"Quality Management in Japanese and American Firms Operating in the United States : A Comparative Study of Styles and Motivational Beliefs"

This study compared quality management approaches used by Japanese firms operating in the United States and American firms in the same industries. Three different groups of companies were considered: Japanese firms operating in the United States, American firms using a traditional approach to quality management, and American firms purposefully attempting a Japanese approach to quality management. Three different styles of quality management were identified: the promotion - emphasizing the promotion of quality and the style typically identified with the Japanese, the operations - emphasizing managing quality in operations processes, and the inspection - focusing on quality management by inspection of output. Traditional American firms showed significantly less promotion of quality than did Japanese firms and American firms emulating Japanese management.