oqm

The ABC’s of Organic Quality Management

Christoph Schalk

Organic quality management (oqm®) measures and develops the health and quality of an
organization – and is the “biotic brother” of Natural Church Development, designed for
Christian not-for-profit organizations. What makes oqm® unique is its holistic assessment
of an organization according to the following three dimensions: structural (“Organization“),
human (“Organism“) and spiritual (“Spirit“).

The goal of oqm® is to help an organization develop an environment which is more
satisfying for its workers and do greater justice to its commission. To achieve this, oqm®
begins by taking bearings of the organization’s current position from an holistic
perspective. The areas of leadership, co-workers, personal spirituality, structures, values,
company culture, authenticity, team-work and relationships are all assessed. Use is made
of a survey involving a questionnaire which has been developed according to scientifically
verifiable criteria. During this process, information on “external factors“ such as the
professionalism of teams and inner convictions (eg. faith) is compiled and interlinked.
oqm® supports executives to

•  accurately measure the health and quality of their organizations
•  refine vision, goals and strategies
•  revisit essential values
•  focus resources appropriately
•  produce lasting health and fruit
•  lead their organization holistically using the three dimensions

Three important words

"Organic quality management“ (or “oqm“ for short) may seem familiar to you. This is
probably because each of the words on their own are not uncommon. However, what if
you put the words together into the phrase "organic quality management“? What does it
mean? This booklet is designed to give a brief, easy explanation of “oqm” and how you will
benefit from it.

Each of the three words have equal importance to the overall meaning.

“Management“ often sounds very bombastic or diffuse, but all it really means is the
leadership, direction and development of organizations such as companies, social
institutions or churches.

“Quality“ is about ensuring that an organization operates at the highest possible level of
excellence throughout its life. It challenges the notion that an organization is alright if it
survives by just managing to scrape through any old how. It also challenges the notion
that health and success is measured purely by putting the spotlight on quantity, that is size
and unlimited growth.

"Organic“ means “being part of living nature“. Although we frequently talk about abstract
terms such as structures and strategies when discussing organizations, nature offers a
wealth of excellent ideas and solutions which achieve great success for organizations
when applied in a variety of different situations. You would be surprised how many
lessons from nature can be transferred to areas which are not normally considered to be
part of the “natural” domain!

Putting this together, we might begin with a basic definition: "organic quality management
- oqm - is about leadership which manages the quality of an organization's growth by
drawing on principles from nature as foundations for organizational evaluation and
development."

This is a starting point, but it is not the full oqm story.

More...Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it