Summary

David A. Garvin rocked the foundations of U.S. manufacturing when his devastating indictment of American product quality first appeared in the "Harvard Business Review" in 1983 and subsequently in newspapers around the world. Garvin had analyzed a representative global industry -- room air conditioners, a product with basic, unchanging technological requirements -- and irrefutably documented American failure rates which were 500 to 1,000 times greater than those of Japanese competitors. Now, building on that shocking study, Garvin's new work combines theory and practice to show how a more sophisticated understanding of quality can lead U.S. companies to a strategic approach to quality management, which is necessary to compete in today's world marketplace.

This seminal work is essential reading for managers, particularly since widely held assumptions and a growing mythology about quality "have not" produced the expected revolution in U.S. quality performance -- with few products able to match the quality and reliability levels of their overseas competitors. Garvin begins with a superb review of quality history in this country and an incisive analysis of what Japan has done with the same concepts and ideas -- and done demonstratively better -- revealing the hard facts that prove quality is the best competitive weapon to dramatically increase profits and cut losses.

Here is the actual evidence relating quality to such variables as price, market share, ad

Choice Review

Garvin (Harvard Business School) demonstrates the important role of quality management in improving industrial competitiveness. He combines theory and practice in explaining how product quality is the key to increased profits and a strong competitive edge in the international marketplace. Throughout, a single theme dominates the analysis: "the importance of understanding quality well enough to manage it." Part 1 begins with a broad overview of the history of the quality movement in the US, tracing its evolution from inspection and statistical control to quality assurance and strategic quality management. Garvin presents evidence showing how quality correlates to various business measures, e.g., price, market share, productivity, cost, and profitability. Parts 2 and 3 focus on a comparison of quality performance in the manufacture of room air conditioners by 11 US companies and 9 Japanese firms. The author concludes with a summary of key findings and a discussion of their implications for managers and researchers. The appendixes provide a useful detailed description of the study and an explanation of the research methods and statistical analysis. Essential reading for managers and highly recommended for business students and interested general readers. -A. Tavakoli, Fayetteville State University

Library Journal Review

One must admire this as a work of erudition. Garvin (Harvard Business School) has assembled a great deal of material to show that U.S. companies often trail far behind foreign competitors (especially Japanese) in providing consumer products and services of superior quality. His indictment of American industry is shattering, but he details how the problem could be overcome. Case studies provide a useful (if sometimes tedious) background to the problem for the businessperson. For the general reader, the book will hold little interest, but for the specialist, it should be required. Recommended for extensive business collections. A.J. Anderson, Graduate S.L.I.S., Simmons Coll., Boston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.