[...]... takeovers and downsizing; the relativity of quality across cultures; the business of quality; the quality profession and its role in promoting various fads including international standards, bureaucratic registrars, and standardization (ISO 9000); the role of power in customer-supplier relations, the economic survival of companies; and plain stupidity, including the occasional stupidity of customers, of burdensome... tell their suppliers or subcontractors how to run their business They can control the production process 6 Quality and Power in the Supply Chain of their suppliers not because it is better to do so (although they would probably argue that it is), but because they have the power to do so and lack the wisdom not to use it The Role of Power in Dictating Demands Beginning in the 1950s and continuing to... burdensome procedures, and of quality fads in general This eclectic, yet related, series of topics is the foundation of the book The broad nature of the subject matter offered me little alternative but to gather the varied subjects into six interrelated parts Part I, Prologue, consists of Chapters 1 and 2 In it, the general premise of abuse of power for the supposed sake of quality and the absurdity that... and the Winner-Take-All Society," The American Prospect, Spring 1994 8 Quality and Power in the Supply Chain As companies become larger, their economic dominance and power over so-called "peripheral" firms increase and so do their contractual demands or, rather, the contractual demands of their purchasing managers As we shall see in a later chapter, the need to constantly serve their best and often... trace the origin of some of today's managerial and quality ideologies, show how quality management movements evolve, explain how the quality industry and its profession popularize, promote, and benefit from fads, and finally suggest that despite all the efforts and propaganda published by the quality industry, there is a separate reality to "quality" which clearly demonstrates that managerial principles... completing yet another course, especially designed for the "rigorous" needs of the automotive industry The price: a mere $500 (1997) per course Dual Economy in the World of International Standards The dualistic model is also present in the world of international standards, particularly the ISO 9000 series of quality systems The various committees that produce these standards tend to be dominated by individuals... requirement, send their staff searching for the latest "quick fix." Quality and Power in the Supply Chain attempts to bridge the gap between the vast literature of quality fads including the recent fad of ISO 9000 international standards and Scott Adams' humorous description of these w o r l d s 2 Unlike Adams, who simply pokes fun at the irrationality and at times idiotic behavior of corporate policies,... profession and the quality industry in general helped promote the lucrative business that became known as the ISO 9000 phenomenon Part V, Consequences of Standardization, consists of Chapters 14 and 15 Because one of the by-products of the ISO 9000 phenomenon has been the generation of documented procedures, Part V analyzes the world of procedure writing Chapter 14 offers a brief history of the origin of procedures... procedures and offers suggestions on how to integrate "working knowledge." Chapter 15 explores the world of procedures: what they are, when they are needed, how to write them, and when they should be avoided Part VI concludes with Chapter 16, which offers a brief look at the future of the quality profession and the businesses it represents Suggestions are offered on what to do and what to avoid doing in this... 100 13 14 Quality and Power in the Supply Chain To a much greater extent than is true of private bureaucracies, government agencies (1) cannot lawfully retain and devote to the private benefit of their members the earnings of the organization, (2) cannot allocate the factors of production in accordance with the preferences of the organization's administrators, and (3) must serve goals not of the organization's . alt="" Quality and Power in the Supply Chain: What Industry Does for the Sake of Quality This Page Intentionally Left Blank Quality and Power in the Supply. of Congress Cataloging -in- Publication Data Lamprecht, James L., 1947- Quality and power in the supply chain : what industry does for the sake of quality