- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Engineering
- Environmental Manag. and Sustainability
- Human Resources
- ISO 9000
- Leadership
- Lean
- Metrics
- Problem Solving
- Basic Quality
- Process Management
- Quality Control
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Six Sigma
- Social Responsibility
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Teams
- Total Quality Management
- Economic Case for Quality
Tool Time
“Does everybody know what time it is? It’s ‘Tool Time’!” On “Home Improvement,” one of the most watched TV sitcoms in the U.S. in the 1990s, Tim and his assistant, Al, demonstrated to their television audience what tools they had and how to use them....
A Framework for Business Ethics
Profit maximization is, of course, the main and foremost objective for any commercial organization. Most modern organizations realize that to survive in today’s competitive arena, customers have to be satisfied....
One Size Does Not Fit All
It has been said that academia has lagged behind practice in the development of quality management methods and philosophies, yet academia has done a good job of propagating these concepts. Now academic research has developed two new concepts that will...
A Model For Customer Service
Prior to 1989, one of every four callers to ASQ was either a follow-up or complaint call due to problems with ASQ's phone system. ASQ now receives high marks for its customer service, which uses its automated phone system only during non-business hours....
Lean and Six Sigma – Synergy Made in Heaven
The combination of Six Sigma and lean enterprise work can enhance the production experience. Workers have the empowerment and skill to recognize a problem and, if it cannot be resolved, shut down the line to eliminate the root cause. Six Sigma and lean...
ISO 9000 Makes Integrated Systems User Friendly
Organizations need management systems that are based on processes or activities that help personnel understand what is essential to achieving continual improvement on a consistent basis....
Systems Thinking – An Uncommon Answer
Some of the common problems to be found in many business failures include too much focus on short-term gains, too much focus on quarterly profit statements, and a prevalence of long-term losses. One possible solution to these problems is systems...
QOS – A Simple Method for Big or Small
Although there are many quality initiatives in the marketplace, many of them involve a degree of hype. Ford Motor Company’s quality operating system (QOS) is recommended as one offering the most value for the money. A QOS assessment looks at...
An Integrated Approach System
What’s the best quality system? How would you answer this question? How would your colleagues?...
Baldrige: It's Easy, Free and It Works
While many people consider the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria to be difficult, a harder task is learning how to manage opportunities for improvements instead of managing known strengths. While Baldrige may not have the answers, it...
Complexity Theory Simplifies Choices
Many business management and improvement methodologies provide finite structures for achieving success. Examples include the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; the ISO 9001 standard; W. Edward Deming, who provided 14 points; and Six Sigma....
Quality Management Multiple Choice: What’s the best quality system?
Monitoring and recording the extent of transition experienced within a designated area assure Procedure ( general) Priority Reviewed Completed Record control Document control Internal audits Management review Corrective action Preventive action Monitorin...
10 Process Improvement Lessons for Leaders
Many of the process improvement programs launched by companies with great enthusiasm fail to live up to expectations because leaders fail to understand the dynamics that influence the success of the program. While not intended to replace an existing...
Business Process Orientation: Do You Have It?
The current business environment, characterized by global competition, demanding customers, and e-commerce, requires the best organizations to become faster, more flexible, and customer-focused. Process orientation and process reengineering are concepts...
Involve Employees at Every Level of Strategic Planning
The search conference allows all employees to participate in continuous organizational learning and active adaptation to turbulent change. A typical search conference involves 20 to 40 employees who work on planning tasks for two to three days....
Four More Years of Reinventing Government
The National Performance Review (NPR) introduced by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in March 1993 will continue to reinvent government. An interview with Director Bob Stone indicated that NPR has helped transform the Federal Emergency...
The Journey Might Wander a Bit. . .
As winners of the 1995 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), Armstrong World Industries' Building Products Operations (BPO) and Corning's Telecommunications Products Division (TPD) have much in common. Both have adopted quality principles...
Don't Throw Scientific Management Out with the Bathwater
The history of Taylorism is intertwined with the development of total quality management (TQM). Frederick W. Taylor's scientific management sought to reduce waste and increase productivity in the early 1900s. His seminal work was translated into...
The Conference Method of Redesign
Restructuring of an organization can be accomplished efficiently by a sociotechnical analysis. The technique is based on Fred Emery's and Eric Trist's Future Search Conference. A case study of the conference method used groups and subgroups to...
Downsizing: How Quality Is Affected as Companies Shrink
A smaller work force might increase competitiveness, but quality can suffer. U. S. companies have made almost 600,000 job cuts in the past year. The cuts can lead to lower morale and even deteriorating productivity. The problem is that downsizing as...
