Sal881vw 11.05.2004 Constancy of purpose “Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.” Dr. W. Edwards Deming Scope Constancy of purpose is the main element of the first point by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and I will focus my article on these three words as the remainder of the phrase is self-explanatory. What is constancy of purpose? Constancy of purpose is a fundamental characteristic within us that drives us to attain our aims. It is our faithfulness to provide, much more then an instinct for survival. These aims may vary from the very basic to the most elitist kind. Needless to say organizations are made up of various elements the two furthest extremes of the structure are Top Management and the Work Force, all are skilled individuals necessary for the intended purpose and on going evolution of the organization. Some may say “the work force must have constancy of purpose, look at their productive rate”, others will say “ it’s Top Management’s job, they know where the money is being spent” and a multitude of similar statements, how wrong or right they are depends to be seen. Mind you some topnotch companies, of late, have really nose dived considering the status that they enjoyed and the management styles they projected. This typical scenario makes headlines day in and day out, at least, as far as the local scene is concerned. Much to every ones definition of constancy of purpose, I believe that, it is a moral obligation to provide a good product and an honest service that makes a customer return indefinitely for our products and services. The pace setters have to be the powers that be, Government, Institutions, Management, Educators and other entities leading us by good example. Creating constancy of purpose. I have found that belonging, power, freedom and fun are four essential components in creating constancy of purpose. 1) We have to belong to the whole process of constancy of purpose. Belonging is a need as this stimulates us to find meaningful ways and enhances the believe in ourselves to make valuable contributions. 2) We also have to have some level of power. This gives direction and commitment to our ideas. 3) We also need freedom. This gives autonomy to express our ideas within defined parameters that are wide enough to be creative without losing sight of the purpose or objective. 4) We also need fun. My meaning of fun here is related to the workplace, we do tend to associate easier with others that share similar interests. We learn much more from these people because the atmosphere created is one of exchange of ideas and experiences. Therefore communication is easier and conflicts are of the constructive type. To conclude, I find that constancy of purpose as Dr. W. Edwards Deming stated is a universal concept, unfortunately applying it by the powers that be leaves much to be desired.