for it? How hard the exam was? If you let it lapse you must rewrite the exam. Do you know where you will be employed in a year or so? Well congratulations because most of us don’t and it could come in handy then, it sure won’t hinder you to retain it. The cost to renew one certification, at $30.00 USD, is much less than it would to rewrite. (The US - Canadian exchange rate is better than ever.)

If you are a member of Section 0401, Montreal, then contact me (Norman) at norm.d@alumni.concordia.ca or at 514-334-6102 to find out where to send your journal. If you are NOT a member of section 401 then contact ASQ directly at 1-800-248-1946. 

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