Every few years the American Society for Quality (ASQ) conducts a Future of Quality study. The first phase of the 2011 study, which involves the use of a Delphi process to identify the key forces of change, has been completed recently.

Using input from 150 panelists in 40 countries, the study identified and prioritized eight forces of change, as follows:

1. Global responsibility
2. Consumer awareness
3. Globalization
4. The increasing rate of change
5. The workforce of the future
6. Aging population
7. 21st-century quality
8. Innovation

ASQ asked me to think about how these forces will impact enterprise management and hence organizational quality. With ASQ’s permission I am sharing those thoughts with you, as well as the ASQ study team. I am dividing my comments into three groups of three: in the first group are overarching factors I believe will be the big influencers, the next group addresses impacts of these overarching factors, and in the last group are my (wild) speculations about possible outcomes. I propose we all meet in about 10 years and have a good laugh about these insights and predictions.

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