Quality Thoughts
What a pleasure it is to welcome back Kevin Dooley and Farzad Mahmoodi as guest editors of this issue of the Engineering Management Review. When I first started with the Review, they assembled my second issue and it was naturally centered on quality. Many readers complimented their editorial and selection of feature articles, and surplus inventory was depleted quickly. That issue is still being used in several college classes on quality management as a key resource. One reader asked for a replacement because his son-in-law, who worked in quality management, lifted it from his house! The quality reprise presented on the following pages should be of no less interest. (Jerry, if you're reading this now, rest assured that a spare has already been shipped for your son-in-law. However, he ought to have his own membership in the Engineering Management Society and the holidays are not far off.)
Not having the qualifications to venture well beyond what Farzad and Kevin have presented, perhaps comments on a different side of the matter are more in order - the quality with which people work together within an organization. In both industry and academe, what places a smile on the customer's face is usually the service more than the stuff. And service, as perceived by the customer, is largely driven by the quality of how an organization works internally.
Say What?
For example, it is easy to miss customer needs when those needs are not well-articulated. I am often a customer myself and it is not difficult to generalize a broader set of customer needs and desires. They might include:
Find a Busy Person
Internally, organizational quality shows when needed materials are passed along on time and they are in proper order. Quality shines when others, of their own initiative, investigate a matter for you only because it might save you time or help you function better. I have been, and am, fortunate to work with a number of people who are personally motivated by and for quality. The best are often the busiest but they seem to keep their priorities straight. Quality is not the domain of the lazy and the slow.
Two Busy
Two such people are Farzad and Kevin. When I suggested doing another issue on quality, they agreed, but indicated that some time was needed. Working with Farzad, I understand the pace he keeps, so I was particularly grateful when they both consented (enthusiastically). Thanks.