Two Views of Quality

The total quality philosophy introduced a whole new way of looking at quality. The traditional view of quality mea­sured process performance in defective parts per hundred produced. With total quality, the same measurement is thought of in terms of defective parts per million produced. The traditional view focused on after-the-fact inspections of products. With total quality, the emphasis is on continual improvement of products, processes, and people in order to prevent problems before they occur. The traditional view of quality saw employees as passive workers who followed or­ders given by supervisors and managers. It was their labor, not their brains, that was wanted. With total quality, employ­ees are empowered to think and make recommendations for continual improvement. They are also shown the control boundaries within which they must work and are given free­dom to make decisions within those boundaries.

The traditional view of quality expected one improve­ment per employee per year. Total quality organizations expect to make at least ten or more improvements per em­ployee per year. Organizations that think traditionally focus on short-term profits. The total quality approach focuses on long-term profits and continual improvement.

The following statements summarize some of the major differences between the traditional view of quality and the total quality perspective:

• Productivity versus quality. The traditional view is that productivity and quality are always in conflict. You cannot have both. The total quality view is that lasting productivity gains are made only as a result of quality improvements.
• How quality is defined. The traditional view is that quality is defined solely as meeting customer specifica­tions. The total quality view is that quality means satisfy­ing customer needs and exceeding customer expectations.
• How quality is measured. The traditional view is that quality is measured by establishing an acceptable level of nonconformance and measuring against that bench­mark. The total quality view is that quality is measured by establishing high-performance benchmarks for customer satisfaction and then continually improving performance.
• How quality is achieved. The traditional view is that quality is inspected into the product. The total quality view is that quality is determined by product and process design and achieved by effective control techniques.
• Attitude toward defects. The traditional view is that defects are an expected part of producing a product. Measuring defects per hundred is an acceptable standard. The total quality view is that defects are to be prevented using effective control systems and should be measured in defects per million (Six Sigma).
• Quality as a function. The traditional view is that quality is a separate function. The total quality view is that quality should be fully integrated throughout the organization—it should be everybody’s responsibility.
• Responsibility for quality. The traditional view is that employees are blamed for poor quality. The total quality view is that at least 85% of quality problems are manage­ment’s fault.
• Supplier relationships. The traditional view is that sup­plier relationships are short term and cost driven. The total quality view is that supplier relationships are long term and quality oriented.

Source: Goetsch David L., Davis Stanley B. (2016), Quality Management for organizational excellence introduction to total Quality, Pearson; 8th edition.