Assignment #1-Principles of Quality-Prepared by Jeff Schaafsma
Question #1
US industry has generally thought that the methods for quality management, as developed by experts such as Deming, were:
· Too theoretical and therefore so difficult to apply as to be not worth the effort
· Too faddish and therefore only to be short lived
· Too culturally alien and therefore not able to be applied in North America
· A philosophical approach to a practical issue and therefore not having any useful application
Because US industry top management held these preconceived notions regarding this method of quality management, skepticism existed at all levels within the affected organizations. This made change next to impossible. The shift to quality management is a cultural shift and cultural shifts must start from the top down. As well, the shareholder driven US economy has a need for immediate results while within the Japanese culture, every decision is based on its’ long term impacts.
Although the need for change is apparent, this situation still exists within the US automotive sector. Having worked as a supervisor at a Ford engine plant, I can say first hand that the old methods of quality management are still seen by many, especially high seniority production workers, as “good enough”. While the need to keep within specification and to meet tight tolerances is often overlooked by upper management in order to meet the required production targets for the day.
Meanwhile it should be noted that the Japanese automakers are also experiencing some problems. It used to be that all Toyota products were an automatic recommend by Consume ...