There is no substitute for quality -- Part 1 of 2

I remember as a child watching a television advertisement and hearing the strapline, “There’s no substitute for quality”. Now I cannot remember what the product was that they were selling, but idea that one should seek out and strive for quality was ingrained in my mind from that point on. My dad always used to say it is better to buy a good quality product that will last than to buy cheap products in cost and quality. The reason he gave for this was that in the long term, you would replace the cheaper product three or even five times over ultimately paying more for less, this principle has also been ingrained in my mind and is one of the fundamental principles with which I approach the commercial world and indeed, people.  You may be sitting up at this point with a confused look on your face and say, “people!?!” if you are, stay with me, there is a point to be made there. But before we talk people, it is really important to understand what the word quality really means and in which way we can apply it here.

So…what is QUALITY?

Quality is a measure of excellence or state of being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quality.html]

Quality is defined by the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO, 2004), as “The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.”  [http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=35539]

In the general sense of the word in the consumer environment, I believe there are two tests; The first is that of national or indeed international standards which is an objective test of quality and the second being the subjective test by the consumer based on their preferences. Whilst there is a minimum standard by which products are judged to be ‘of good quality’, this standard takes into account, social perception, production cost and overall need and indeed safety of the product when in the possession of the consumer. These standards, for example the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 standards are established to ensure that even the most vulnerable of consumers will receive a minimum standard of quality in the goods or services they purchase. This type of quality is more to do with companies providing  satisfactory goods or services, therefore the measure of the quality  is an objective test pre-determined by these standards.

Once goods and services 'pass' the quality standards test, and are in the hands of consumers, they become subject to the second phase of quality testing, the ‘subjective judgment’ based on individual preferences. An example of this type of testing  is my long term love affair with coffee…My dad introduced me to coffee when I was a teen living at home. He enjoyed a cup of the mild instant varieties (not too strong) and therefore we bonded over Nescafe for many years. My love and appreciation for a ‘good quality’ and indeed my definition of what that is  has grown over the years as I have travelled to different parts of the world and experienced coffee from other regions in many different formats. When I was at home with dad, I was easily satisfied with a Nescafe original in the instant form., I later fell in love with a coffee lover and he introduced me to percolated (filtered) coffees and almost instantly, the bar was raised and what constituted a ‘good (quality) cup of coffee’ was forever changed and redefined. By this example, quality standards are heavily dependent on perception and the value system of the individual, I am spoiled forever and now don’t feel I have had  a ‘good quality’ coffee unless it is percolated…even better quality if it comes from Starbucks! The reality is that no matter how objective a standard or a body views and defines ‘quality’ ; its ‘quality’ will always be in the eyes of the beholder’ that is it is forever a consumers market and only they can really decide…..

However….when it comes to quality in relation to people…that is an entirely different matter altogether!

Continued in part 2 of quality next…

Deceiver...you too shall pass...

The truth and end of all liars  by Rudo Nyangulu

Words are your friend;
They help you create your greatest master pieces;
falsehood after falsehood your web is spun;
Where you entrap your victims once led astray;
Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin;
Your melodious words of promise and things to come;
Entangle the simple and weak minded;
Posing a challenge even to the savvy.
Alas!
One cannot live in disguise for long without losing self;
One cannot pretend to others without fooling self;
One cannot lie to those closest without cheating self.
The greatest pretenders lose the most;
They rob  themselves of who they were
And all that is left is a decaying carcass masquerading as a human heart;
Whilst the soul is left blackened by the resulting spell cast by the web of lies it created;
Only to ensnare itself in the end....

Now those retched words have become a foe;
The very worst of bed fellows in this lake that burns without end.

Copyright (c) Rudo Nyangulu 2010. All rights reserved.

Revelation 21: 8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death."

Introducing Pronounced Gospel

Just when you thought I was exhausting all I had to say on this blog, I have had the privilege to be inspired by God to start an evangelistic campaign to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all those who do not know him and the amazing, unconditional, inexhaustible love that He expressed at the cross for you and I! This 'Good Friday' as we sit around coffee tables drinking tea and eating hot cross buns, let us lend a moment to remember the sacrifice Christ made on the cross when He paid the price of our sins so that we could if we so wished to be free!                                                                PronounceD GospeL is an artistic project that has come about as a result of several years of labouring and ministering in outreach evangelism in my local church and around the country as well as investing in missionary work overseas. The aim of this project is to show through imagery and text, the need for evangelism in our world today! Every Sunday over the next 52 Weeks we will look at the need for evangelism and give you ideas on how you can get involved and share your faith effectively, fulfilling the 'Great Commission' set for every Christian by The Lord Jesus Himself.

Don't miss out! Log onto:  http://pronounced-gospel.blogspot.com/

Romans 5:8 (King James Version) ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’

Jude 1:23 (NKJV) '...but others save with fear,pulling them out of the fire...'

Was there life before the internet?

In the picture (above) is my dear friend and housemate Rumbi and I (I, being represented by the second laptop facing the camera that’s sat on my lap). We are on the couch working on different things on laptop computers and occasionally speaking to one another, mainly to request songs we are “streaming” [this is a one-way audio transmission over an internet network - http://www.answers.com/topic/streaming-media]. We then started talking about the population of the world (yes, all 6 billion plus people) and I said that China had the largest population in the world which we agreed but then we started to wonder which country was the largest geographically but did not know and after about 30 seconds Rumbi said, ‘why don’t we look it up online!?!)  To which we both turned back t the laptops on our laps and started searching away… in less than a minute we had the answer…Russia! Yes, just like that, at a click of a button we had out on our couch, access to a multitude of libraries and all their information were available to us…

The World Wide Web (WWW) has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, computer and Internet set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The internet was invented by Sir Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee, a British engineer and computer scientist between 1989 and1991. The Web has become a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard to geographic location. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/berners-lee.htm.

I wonder if the scene I described earlier is the idea that Sir Tim had in mind back in 1989 when he first suggested the global internet… Had he considered the possibility of groups of people in different countries around the world being able to share their every moment together through social networking sites such as facebook or twitter? Or the online dating scene that brings strangers together and sees countless relationships and marriage unions formed as a result? Had he considered the possibility that I would be in a country 8 256 km away from my parents and would be able to see them on live video as well as chat to them daily using an IM medium (instant messenger and Skype to be precise). It really is an amazing feeling each day when I get to see my Daddy through a webcam conversation on Skype each day and it is really great to be able to brainstorm ideas, ask her questions and share my day with my Mummy through Google talk, these systems and indeed the internet is so much more important to me personally because I have not seen my parents in person for a few years…The same is true about my sister in America and my brother when he was in Namibia. The internet has taken traditional distances and geographical space which used to be a barrier to regular communication and brought Zimbabwe, Namibia and America into my living room and onto my lap in my laptop.

My friend stated that she studied for her whole degree without withdrawing a single book from her university library because all the information she required was readily available on the internet. Others can complete degrees online whilst residing in a different country. With the boom of dot.com businesses, many companies exist solely on the internet and transact through online mediums without owning a single shop. The World Wide Web has in twenty years completely changed the way we communicate, how we see each other, who we can meet, how we work, are educated and how we do business for better and for worse…The internet has many dangers and like all things, there is a good and a bad, but for people like me, who have family scattered across the globe and friends to boot! It has given an opportunity for relationships to be maintained and continuously invested in, in real time… Sir Tim, I salute you!