TQM
Revolution in Quality
The Japanese massive training program
Massive is the word for describing a program of training hundreds of thousands of managers and supervisors at all organization levels and in all company departments, plus millions of non-supervisors. That massive training program has made Japanese managers, specialists and workers the best trained forces on earth so far as quality is concerned. It took the Japanese an entire decade to train all those levels of managers and supervisors.
Japanese annual programs of quality improvements
Armed with their new know-how and prodded by grim necessity, the Japanese proceeded to make many improvements in product quality - millions of them. Because the training programs had included all departments, improvements came from all functions-product design, purchase of components, manufacture, inspection and test and field service. In addition, because the training was carried on at all levels, it became possible to utilize the experience and creativity of the entire company hierarchies including much of the work force.
One thing leads to another. The application of new know-how creates an added source of know-how-the experience that comes from applying concepts and tools in the environment of reality. Over the years the accumulated experience has developed its own imperatives-the precious habit of improvement. All organizations evolve the habits of control-of meeting the day-to-day schedules and putting out the fires. If they do a good job of control they will meet this year’s budgets and targets. They will also fall a year behind any competitors who have acquired the habit of improvement.
It is the habit of annual quality improvement which has put the Japanese on that steep upward climb. Each year they have gained on the rest because their pace of improvement has exceeded that of the rest. The Japanese will continue to make these gains year after year until the others can develop a pace of annual quality improvement which matches that of the Japanese.
Japanese upper management leadership of the quality function
In Japan it is quite usual for the upper managers – the presidents and the general managers-to provide leadership to the quality function. The Japanese upper managers first assumed this leadership during the quality emergency of the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was these upper managers who launched those massive training programs and those programs of annual quality improvement. Having created a successful revolution, the presidents have shown no disposition to give up their leadership roel.-they have become life long revolutionaries. In addition, they are entirely comfortable in this leadership role. They have the needed training and they are quite familiar with the underlying concepts and methods. In these matters of quality they have the support of the best trained forces on earth. And they have an understandable pride in their national attainment as to quality.
