W. Edwards Deming Show
The concept of quality started in Japan when the country began to rebuild after World War II. Amidst the bomb rubble, Japan embraced the ideas of W. Edwards Deming, an American whose methods and theories are credited for Japan's postwar recovery. Ironically enough, Deming's ideas were initially scoffed at in the U.S. As a result, TQM took root in Japan 30 years earlier than in the United States. American companies took interest in Deming's ideas only when they began having trouble competing with the Japanese in the 1980s. Deming's management system was philosophical, based on continuous improvement toward the perfect ideal. He believed that a commitment to quality requires transforming the entire organization. His philosophy is based on a system known as the Fourteen Points. These points express the actions an organization must take in order to achieve TQM:
Deming emphasized surveying customers, consulting production‐line workers to help solve quality problems, and teamwork. His system was readily accepted in Japan, where workers and management were used to uniformity and allegiance to institutions. Japanese companies learned to collect data for the statistical monitoring and measuring of customer satisfaction. The goals of these companies were to produce many of the same consumer goods—better and cheaper—that were produced in the U.S. These Japanese companies succeeded, much to the chagrin of companies in the U.S. Deming saw businesses as bedrock institutions in a society—much like churches and schools. Companies attain long‐term success only if business leaders make their employees' contributions matter. If organizations use their employees' ideas, they will improve efficiency and productivity. Most of the applications of Deming's ideas occurred in the 1950s and 1960s in Japan. In the United States, the desperation needed for executives to finally try a “radical” plan such as Deming's came from economic rather than wartime defeats. Most notably, in the 1980s, Japanese car manufacturers pushed their market share toward 25 percent, sending fear throughout Detroit. The Ford Motor Co. called on Deming after NBC featured his successes in a documentary, “If Japan Can, Why Can't We?” Deming took Ford's invitation as notice that his home country was finally ready for his program. He continued teaching seminars until his death, at age 93, in 1993. Deming's system made such an impression that he is known at the Father of TQM. Following are some other significant quality experts and their works:
Although several individuals (mentioned above) contributed to the concept of TQM, the three mostly widely cited “masters” of quality are W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993), Joseph M. Juran, and Philip Crosby. Even though each has promoted the importance of quality emphasis, their ideas and backgrounds are not always consistent. Joseph Juran Joseph Juran started out professionally as an engineer in 1924. In 1951, his first Quality Control Handbook was published and led him to international prominence. The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited Juran to Japan in the early 1950s. He arrived in 1954 and conducted seminars for top‐ and middle‐level executives. His lectures had a strong managerial flavor and focused on planning, organizational issues, management's responsibility for quality, and the need to set goals and targets for improvement. He emphasized that quality control should be conducted as an integral part of management control. Intrinsic to Juran's message is the belief that quality does not happen by accident; it must be planned. Juran sees quality planning as part of the quality trilogy of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. The key elements in implementing company‐wide strategic quality planning are in turn seen as: identifying customers and their needs; establishing optimal quality goals; creating measurements of quality; planning processes capable of meeting quality goals under operating conditions; and producing continuing results in improved market share, premium prices, and a reduction of error rates in the office and factory. Juran's formula for results is to establish specific goals to be reached, and then to establish plans for reaching those goals; assign clear responsibility for meeting the goals; and base the rewards on results achieved. Juran believes that the majority of quality problems are the fault of poor management, not poor workmanship, and that long‐term training to improve quality should start at the top with senior management. Philip Crosby Philip Crosby is another major contributor to the quality movement. In 1979, he left ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) and wrote his book, Quality is Free, in which he argues that dollars spent on quality and the attention paid to it always return greater benefits than the costs expended on them. Whereas Deming and Juran emphasized the sacrifice required for a quality commitment, Crosby takes a less philosophical and more practical approach, asserting instead that high quality is relatively easy and inexpensive in the long run. Crosby is the only American quality expert without a doctorate. He is responsible for the zero defects program, which emphasizes “doing it right the first time,” (DIRFT) with 100 percent acceptable output. Unlike Deming and Juran, Crosby argues that quality is always cost effective. Like Deming and Juran, Crosby does not place the blame on workers, but on management. Crosby also developed a 14‐point program, which is again more practical than philosophical. It provides managers with actual concepts that can help them manage productivity and quality. His program is built around four Absolutes of Quality Management:
Which of the following was one of Crosby's basic elements of improvement?❖ The only performance measurement is the cost of quality approach. ❖ The only performance standard is “Zero Defect” Crosby's “Basic Elements of Improvement” include determination, education, and implementation.
Which of the following is the difference between Deming and Juran quality philosophy?The primary focus of every business, during Juran's time, was the quality of the end product, which is what Deming stressed upon. Juran shifted track to focus instead on the human dimension of Quality management. He laid emphasis on the importance of educating and training managers.
How did organizations traditionally ensure quality production?Traditionally, quality management focused on quality control, where finished goods were inspected and tested, and substandard 'waste' product disposed of or sold at a lower price.
Which of the following types of quality refers to a product's ability to perform the functions for which it was intended?Quality Glossary Definition: Reliability. Reliability is defined as the probability that a product, system, or service will perform its intended function adequately for a specified period of time, or will operate in a defined environment without failure.
|