Tag: holidays

Anyone involved in sourcing from China has likely been preparing for Chinese New Year for several weeks.  The “new year,” also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar.  The festivities usually start the day before the new year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year. During that time, factories and other businesses are closed.

What happens during Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday in China.  It’s a time when the Chinese return to their home towns and celebrate with friends and family.  Learn more about the cultural aspects here. 

For those involved in manufacturing within the region, there’s an urgency prior to the holiday to ensure timely shipments. This is where proactive planning is helpful.

As the first Monday of the New Year has arrived and productivity once again gains momentum, so too has the responsibility for resolution follow-through.

Over the years, we have written a few articles that we think quality professionals in particular will appreciate.  We use quality tools from start to finish to ensure not only success, but continuous improvement (kaizen).

The first area of troubleshooting when it comes to making a change is effective planning. It’s not enough to say that you’ll exercise more or that you’ll start doing something about that one supplier that’s consistently late with shipments.  Strategic planning needs to take place, and S.M.A.R.T. goals should always be the result.

“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” ~ Earl Nightingale 

Getting your brain on board with change can be the biggest challenge.  It’s one thing to want something, but it’s another entirely when it comes to getting your behavior to respond accordingly.  We’re wired for short-cuts and efficiency, so real effort is required to get things rewired.  With a negativity bias also at play, it’s often too easy to give up.

The first Monday in September is observed as Labor Day in the United States, which is a national holiday celebrating the contributions of workers.  Similar holidays are observed throughout the world.

Today, Samsung announced issues at several factories in China, indicating age disparities and other health and safety concerns.  They are committing to an evaluation of 144 suppliers before the end of the year, using documentation as a way to verify conformance to local regulations.  Apple and many other multinationals are facing similar issues and are working with NGOs, industry organizations and other 3rd parties such as Pro QC to improve supplier conditions and stakeholder confidence.

We have written several articles relating to on-site and verified social audits and are finding the request for such services are steadily increasing throughout the world.  Organizations of all sizes and throughout industries are realizing the benefits of proactive supplier management in this regard.

Benefits of ensuring worker’s rights through social audits include:

Human Resources – Recruitment & Retention Benefits 
Higher employee morale leads to greater rates of retention, which cuts the costs of recruiting and training new staff. In addition, a growing trend in recruitment appears to be concern regarding a company’s corporate social responsibility activities.

Increased Product Quality & Safety
Reducing defects and accidents enhances product quality. A less fatigued and adult workforce is less likely to cause accidents or defects on the production line. In addition, a supplier that shows little concern over health and safety is more likely to produce poor quality products.

Risk Management 
Proactive corporate responsibility offsets the risks of scandals or accidents that can create unwanted attention from consumers, regulators, government or the media.

Brand Development
Investing in a socially accountable supply chain benefits a company’s brand by differentiating from competition and building a positive reputation in the minds of consumers.

Stronger Management 
Providing training, defining responsibility and developing manuals will strengthen the management of the company.

Government Intervention 
If businesses take voluntary steps to ensure social accountability, they are more likely to avoid mandated government regulation and taxation.

For additional information regarding the components of social audits, read our full newsletter article.   The American Society for Quality, through theSRO, has recently issued the latest Pathways to Social Accountability as well, which always includes several relevant and convincing case studies.