the past dozen years. The exhibit places the industrials into blocks of
10 based on 1980 sales and then compares the ranking in terms of 1992
performance. The data show that only slightly more than half (56
percent) of these firms were still in the top 100 after the turbulent
1980s. Moreover, only 18 percent improved in the rankings. Today's
organizations are facing an increasingly competitive, global economy.
The old paradigm rules of competition that dictated success are being
replaced by new rules that have moved from total quality, to learning to
stay ahead of change, to world-class continuous improvement and
innovation. Exhibit 2 illustrates this transition. The following
sections identify the characteristics and provide examples of the new
Unlike management fads or purely quantitative techniques, total quality
is not an addition or supplement to the way management currently runs
the enterprise. Rather, it is an organizational strategy that drives an
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