ABSTRACT
Quality can be introduced or re-introduced into any organization so long as the senior managers can convince their employees that the effort is serious and that the long-term good of the organization and individuals who make up that organization depend on the success of the effort. Education, health care, government are segments of society just beginning to explore ways to bring the gains associated with quality to their own organizations. The corps of quality professionals knows this, but the legions of potential customers for such consultants don’t know it. If winning a Baldrige becomes more important than digesting and using the results of the quality audit for further improvement, the Baldrige itself will be greatly devalued. The American quality journey began with a combination of quality circles, W. Edwards Deming and a few large consulting firms. Quality professionals have a role in informing customer expectations, even when that role is unpalatable.
