THE EVOLUTION OF THE MANAGEMENT OF QUALITY
The issue of quality in business has received a great deal of attention in recent years. The Malcolm Baldrige Award, named for the late Secretary of Commerce, is an American award given to companies who meet stringent criteria for a commitment to quality. The Baldrige Award was begun in 1987. The Deming award is given by the Japanese for commitment to quality, and was begun in the early 1950s. In both cases, quality must be demonstrated throughout the companies in question, not just stated as an overriding company principle. In the 1980s and 1990s, the business world, especially the American business community, turned its attention to quality. Large companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Motorola developed job titles such as "Director of Quality Implementation" and "Vice-President of Quality Management." This research focuses on the evolution of quality management, the approaches of two leaders in the field--Deming and Crosby--and how organizations can implement a quality strategy.
For many years in American industry, quality management did not extend beyond the Quality Control, or Quality Assurance, department. Founded in 1946, the American Society for Quality Control is composed primarily of quality control specialists who troubleshoot and test various products and services. These individuals were charged with finding errors in the products they tested. Their department was generally separate from the rest of the organization, and their scope of responsibility did not extend much beyond the final product. This strategy worked well for American companies from World War II through the 1960s, but the 1970s found American companies competing in a very different world market from the 1940s.
The oil crisis of 1973 had long-ranging effects on the global economy in general, and on the American commitment to quality in particular. Until that time, American companies (includi...