Total Quality Handbook
Preface  BACKGROUNDThe total-quality philosophy is an approach to doing business that focuses all of the resources of the organization on the continual improvement of both quality and competitiveness. To this end, a total-quality organization will continually, improve its processes, people, and products. This approach is an effective way and, arguably, the only way to survive and prosper in a globally competitive environment. The global business environment is like the Olympic Games in that at every meeting, the competition is better. Records set at the last Games will be broken at the current Games. Performance that is record-breaking today will be insufficient even to win tomorrow. Consequently, organizations and the people who run them need to understand the total-quality philosophy and how to use it to continually improve everything, every day, forever.   WHY AND FOR WHOM THIS BOOK WAS WRITTENThis book was written to provide a "handbook" option to complement the authors' book Quality Management: An Introduction to Total Quality Management for Production, Processing, and Services. Quality Management is a comprehensive college-level text designed for individuals majoring in quality management or quality engineering at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Total Quality Handbook, on the other hand, was written to be used in the following settings: on-site training programs in business, industry, and government; college classrooms for courses that require a less comprehensive treatment than that provided by Quality Management (e.g. quality-related courses that are electives in other majors such as engineering, business, management, or various technology programs); and on-site by managers, supervisors, engineers, and other personnel who are attempting to apply the total-quality philosophy in continually improving their organizations.   ABOUT THE AUTHORSDavid L. Goetsch is Provost of the joint campus of the University of West Florida and Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He is also president of the Development Institute (TDI), a private company dedicated to the continual improvement of quality, productivity, and competitiveness. Dr. Goetsch is co-founder of The Quality Institute, a partnership of the University of West Florida, Okaloosa-Walton Community College, and the Okaloosa Economic Development Council. He currently serves on the executive board of the Institute.Stanley B. Davis was a manufacturing executive with Harris Corporation until his retirement in 1991. He was founding managing director of The Quality Institute and is a well-known expert in the areas of implementing total quality, statistical process control, just-in-time manufacturing, benchmarking, ISO 9000, and ISO 14000. He currently serves as professor of quality at the Institute and heads his own firm, Stan Davis Consulting.