The genesis of the term “quality” originates around 1300 from the Latin “qualitas” and from the word “qualis” (of what kind or of what nature). This focuses on the end goal and the description of what is acceptable. As we fast-forward to today, the quality of ingredients, products and processes are surrounded with multiple opinions, approaches and applications (of many kinds and nature). The end result of what is acceptable likely varies from one organization to another.
Dr. W. Edwards Deming believed that quality focuses on the customer (meeting their expectations). He believed that quality was everyone’s responsibility. He created a quality theory focusing on continually improving which was called Total Quality Management (TQM). This was a radical change for the time, but simple. He believed if you improved the quality of your process you would move to reducing costs, but if you made decisions to reduce costs, you would ultimately reduce quality. There is something to think about in that approach. Is quality something to consider when in the middle of a recall or in the middle of a market push?
