Today's quality is tomorrow's reputation (and the following day's business success)

Abstract

Globalisation is transforming our world into an economic global village. In this environment, both small and large businesses are required to become more efficient and cope with a competitive global market where customers' expectations continually increase. In this new reality, quality is critical for success and yet, many managers ignore this at their own peril. This paper focuses on the philosophy and methods for improving the quality of a product/service, which in turn leads to a good long-term reputation and improved profitability. This philosophy, which leads to the ‘Quality Chain Reaction’ includes: (a) customer-focused strategy and creation of quality culture; (b) emphasising the prevention process; (c) constant improvement of work processes; (d) establishment of employee involvement and commitment; (e) management support and positive leadership. In addition, it presents the rationale and practical implementations of the methods suggested.

Keywords:

• quality management
• service quality
• quality costs
• quality culture
• business excellence