Abstract

Quality requires that hostile corporate cultures be replaced. This means that the corporate systems in which a culture is embedded may also have to change. Corporate systems are the policies and procedures that structure the way a company does business. These systems may be formal or informal. Because of lack of documentation and recognition, the informal systems may be especially difficult to change. An example of a corporate system is the performance appraisal system. An informal and traditional performance appraisal system may be ingrained with the view of the supervisor as the most important customer. This traditional viewpoint leads to a results-oriented culture rather than a process-oriented one. To place more emphasis on process and quality, participative management techniques have begun to train employees in the tools of teamwork and problem solving. However, such training will be successful only if the corporate culture supports employee involvement and their use of the tools of quality.