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Well, the Quality revolution, if I can call it that, turns these views on their head. There are several reasons for this.
First, putting mistakes right – fixing a faulty machine or collecting it and replacing it – are labor-intensive and costly
and it's more cost-effective to eliminate the need for this by producing a perfect product with zero defects in the first
place. Second, if your competitors are able to produce goods with zero defects, then clearly customers will prefer those.
So in order to survive, you have to keep ahead of your competitors. Obviously this applies to services too – your service
has to be so good that there is no dissatisfaction and hence no complaints from clients. Complaints usually mean that
there are defects in your product or in your service – and even your accounts department is providing a service to you
and your suppliers and customers.
Interviewer: The big problem about all this is the other links in the chain. I mean, you're dependent on the quality
of materials supplied to you as a manufacturer that you will then transform in your factory. How does this fit in?
Ms Lockhart: Yes, I agree, this is one of the problems. You normally don't have a direct control over your sup-
plier's processes, but you can change suppliers in order to obtain the materials of the highest quality. This will normally
mean paying more, but the extra cost can be easily justified if your own production quality improves. If, however,
you're obtaining poor quality materials from a single source, you may have to start looking for alternative suppliers, or
impose your own quality control on all incoming supplies before you accept them.
Interviewer: All right, suppose a company wants to introduce Quality as part of its business philosophy, how easy
is it to set about doing this?
Ms Lockhart: First of all you have to sell the concept to everyone in the company: at board level, to senior man-
agement, to line managers and to the employees. Everyone has to believe in Quality for it to succeed – it won't work if
you have a group of people somewhere in the company who are working against you – that may mean production staff
who are careless or office staff who don't provide a good service to customers and to other members of their own com-
pany. New staff can be trained relatively easily, but established staff tend to be much harder to persuade about new
ideas. The major arguments we use in our seminars are to do with taking a pride in your work – well, you know, every-
one likes to feel they're doing a good job, and we say 'If your competitors are successfully doing this, can you afford not
to?' If we can't sell our service or product, we'll lose business and people will lose jobs.
Interviewer: Sarah, thanks very much.
Ms Lockhart: Thank you.
T a s k 3. Listen to the interview again and find and correct one mistake in each sentence of the following
summary.
1. Quality affects every function of the company and some of its employees.
2. With 'Zero Defects' the company aims to produce goods that are mostly perfect.
3. In the past, customers expected some faults -they could be corrected by apologizing to the supplier, who would
replace the faulty goods.
4. Putting mistakes right is labor-intensive and inexpensive and it's more cost-effective to produce a perfect prod-
uct with no defects.
5. If your competitors can produce perfect products, your customers will prefer yours.
6. A service has to be so good that there is no dissatisfaction and there are few complaints from your clients.
7. A manufacturer can change suppliers to get materials of the highest quality, even if this means paying less.
8. The extra cost is justified if the quality of your own production deteriorates.
9. To introduce Quality you must sell the idea to everyone in the company: most of the staff have to believe in
quality.
10. It's easier to sell new ideas to established staff.
T a s k 4. Before you read discuss these questions.
1. What qualities do you think a person needs in order to be a successful global manager? Some examples may be
independence, or an interest in foreign cultures. Try to think of others.
2. What personal and professional skills do you need for a successful business career in your country, e.g. spe-
cialist training, knowledge of foreign languages, outgoing personality?
Global Careers
Thomas Aitken
Ideally, it seems a global manager should have the stamina of an Olympic runner, the mental agility of an Einstein,
the conversational skill of a professor of languages, the detachment of a judge, the tact of a diplomat, and the persever-
ance of an Egyptian pyramid builder. And that's not all. If they are going to measure up to the demands of living and
working in a foreign country, they should also have a feeling for the culture; their moral judgment should not be too
rigid; they should be able to merge with the local environment; and they should show no signs of prejudice.
According to Colby Chandler, the former Chief Executive of Eastman Kodak Company, 'these days there is not a
discussion or a decision that does not have an international dimension. We would have to be blind not to see how criti-
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