Most people in industry are familiar with W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, James Harrington, and others whose ideas are usually grouped under the term total quality management (TQM). However, the practices they embrace aren’t just about TQM; they are about management best practices that embrace a culture of quality.

Often, quality is only noticed when it fails; quality issues often get a lot of negative attention by the media, and the “news” is available worldwide. Regardless of the industry—pharmaceutical, food, medical device, automotive, chemical, or construction—dozens of recent examples demonstrate the potentially high costs of poor quality, estimated at 5 percent to 30 percent of gross sales for manufacturing and service firms. To avoid the high cost of poor quality, a cultural shift is essential. 

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