The Quality Approach to achieve this alternative definition of quality is to follow the basic tenets of Total Quality. In 1991, The General Accounting Office of the US Government published a wonderful study, Management Practices: US Companies Improve Performance Through Quality Efforts. In this study, they defined five tenets or principles of Quality Management. These five principles will help achieve Ishikawa’s definition.
- Customer-Focused Quality
- Continuous Improvement
- Employee Participation
- Actions based on facts, data, and analysis
- Strong Quality Leadership
Customer-Focused Quality: By focusing on the Customer, a company can begin to create the creative tension, the pull, towards getting “everyone doing what should be done.” Ultimately, the “doing” is done to provide products and services that Customers value and want to purchase. At the extreme, nothing should be done if it does not contribute in some way to delivering value to Customers. Basically this answers the questions:
- Who are we doing this for?
- Why are we doing this?
If not for the customer, then maybe it shouldn’t be done at all.
Continuous Improvement: This principle delivers on two aspects of the definition. By constantly improving on how “what should be done” is done, the doing gets done in a more “organized, systematic way.” The company continuously improves how the voice of the customer is determined and incorporated into all of the business processes. This drives the improvement of how products that Customers want to buy are designed and commercialized. At the same time products are being developed “in a more organized, systematic way” product quality is improved in the operational side of the company. Continuous improvement intensifies Customer-Focused Quality in everyway.
Employee Participation: This one is pretty easy. The goal is to have “everyone doing what should be done in an organized, systematic way.” Everyone. To have everyone doing what should be done, everyone needs to be involved.
Actions based on facts, data, and analysis: The quickest ways to determine “what should be done” is to use facts, data, and analysis. The same is true in continuous improvement projects to operate in a more “organized, systematic way.” Opinion may work now and then but never as consistently as actions based on facts, data, and, analysis. The old and very true adage is that “facts break all ties.” This principle helps create the culture of measurement. Key Performance Indicators provide many facts and data that need to be analyzed to provide the correct course of action.
Strong Quality Leadership: None of this happens without the leadership team leading the charge to make this all happen. Leadership is necessary to have everyone focusing on the customer. They are necessary to create the drive for continuous improvement in the culture. Strong Quality Leadership sets the objectives and provides the budget to achieve Ishikawa’s definition. We can end this blog with another Ishikawa quote that was the subject of a recent blog: “If there is no leadership from the top, stop promoting TQC.” Without leadership from the top, your company will have a hard time ever getting “everyone doing what should be done, in an organized, systematic way.”
