Today, there is a lot of talk about all of the issues that people have been finding when trying to use Windows Vista. The product was obviously rushed out, and not tested as much as it should have been. This is just another case of a growing problem in business today. Pride no longer has a place in the marketplace.
Over the last few years, we have seen more and more companies rush out products to ensure that deadlines are met, and an early chunk of the market share for their product can be obtained. Wallstreet has an adage, “He who grabs first – wins. Whoever wins, makes the most money.”
Last years release of Sony’s PS3 was a prime example of this. Sony wanted to make sure that their new Playstation would wow customers and critics alike. On the first day of Japanese release, Sony become inundated with calls from customers who were unhappy with the product.
Sony had bragged about the fact that with the Playstation 3, a gamer would be able to play all of the old PS1 and PS2 games on the system. Once the packages were opened, gamers were enraged when they found that over seventy percent of their old games were not compatible with the system that they had just anted up for.
A connected problem happened last year at Toyota. In 2006, Toyota recalled more cars then they produced. A Japanese business mindset is to blame for both Sony’s and Toyota’s problems. Traditionally in Japan, the worker would take pride in everything that they did for the company. There was very little need for quality control because of this.
Over the last few decades, an American mindset has made its way into Japan. Japanese workers have become more lackadaisical, and do not have to corporate pride that they once did. The product quality has gone down, but the Japanese companies are not sure how to compensate for this. Many Japanese companies feel that it would be dishonorable to have large quality control departments.
In the United States, many companies are feeling the effects of a similar problem that was caused by what some refer to as a, “Reductionary Mind Set.” In the mid-Eighties when the Japanese automakers began to make a stronger statement Stateside, many companies marveled at the fact that the Japanese could make a superior product without quality control departments.
In the Nineties, and in the early part of this century, many companies in the United States have reduced or eliminated their quality control departments. When the company investors would look into this, the decision makers would state that the elimination was made to streamline the company, and to make it more efficient like the Japanese companies.
Companies have to realize that quality control is a necessary department if you want to gain a large market share. A larger market share creates pride, and pride creates a better product.
