ABSTRACT
The two founding ideas of Taguchi’s quality work are essentially quantitative. First, is a belief in statistical methods to identify and eradicate quality problems. The second rests on designing products and processes to build quality in, right from the outset. Logothetis (1992: 13) sees Taguchi’s view of quality as a negative, the cost of non-quality, that is, ‘the loss imparted to society from the time the product is shipped’. Taguchi’s prime concern is with customer satisfaction and with the potential for ‘loss of reputation and goodwill’ associated with failure to meet customer expectations. Such a failure he considered would lead the customer to buy elsewhere in the future, damaging the prospects of the company, its employees and society. He saw that loss not only occurred when a product was outside its specification but also when it varied from its target value.
