The progress of quality in New Zealand manufacturing companies

Abstract

New quality programs and initiatives are constantly being developed. Japan has been a leader with quality initiatives that have been incorporated into some western companies. This study aims to determine how far New Zealand manufacturing companies have progressed with quality between 1990 to 1998. Kim, Miller and Heineke (1997) developed a framework that shows the progression of quality in manufacturing companies. The framework depicts a staircase using four quality dimensions. These dimensions are: conformance on the first step then reliability followed by performance and customisation. This study finds that there is no trend of New Zealand manufacturing companies progressing on the quality staircase from 1990 to 1998. However the study shows company performance was not influenced by where companies are on the quality staircase and thatother business factors can also have an effect on company performance. This study finds that although New Zealand manufacturing companies are using quality tools they are not committed to the philosophy behind their use. This research is a longitudinal study covering 8 years and is only the beginning step for analysing the progress of manufacturing companies in New Zealand. It suggests that New Zealand manufacturing companies are being left behind in the race for better quality by other international manufacturing companies.