Why Quality Is Important and How It Applies in Diverse Business and Social Environments, Volume I by Paul Hayes

Why Quality Is Important and How It Applies in Diverse Business and Social Environments, Volume I by Paul Hayes

Author:Paul Hayes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Business Expert Press


The Systems Approach

The experience of Motorola in witnessing the effect of an integrated systems approach to one of their previously failing businesses points the need to integrate everything we do in quality within a holistic systems approach:

“Quality After Motorola

Motorola’s quality evolution shows how the integration of Six Sigma and Baldrige models can be applied in a real-world setting. Motorola’s success rests on integrating quality management initiatives with statistical quality control tools and techniques. Influenced by Japanese management practices at one of its previously owned plants, Quasar, Motorola’s management learned how to improve the quality of its products. Under Motorola’s leadership, the plant was losing market share to foreign competitors that sold better quality products at a lower cost. In 1974, Motorola sold Quasar to a Japanese consumer electronic company, Matsushima. Under Japanese management, the factory made drastic improvements in the quality of its products. For example, the same workforce, technology, and design as Motorola used at the plant was now producing TVs with 1/20th the number of defects. After visiting the factory, Motorola’s management realized that such surprising results could be achieved when an organization is focused on processes, people, and quality. Management realized it was the quality system that led the company to produce products of higher quality. To improve the quality of their products, company offcials knew they needed to change the focus of their improvement from product attributes to operational procedures. This shift in thinking about quality in Motorola resulted in an emphasis on the systems approach, interactions among processes within the organization and their overall impact on performance. Such a dramatic improvement could not be achieved by just focusing on process management using statistical quality control tools and techniques. The result was improvement in all aspects of the organization, mirroring the seven categories of the Baldrige model. By focusing on management (Baldrige’s leadership category), people (human resource management), process (process management), flow of information (information, analysis and knowledge management), voice of customers (customer and market focus), and commitment to higher product quality (strategic planning), Motorola successfully reduced the defect rate in its processes to the Six Sigma level (3.4 defects per million).”28



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