Holistic Thinking in Management
Trends Towards Holistic Thinking In Management
Trends towards holistic thinking in "QUALITY MANAGEMENT"
(in Manufacturing Sector)
Quality as a concept has been widely used for the improvement in the performance of organizations. In its initial stages it was applied only to the manufacturing sector, but subsequently it spread to the services and other sectors. Over the years the definition of quality has been revised from being applied only to products; subsequently quality initiatives have evolved to encompass focus on customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, people involvement, empowerment of the employees, team work, data-driven decision making etc.
This study shall start by taking a look at the history of the quality initiatives and milestones over the years. There is ample evidence of attention to quality in the pre-industrial revolution era, as evinced in the legacy of the Egyptian civilization and other civilizations of that age. But it was the industrial revolution which brought into prominence "Quality" in managerial thought.
We begin with Eli Whitney 's invention of technique of producing interchangeable parts as the first recorded initiative in quality management.
1798: Eli Whitney, Mass Production and Interchangeable Parts
Best known for his invention of the cotton gin in 1787, Eli Whitney had a greater impact on modern manufacturing with the introduction of his revolutionary uniformity system. In 1798, Whitney was awarded a government contract to produce 10,000 muskets. He proved it was possible to produce interchangeable parts that were similar enough in fit and function to allow for random selection of parts in the assembly of the muskets. Throughout the next century, quality involved defining ways to objectively verify the new parts would match the original parts or design. Exact replication was not always necessary, practical, cost effective or measurable. Objective methods of measuring and assuring dimensional consistency
Trends towards holistic thinking in "QUALITY MANAGEMENT"
(in Manufacturing Sector)
Quality as a concept has been widely used for the improvement in the performance of organizations. In its initial stages it was applied only to the manufacturing sector, but subsequently it spread to the services and other sectors. Over the years the definition of quality has been revised from being applied only to products; subsequently quality initiatives have evolved to encompass focus on customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, people involvement, empowerment of the employees, team work, data-driven decision making etc.
This study shall start by taking a look at the history of the quality initiatives and milestones over the years. There is ample evidence of attention to quality in the pre-industrial revolution era, as evinced in the legacy of the Egyptian civilization and other civilizations of that age. But it was the industrial revolution which brought into prominence "Quality" in managerial thought.
We begin with Eli Whitney 's invention of technique of producing interchangeable parts as the first recorded initiative in quality management.
1798: Eli Whitney, Mass Production and Interchangeable Parts
Best known for his invention of the cotton gin in 1787, Eli Whitney had a greater impact on modern manufacturing with the introduction of his revolutionary uniformity system. In 1798, Whitney was awarded a government contract to produce 10,000 muskets. He proved it was possible to produce interchangeable parts that were similar enough in fit and function to allow for random selection of parts in the assembly of the muskets. Throughout the next century, quality involved defining ways to objectively verify the new parts would match the original parts or design. Exact replication was not always necessary, practical, cost effective or measurable. Objective methods of measuring and assuring dimensional consistency
References: 1. Eli Whitney, http://technology.ksc.nasa.gov/ETEAM/whitney.html. 2. Joseph M. Juran and A. Blanton Godfrey, Juran 's Quality Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 1998. 3. Kaoru Ishikawa, What Is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way, Prentiss- Hall, 1985. 4. Juran, Juran 's Quality Handbook 5. Philip B. Crosby, Quality Is Free—The Art of Making Quality Certain, McGraw-Hill, 1979. Copyrights @ JOHTIKUMAR N SONS 2005, hindiwala