Quality is a Journey to Excellence
Seminar by William Hunter, 1985
This captures the start of the 2 day seminar given in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1985 by Bill Hunter.
Links to items mentioned in the presentation:
- text of the 1950 Dr. Deming talk in Japan
- My First Trip to Japan by Peter Scholtes - Peter wrote a report on the trip Dr. Hunter mentions in the presentation during which they visited 7 companies in 9 days including Komatsu and Toyota. 38 Americans on the tour represented 14 different American companies (including Procter and Gamble, Boeing, General Motors, Kodak, Campbell Soup, and Hewlett Packard) and 4 colleges or universities (including MIT and University of Wisconsin).
- What is Total Quality Control the Japanese Way by Kaoru Ishikawa
Quotes:
The present system in the US has not provided for any meaningful contribution from the workers themselves to improve the methods of production and the quality of work life. They have no opportunity to exercise their judgement, imagination, creativity or versatility in ways that could contribute to their productivity and sense of dignity. It is no surprise that they undergo frustration and discouragement, feelings certainly not apt to contribute to their efficiency. The solution to our productivity problem is the necessity for management and labor to recognize the intrinsic value of the human being.
...
I have heard employees say over and over again in their own vernacular: "I want to contribute more than the organization will let me."
...
When the Japanese talk about quality control a better translation into English would be excellence. It is a much more all encompassing idea than what we think of as quality control.
...
When the Japanese talk about quality, it means not only the quality of the product, the quality of the processes producing the product, the quality of the designs that go into processes and the product, quality people, quality systems, quality everything. Quality service, just quality through and through everywhere. What they are really talking about is a new way to manage and run organizations.
Ishikawa talks about it as a thought revolution for managers. And that is what a lot of visitors to Japan have just missed.
Related material
- Managing Our Way to Economic Success by William Hunter - "Two resources, largely untapped in American organizations, are potential information and employee creativity."