Introduction

We should all be collectively motivated to find the alternative way forward such that the methods we use are “fit for their intended purpose”: a key feature of the quality management systems that have become a prerequisite for business. The elephant analogy presented by James Belasco (1990) in his book on empowering change within organizations seems appropriate to describe the current situation in pharmaceutical microbiology and its dependence on compendial methods. The analogy describes the use of heavy chains and shackles during the training of elephants to restrict the movements. In later life this conditioning is achieved with only a small metal bracelet around the foot-attached to nothing!