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Alumni Profile Of hard hats and degrees Margo Baird, BA '83 Participative management is the key to the success of quality circles, says alumna Margo Baird shown here at Kitchener's New Balance plant. The summer of 1969 was a time when mature students on campus were not the familiar sight they are today. Recent St. Jerome's grad Margo Baird (BA '83) was actually quite a trailblazer; that was the year she started university and she was the only mature student in many of her classes. "Initially I was scared to death and felt like a fish out of water," she recalls. "I had only finished high school up to Grade 12 and my average had been rather low. To many, my decision to go to university seemed illogical. Some of my friends thought I should be spending my afternoons playing bridge," she laughs, "but I knew that wasn't for me." Margo pursued her interest in languages starting first with a course in Japanese. She was convinced that if she could pass this difficult course, she could handle university. How did her family react to her return to school? "My husband and two sons were very supportive and helpful," she says. Fortunately I was able to arrange my schedule so that I took my classes before the boys came home. As my family got older, my eldest son Eddie tutored me in statistics while I helped him with English." She made it through Japanese and after two years of languages with five courses per year, Margo took a respite from school for the next five years. Through her work in her husband's dental clinic in Elmira, Margo gained experience in personnel and management. As a result, she thought psychology would be an appropriate and interesting area of study when she resumed regular classes. It was at this point that Margo rediscovered St. Jerome's. "I had taken Italian at the College before and I liked being there," she recalls. She studied one credit a year for the next several years and decided to enroll full-time as a psychology major with a minor in Personnel and Administrative Studies (PAS). It was through her PAS minor that Margo was exposed to an emerging management technique known as "quality circles." Described as 'participative management' and widely used in Japan, a quality circle is a group of people working in the same department, meeting once a week to identify, analyze and find solutions for the problems they encounter in their workplace. "I wrote a paper on a local steel company which was using quality circles," she remembers. "I spent many hours in a dusty factory observing this technique in use. With hard hat clamped on my head and feet thrust in steel-toed boots, I wondered if I'd ever get a job at my age and with the present job market." The odds seemed to be against her, she thought. Upon completion of her BA degree, her reservations proved to be unfounded. Seven weeks before her graduation, Margo at 51, was in the enviable position of not only secur ing a job, but of securing one directly related to her course of study. She was hired by New Balance Canada Inc. of Kitchener to implement quality circles there. New Balance is best known for its athletic shoes, but manufactures a range of athletic wear. Margo says that her age and background in quality circles helped her get the job. "New Balance felt I would be able to relate to both employees and management well," she says. "As Quality Circles Facilitator at New Balance, I organize and lead meetings, teach structured methodology, problem identification, data collection, analysis and solution testing," she explains. "By tapping into the employees' creativity, and by giving them a chance to participate in decision-making, the company's products and employees' attitudes are improved dramatically." In December, 1983, Margo became a widow following her husband Ed's sudden death. "The challenge of my job helped me through a difficult time and brought me a certain self reliance." Margo's work has taken her to conferences throughout Canada and the United States. She frequently gives talks to various groups and recently addressed the mature students group here on campus. Her advice to other mature students or those contemplating a return to school? "Hang in there, regardless of your age, and follow your interests and abilities. It may seem futile at times but in the long run it is very worthwhile. It's also a lot more fun than bridge!" Are you a mature student grad? Why not drop us a line and share your experiences with fellow alumni? Anecdotes or comments would be appreciated and will be published in the next issue of Update! Quality circles leaders trained by Margo regularly report to her individually and in groups. Update!/3