What is quality? And does 'I just know it when I see it?' count?

The word quality is often used in our personal and business activities.

It can mean many things to many people.

Quality may mean meeting expectations, or achieving reliability, adding value, or enhancing perceived excellence.

Quality can apply to every topic from a meal, to a haircut, to a diamond, to an automobile.

It is a word that is not easily defined because it most often reflects personal judgment based on our varied life experiences.

When pressed for a stated definition of quality, a common response is "I just know it when I see it." In our personal lives, the lack of clear meaning of quality is seldom critical.

In the operation of our businesses, it can be vital to success or failure.

Truly successful organizations have clearly identified their definition of quality and have drilled it down into day-to-day actions and have communicated it to all who can affect their products or services.An example might be the service department of your auto dealership.

Senior management may define quality as minimal customer complaints, while the service writers believe quality is timeliness of repairs and the technicians believe that quality is an accurate diagnosis and a satisfactory repair.Without a clear definition of quality objectives by senior management, departments may be working at cross purposes, resulting in mixed messages being received by the customer and none of the perceived quality objectives being fully met.

Organizations that struggle with customer satisfaction and profitability often have not set the parameters and context of quality within their companies.

In your business can you challenge yourself to define the word quality in the context of enhanced profit, customer service and employee satisfaction?

Tom Taormina of Virginia City is an expert in quality and business processes with over 35 years experience and 10 books written on the subjects.

He was one of the first quality engineers at NASA's Mission Control Center and currently helps organizations reach their desired levels of excellence.

www.TaorminaGroup.com