Back in Italy from abroad in mid 1998, Mario Pagliaro -- with the crucial assistance of Dr. Fabrizio Lo Celso -- establishes at Italy's Research Council small chemistry Institute based in Palermo (Ictpn) a management School called "Quality College del Cnr".
Pagliaro is 28-years old chemist with a prolonged interest in management themes; in May, he qualifies in environmental management in Rome and coming back he associates the Ictpn (first organization in southern Italy) at the European Foundation for Quality Management (Efqm, Bruxelles).
On September 28, 1998 Dr. Pagliaro presented to the public the School in the new Palermo's Cnr research area. On the following April he gives with Dr. Lo Celso the first edition of a course on integrated quality management that will be highly successful. Participation is limited to 13 people and costs about 800 USD.
The course lasts one full week and Dr. Pagliaro teaches a simple, practical approach to quality largely inspired to that of Phil Crosby, presenting quality as "conformance to requirements"; so that this "lets us measure the price of nonconformance (PONC) and place quality management on the same level as everything else that's measured financially. Then we can see progress or lack of it; we can see where the problems originate and can contribute to the organization's financial success".
Dr Pagliaro's course, however, is opened talking about the methods of the "Golani" Brigade of Israeli Army and with the methaphysic of quality of Robert Pirsig.
Dr. Pagliaro will give lecture at 15 courses in 4 years (until June 2003). The course fee will raise to 1,500 euros. At the end of each course, the (anonymous) opinion on the quality of the course itself is recorded and used to improve activities. Customers's feedback are scellent ("extraordinary educational work" and "Ecceptional. I shall advice my colleauges to attend this course").
Young graduates, entrepreneurs and manager coming from the whole Italy get thus to know the splendid, and generally unkown, city of Palermo that in those years is being literally rebuilt by the administration led by mayor Leoluca Orlando.
Dr. Pagliaro -- who continues his work as research chemist -- reinvest integrally the revenues of the courses to pay for infrastructure, lab equipment, reagents and travel expenses; shortly the Ictpn -- that in 2002 becomes the Palermo's site of the new Institute Ismn -- becomes a new School of chemistry of international standing.
Since year 2004 Dr. Pagliaro organizes at Palermo's Cnr the "Carapezza" Seminar opened in January by Francesco Giavazzi.
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