Total Quality Management: Competitive advantage to a country.

Essay by lynn_33 November 2004

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The extent of quality towards competitive advantage is not only limited to an organisation, but it plays a major role in nation's success, which can be seen in Japan. One of the most distinctive features of the Japanese Quality Movement has been its national focus and the publishing of the monthly journals on quality such as the "Kikaku to Hyojun" (Journal on Standards and Norms) which was circulated in 1946. Standardization was a key vehicle for consolidating the Japanese Quality Movement. In 1949, the Industrial Standardization Law was passed and it led a year later to the first Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). Japanese have made enormous strides in quality management. The heavy involvement of the Japanese executives in quality activities can be traced in the role and impact of JUSE, a nonprofit foundation founded by Ichiro Ishikawa, also the first chairman of the foundation. JUSE emphasized its focus to the theme of quality and reliability and publishes the magazine of "Statistical Quality Control". With the emerged of quality into legal standard under JIS and intense cooperation from JUSE, Japan was very successful in using quality as national competitive advantage.