Milwaukee, Wis., December 11, 2009 — Three key outcomes — including measuring results — were identified as part of a Social Responsibility (SR) Think Tank hosted by ASQ (American Society for Quality) November 16–17, at Discovery World in Milwaukee, Wis. National thought leaders were invited to the event as part of ASQ’s ongoing SRO (Socially Responsible Organization) movement. Facilitated by Clem Bezold, a world-renown futurist, and chair and founder of the Institute for Alternative Futures, Alexandria, Va., the Think Tank was a high-level, open conversation that provided insights on how organizations can create a sustainable future and discuss how SR impacts bottom-line results.
Participants decided on three key activities to be advanced by ASQ that will help other organizations meet their SR goals:
These ideas and other suggestions will be reviewed by the ASQ Social Responsibility Advisory Committee for prioritization before being implemented. The committee will discuss and approve these outcomes in January.
“The quality field has tools and techniques that can make SR more effective and powerful,” said Daniel Aronson, a business strategist for IBM’s Global Business Services. “ASQ’s experience assisting organizations integrate new processes into their business can also help organizations with integrating social responsibility into their overall business strategy.”
In addition to identifying three key areas of SR involvement for ASQ, the invitees, which included representatives from organizations such as IBM, Aurora Healthcare and Manpower, Inc., used scenario planning exercises to examine what SR would look like in the next 20 years, and the challenges it will face.
Following the Think Tank, ASQ also hosted a Social Responsibility Executive Roundtable November 18 to engage Milwaukee area businesses on how they can implement SR within their organizations. The roundtable addressed why it’s critical for organizations to bring the measurements, processes and rigor of their social responsibility efforts up to par with other aspects of their business.
“One realization that came out of the roundtable discussion was that you get what you measure,” said John Miller, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin. “Without proper measures, organizations and companies may be unaware of the impact that their socially responsible efforts have on the local community.”
Potawatomi Bingo Casino, Milwaukee, Wis., sponsored the SR Think Tank and the Executive Roundtable.
As part of its ongoing commitment to social responsibility, ASQ is offering a four-part webinar series on the importance of social responsibility and how organizations can build business value by improving environmental and societal outcomes over the long term. The second webinar in the series, Seeking Sustainable Success — Use and Applications of Social Responsibility Measures, will be available January 28, 2010, and will explore the resources, finance and return on investment of socially responsible efforts. Those interested can register for the webinar on the ASQ Learning Institute, www.asq.org/learninginstitute.
ASQ, (American Society for Quality) www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 85,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As a champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding sponsor of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.