American organizations, including health care delivery
organizations, were generally competing against other American
companies; thus, the pressures to improve product quality were
not perceived to be as significant as they were in the
manufacturing sector. The advent of economic recession,
constraints on governmental spending, and consumer resistance,
however, changed the perception of quality among service providers (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991, p. 100). Service
providers, including health care delivery organizations, became
aware that quality must be emphasized in their operations, if
they were to retain their customers bases and remain viable
Quality control refers "to a system . . ., by which
assurance is sought that the output produced conforms to specific
parameters that define product or service quality" (Lester,
Enrick, and Mottley, 1991, p. 1). An effective quality control
program enhances the ability of an organization to both reduce
costs and improve productivity. As a consequence, effective
quality control has a positive impact on an organization's
financial efficiency and stability. Quality control, in order to
be effective, must be integrated throughout the production
process of an organization, whether the output of that process is
a good or a service. Thus, a quality control system must be
developed or adopted, and that system must be incorporated into
the organizational structure. Control procedures must be
established at every stage of the production process.
Retention of an organization's customer base is just one
advantage associated with improved levels of quality. Financial
stability may be expected to improve along with productivity as
quality levels rise (Hammonds and DeGeorge, 1991, p. 34).
Improved customer satisfaction is both the fastest and the best
route to greater customer retent...