How Quality Can Mean Different Things To Different Companies

Which of the following quotes resonate with you?

• “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
• “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” – Steve Jobs
• “Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing… layout, processes, and procedures.” – Tom Peters

So what exactly is quality?

Maybe it is in the eye of the beholder. But this creates more questions than answers.

When is “good enough” good enough?
What if your “best” isn’t good enough?
Who should be the one to define quality?

Sample Definitions

Consider how a few well-known companies define quality, as one of their stated values or key principles:

• American Express: We provide outstanding products and unsurpassed service that, together, deliver premium value to our customers.
• Boeing: We strive for first-time quality and continuous improvement in all that we do to meet or exceed the standards of excellence stakeholders expect of us.
• Coca-Cola: What we do, we do it well.
• Intel: We strive to achieve the highest standards of excellence; do the right things right; continuously learn, develop, and improve; and take pride in our work.
• Oracle: Oracle employees make excellence and quality a part of day-to-day work processes and seek continuous improvement in all that they do.
• UPS: We remain constructively dissatisfied in our pursuit of excellence.
• Walgreens: Quality through consistent and reliable service, advice, and products across every touchpoint and channel.

Not surprisingly, every company defines quality a little differently.

Some associate quality with integrity. They want to be sure they do things right.
Some associate quality with learning. They strive for continuous improvement.
Some associate quality with reliability. They desire to be seen as dependable.

As a differentiating value, Quality means an essential and distinguishing attribute; a degree or grade of excellence or worth.

In other words, each company must determine the attributes that are important for their business, and define the grade of excellence expected from their people. Then, when they consistently meet (or better yet, exceed) their own benchmarks, then they can claim to possess the value of quality.

 

What exactly does quality mean to you and your business?

 

Today’s value was selected from the “Creativity-Uniqueness” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Value.