Insight on Quality

Another attribute that is often associated with quality is consistency. How come a company can consistently produce low quality output and yet retain certain badges of approval?

These cases demonstrate the difference between real quality and show quality. You have to decide which sort of quality is important for the long-term prosperity of your business. The clue was in the word “real”

Real quality isn’t about the paperwork or the bureaucracy. It’s about good products and services, satisfying customers and other stakeholders, demonstrating your capabilities, reducing risk and improving your competitiveness. The bureaucracy has to support these aims and drive improvement, not merely tick a box on an auditor’s check list.

Quality is not an add-on feature that can be attached to a product or service at the point of delivery. It has to be built-in and managed at every stage, from concept to completion. That’s why we talk about quality management – it doesn’t happen by magic! The same can be said of quality management systems: it’s no good trying to bolt one on the side of your business, hoping to get all the benefits without any of the inconvenience of thoughtful design and careful integration.

We all know that, in business and in life, you usually get what you pay for. Investing time and money in quality and management systems makes good business sense so long as it is done in the right way for your business. Many businesses have tried “doing quality” on the cheap. You can guess the outcome. But there are many who have taken it seriously and generated serious financial returns. Make sure you choose to be in the right group.