Page 50 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

36 B u s i n e s s - I n t e g r a t e d Q u a l i t y S y s t e m s A p p r o a c h e s t o Q u a l i t y 37

The importance of facts must be clearly recognized. Facts, in
contrast to opinions, can be translated into data. If data are accurate,
they can be analyzed using statistical methods and engineering or
management models. This, in turn, forms the basis of decisions.
Such decisions will, in the long run, prove to be better than deci-
sions made without this process, that is, the decisions will produce
results that more closely match management’s goals.
5. Respect for humanity as a management philosophy—full participa-
tory management. When management decides to make company-
wide quality its goal, it must standardize all processes and procedures
and then boldly delegate authority to subordinates. The funda-
mental principle of successful management is to allow sub ordinates
to make full use of their ability. The term humanity implies auton-
omy and spontaneity. People are different from animals or
machines. They have their own minds, and they are always think-
ing. Management based on humanity is a system of management
that lets the unlimited potential of human beings blossom.
6. Cross-functional management.
From the perspective of companywide goals, the main func-
tions are quality assurance, cost control, quantity control, and
personnel control. The company must establish cross-functional
committees to address these section-spanning issues. The com-
mittee chair should be a senior managing director. Committee
members are selected from among those who hold the rank of
director or above.

At the time, cross-functional management was a uniquely Japanese
feature of quality management, requiring a fundamental modification of
the bureaucratic (functional hierarchy) model of traditional organizations.
It has long been known that this form of organization, sometimes called
the “chimney stack model,” results in isolation of the various functions
from one another. This in turn results in parochialism and other behavior
that, while optimal for a given function, is detrimental to the system as a
whole. Most business texts address this problem superficially at best. The
Japanese developed a formal approach for dealing with it, which is often
referred to as cross-functional management (GOAL/QPC, 1990).
Another feature of the Japanese approach to management was the
concentration on the “core business.” The core business is the essence of
what the company does; for example, Toyota might identify their core as
the production of personal transportation vehicles. The company strives
to provide a sense of family and belonging for full-time core employees.
Lifelong service to the employer is expected, and the employer demon-
strates similar loyalty to the employee, for example by providing lifelong
job security.

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