Quality-focused versus Traditional Management Styles
Traditional management styles are all essentially management by results. Managers feel justified in letting quality standards slip, adjusting output to meet quotas, and generally forfeiting the right production standards and procedures to pander to results. This management style is predicated on the ôends justifies the meansö philosophy. This ôcharade of conformanceö fosters dishonesty and a juggling of the facts (Joiner & Scholtes).
Quality-focused management is predicated instead on the quality of the product and the satisfaction of the customer. In this style, the goal is to produce an extremely high quality product without cutting corners on quality and without pandering to profits. This is a radical departure from traditional styles, which exalt profits above quality and virtually every other consideration. In quality-focused management, profits improve because the product is better and the customer is willing to pay for it. This type of management requires detailed quality measurement and adherence to consistent quality standards, since any lapse in quality will be detected by customers and will undermine the success of this style.
Switching from a traditional style to a quality-focused style of management requires reeducation of managers to become leaders instead of bosses as well as clear communication of the companyÆs quality vision (Joiner & Scholtes). The quality goal must be championed by everyone, from the top down to the lowest worker. The conversion to a quality-focused style forces sweeping changes in every aspect of a companyÆs management from the selection of personnel to the function of teams within the company, but the end result is a better product, a happier customer, and a company that operates with greater integrity.
Joiner, B.L., Scholtes, P.R. Total Quality Leadership vs. Management by Results.
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