Purpose – This paper is based on a benchmarking exercise involving some 164 QFD practitioners within Ford Motor Company and 27 selected external QFD companies. The predominant response “cell” was from Vehicle Centre 1, Power‐Train Systems Engineering, although there was both a US and...

Sustainable competitiveness can only come through building robustness into processes and their effective management and control. Through a culture of continuous improvement and using the Deming Cycle of plan‐do‐check‐act, complacency can be prevented and value optimized for the end...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the various contributions made by Gurus who have impacted significantly on the theory and practice of total quality management (TQM) over the past 100 years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the solid foundation created by the...

Reviews the literature on leadership and management in the context of TQM. Discusses an American study which identifies key strengths and areas of improvement. Determines the role of senior managers in TQM implementation, with reference to case studies of several companies which have won the...