Table Of ContentBehavioural Science for Quality
and Continuous Improvement
This impactful volume demonstrates the application and power of psychology
and behavioural economics in the pursuit of quality and continuous
improvement.
It focusses on how the works of stalwarts such as Daniel Kahneman, Richard
Thaler, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and many others can be used to build an
organisation that is known for quality products and flawless service delivery.
The application of psychology and behavioural economics is still new to quality
improvement, and in this book, Debashis Sarkar shares 25 lessons, featuring
specific examples based on real life, that show how their application can increase
the effectiveness of outcomes.
Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons
from Psychology and Behavioural Economics is ideal for business-improvement
professionals of all hierarchies and across different functional areas and industries
seeking to understand the potential of psychology and behavioural economics
and their applications, as well as in training and executive development
programmes and for scholars of operations management, quality management,
and engineering.
Debashis Sarkar is a managing partner at Proliferator Advisory & Consulting,
a firm focussed on customer centricity and operational excellence. A pioneer
in the field of quality and organisational improvement, Debashis has authored
several books, including The Little Big Things in Operational Excellence. He
is the recipient of various recognitions such as the Phil Crosby Medal, the
Simon Collier Award, and the first Quality Champion Platinum Award from
the Quality Council of India – the highest award for quality from the Indian
government. He is a fellow of the American Society for Quality.
Behavioural Science for
Quality and Continuous
Improvement
25 Lessons from Psychology
and Behavioural Economics
Debashis Sarkar
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Debashis Sarkar
The right of Debashis Sarkar to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-16839-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-16837-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-25051-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003250517
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
This book is dedicated to my mother,
Malabika Sarkar,
With love.
Ma, we miss you every day since you left us on
April 10, 2020.
Contents
Notes to readers ix
Preface x
Introduction 1
Lesson: 1 Solidifying the business case 7
Lesson: 2 Cementing relationships 12
Lesson: 3 Gaining commitment 19
Lesson: 4 Getting across the message 25
Lesson: 5 Not always about people 33
Lesson: 6 What quality experts need to know 36
Lesson: 7 When facts are overlooked 42
Lesson: 8 The intricacies of change 48
Lesson: 9 The power of familiarity 58
Lesson: 10 The role of emotions 61
Lesson: 11 Engaging hearts and minds 68
Lesson: 12 The biases in problem-solving 75
viii Contents
Lesson: 13 Minimising cognitive overload 84
Lesson: 14 Five rules for customer solution design 92
Lesson: 15 Making quality issues known 98
Lesson: 16 The halo effect 103
Lesson: 17 Building psychological safety 110
Lesson: 18 The power of open-ended questions 119
Lesson: 19 The invisible gorillas 123
Lesson: 20 Goals, measurements, and targets 130
Lesson: 21 When employees are defensive 138
Lesson: 22 Blind optimism during eruptions 145
Lesson: 23 Communicating visually 151
Lesson: 24 Not-so-obvious tactics for solving problems 156
Lesson: 25 Taking employees on board 159
About the author 167
Bibliography 168
Index 179
Notes to readers
This book is an assorted set of lessons which have been written in such a way
that you can start from any lesson.
While “he” has been used as a gender in the book, the words “he” and “she”
have been used synonymously.
The term “quality professional” refers to someone who uses methods of
quality for organisational improvement. It includes professionals engaged in
continuous improvement, Lean manufacturing, business excellence, opera-
tional excellence and process improvement, intelligent automation, Six Sigma,
and so on.
The words “quality professional”, “quality-improvement professional”,
“continuous-improvement professional”, “quality practitioner”, “continuous-
improvement practitioner”, “Master Black Belt”, “Lean Master”, and “quality
leader” all refer to a quality professional.
The words “quality improvement”, “continuous improvement”, and “qual-
ity transformation” have been used synonymously.
The terms “continuous-improvement programme”, “quality-improvement
programme”, and “quality programme” refer to a journey of quality and con-
tinuous improvement, which is often an ongoing effort in an organisation.
The terms “company”, “firm”, “business”, “organisation”, “business-
organisation”, and “enterprise” all refer to an entity engaged in commercial or
business activity.
The words “product” and “service” have been synonymously used.
When you read the book, I would recommend that you highlight the areas
that you find important and see how you can apply them in the world of qual-
ity and continuous improvement.
The application of behavioural science to quality and continuous improve-
ment is new. Over the next few years, I see more information and experience
being added to the book of knowledge. Feel free to share with me your chal-
lenges and successes; it will help to take this practice forward. My email is in
the preface.
