“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT” WHY THE QUALITY REVOLUTION IS STALLING IN THE US
“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”
“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”
WHY THE QUALITY REVOLUTION IS STALLING IN THE US
Abstract
Despite the documented success of firms like GE, Boeing, Xerox, and etc. in adapting Total Quality Management (TQM) in their corporate culture, the US still keep losing market shares especially in the car industry to Japan. When foreign competition pressured the US into a trade deficit in the early 1980’s, American firms finally took notice of TQM principles championed by Deming and Juran. However, the contradiction between Deming’s TQM principle and the traditional corporate culture caused most Americans to resist the change unless the firm’s survival faced a threat. This is because of the strong influence of John Adam’s division of labor and Frederick Smith’s scientific management principle which of course define the strong cultural impact of the Industrial Revolution. This prevailing attitude to resist due to the firm’s past successes can be coined by the phrase “If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.
“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”
WHY THE QUALITY REVOLUTION IS STALLING IN THE US
In May of 1977 T. Bert (Thomas Bertram) Lance, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the 1977 Carter administration, popularized the adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” when he was quoted in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce newsletter, the Nation’s Business. In the newsletter he explains that the trouble with the government during those times “is fixing things that are not broken and not fixing the things that are broken.” The phrase which simply means if something is working adequately well, leave it alone could well be one of the reasons why the quality revolution seem to be stalling, with the US still playing catch up with foreign competitors for the last 30 years.
Traditional corporate culture in the US is a derivative of Adam Smith’s principles of division of labor reinforced by Frederick Taylor’s scientific
“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”
WHY THE QUALITY REVOLUTION IS STALLING IN THE US
Abstract
Despite the documented success of firms like GE, Boeing, Xerox, and etc. in adapting Total Quality Management (TQM) in their corporate culture, the US still keep losing market shares especially in the car industry to Japan. When foreign competition pressured the US into a trade deficit in the early 1980’s, American firms finally took notice of TQM principles championed by Deming and Juran. However, the contradiction between Deming’s TQM principle and the traditional corporate culture caused most Americans to resist the change unless the firm’s survival faced a threat. This is because of the strong influence of John Adam’s division of labor and Frederick Smith’s scientific management principle which of course define the strong cultural impact of the Industrial Revolution. This prevailing attitude to resist due to the firm’s past successes can be coined by the phrase “If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.
“IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”
WHY THE QUALITY REVOLUTION IS STALLING IN THE US
In May of 1977 T. Bert (Thomas Bertram) Lance, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the 1977 Carter administration, popularized the adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” when he was quoted in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce newsletter, the Nation’s Business. In the newsletter he explains that the trouble with the government during those times “is fixing things that are not broken and not fixing the things that are broken.” The phrase which simply means if something is working adequately well, leave it alone could well be one of the reasons why the quality revolution seem to be stalling, with the US still playing catch up with foreign competitors for the last 30 years.
Traditional corporate culture in the US is a derivative of Adam Smith’s principles of division of labor reinforced by Frederick Taylor’s scientific
References: Nation’s Business. (1997, May). U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it.html Hammer, M. & Champy, J. (1993), Reengineering the Corporation: A manifesto for Business Revolution Evans, J.R. and Lindsay, W.M. (2011), Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence. Schoenberger, R. (2007, October). U.S. car makers lose ground in a hurry to foreign competition. Elmuti, D. & Kathawala, Y. (1999, April). Small Service Firms Face Implementation Challenges: Additional Training Needed for Owners, managers, workers Cole, R. E. (1995), The Death and Life of the American Quality Movement. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.