ABSTRACT
There are four primary reasons for doing the hard work of quality: Quality makes money; quality attracts and retains customers; quality makes employees happy; and quality is the ethical thing to do. Quality is simply common sense formalized into everyday procedures. And while each successful quality process is in its details, unique, all share three imperatives: leadership, participation and measurement. Lack of visible top management commitment is the root of employee cynicism about quality. Old-line quality-control veterans threatened by the new quality revolution cling to measurement like a lifeline. In contrast, employees all too often see measurement as a weapon to be used against them or a religious ritual. For quality improvement efforts, measurements should be taken either to identify data that can be a source for ideas or to track progress. In 1988, the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was given to encourage companies with world class quality to share their experiences with corporate America.
