What, truly, is a process? Is it merely a procedure? A progression? A method? I feel that it is all of these and more. In the context of the industry and the modern world, the processes most relevant to us were probably defined during the Industrial Revolution of 18th-19th century Europe. The manufacturing industry, as it evolved, felt the need to have in place methodologies that the individuals utilising them would adhere to. This was for a very simple reason. It was no longer economically viable to continue working in a mechanised environment with a large body of supervisory staff at hand to manage workers. It skewed the ratio and economics way too much. Hence, we had the first industrial processes. (more…)

In an age where practically any information can be accessed by anyone with access to the Internet, transparency takes on a new role and meaning entirely. What is the need for transparency? Thus far, we have discussed the negative fallout of not implementing transparency as a best practice. (more…)

Quite naturally, the first reaction that any one would have when summarily told to “be transparent” in their dealings, would be, “But why? We’ve gotten along just fine thus far.”? Unfortunately, we are looking at a classic case of “thus far and no further”. There is really no option left. (more…)

Rarely a month goes by when a corporate scandal does not hit the news pages nowadays and it is inevitably because someone, somewhere discovered a dirty little secret (or a big one) and made it public. Today, the Internet has given everyone with access to it, the powers of virtual policing and activism. There is nowhere to run and nowhere left to hide. I remember reading about the infamous case of the Diebold voting machines which were used in the US elections in 2000 (with Diebold insisting that they were un-hackable). They were hacked by a professor who posted a video of him doing it in a mock-up – he posted the video on Youtube and it went viral, notching over 300, 000 views. To heap insult on the infamy, internal Diebold memos indicating that the machines were not 100% fool-proof were leaked and found their way on to the Net! (more…)