Attaining “fitness for use” is the company’s basic quality mission and thereby that of the company’s managers. without fitness for use there is no income, in which case all else is academic.
Since World War II, the Japanese have made remarkable progress in product quality from the very worst to very good. In some product lines they now have world quality leadership and this may well spread to other product lines.
In India, as so many occidental and oriental countries, there is something to be learned from such a revolution.
In those product lines where the Japanese have attained world quality leadership, they have done so by three radical departures from traditional practice:
- Upper management leadership and participation in the quality revolution
- Training of the entire management team in how to manage for quality, starting at the top
- Annual quality improvement at a revolutionary rate.
We in India can attain world quality leadership in selected product lines by undertaking quality improvement at a very competitive rate, over the next two decades. This is a major change of direction. Such a major change requires personal leadership by the upper managers. In turn, the entire management team and especially the upper managers, must undergo the training needed to master the trilogy of processes through which we manage for quality; quality planning, quality control and quality improvement.
CREDITS: Suresh Lulla, Founder & Mentor, Qimpro Consultants Pvt. Ltd.