By becoming part of the process, the people are having fun. But again, if you don't believe in people and if you don't believe in participation, I don't see how any quality programs are going to work. Hunt also commented on the importance of employee ownership to the quality improvement process. Without that, we would have been in tremendous trouble. We have a group of people with shared values trying to make a difference, and they believe they're all in it together.
Quality requires participation.
It requires participation, and if you want to move to an even higher level, you need to move to participative ownership. I know that when I rent, I treat my home differently than if I own, and that's the whole issue. Noting that the company has some real advocates all over the world promoting the concept of employee ownership, Hunt also expressed hope that Herman Miller would be able to increase its global employee ownership to support the company's long-term cultural change. Hunt concluded by adding that family, social and environmental responsibility are part of the diversity needed for a comprehensive corporate vision. Every human being who comes in to work is a part of the family, part of a community.