Quality Systems, Models and Theories

A company's corporate mission statement outlines its current state, while its vision statement describes what state it hopes to achieve in the future.

The Science of Better Learning

Quality plans help companies define the objectives they hope to attain, document standards and policies, and specify procedures for change.

In most organizations, upper management comprises executives and senior officers who are responsible for implementing the policies and directions that define the company. Upper management plays a key role in quality plan deployment.

The system was developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton to encourage organizations to focus on not only financial data, but also intangible assets necessary for long-term growth.

Managers have several tools available to them to measure the strengths of their quality systems, each of which can give them a solid understanding of system effectiveness.

Officially, the organization is known as the "International Organization for Standardization." However, since the name would be abbreviated differently in several countries, the acronym ISO was chosen, based upon the Greek word isos, meaning "equal."

Several general industry groups have standardized their quality requirements using ISO 9001 standards as a guide. Their ultimate goal is to create quality systems that support continual improvement, prevent defects, and reduce variation and waste in their supply chains.

Originally created by the Naval Air Systems Command, total quality management (TQM) is a term that describes its Japanese-style approach to quality improvement.

Total quality management now focuses on a long-term approach to customer satisfaction. All members of an organization work to improve processes, products, and services, as well as their organization's culture.

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is a philosophy that recognizes the changing nature of customer needs. With its ultimate goal of customer satisfaction, CQI encourages managers to analyze capabilities and processes so they can be constantly improved.

Many organizations send teams to kaizen events, which are typically five days in duration and focus on eliminating waste, improving the work environment, and reducing costs.

The kaizen event uses a structured approach to help organizations develop a new or revised work standard, which is perhaps the most important result companies will take away.

The term "Six Sigma quality" is often used to describe well-controlled processes. The company Motorola is most commonly associated with the term, after naming one of its key initiatives "Six Sigma Quality."

The Six Sigma methodology can help a company achieve breakthrough improvement through the concept of Six Sigma design. Sigma is a letter in the Greek alphabet and is frequently used as a measure of process variability in statistics.

Learn about the Six Sigma roles and their associated responsibilities

Benchmarking is a process an organization can use to measure itself against best-in-class companies so it can improve its own performance to compete in the marketplace.

By using information gleaned from analyzing top competitors' practices, an organization can set and achieve goals that are both competitive and attainable.

In business and strategic plans, benchmarking is focused on establishing objectives for customer satisfaction. For instance, an organization should determine how it compares to its competition, what its performance goals for a specified period are, and which key processes drive those goals.

Although there are far too many to discuss in detail, it's important to have a solid knowledge of the key pioneers who have made significant contributions to the quality movement.

Philip B. Crosby believed there are 14 steps necessary for permanent and lasting improvement.

Explain terms used for better comprehension of the course

Learning reinforcement and course wrap-up

You think knowing stuff changes the game? You think sitting in a library, stacking up facts like you’re building a Jenga tower, is gonna make you a winner? Man, that’s cute. But life ain't a trivia night. Information alone? It’s worthless. It’s like having a Lamborghini in your garage but you never learned how to drive. You just sit in it, making engine noises. Vroom vroom. People walk by, they see the car, but they also see you ain't going nowhere. You got all this knowledge, all these textbooks, but when life throws a punch, you’re still looking up the definition of "duck." It’s what you *do* with that information that actually matters. Don't be the person with the shiny car and no keys.