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David Garvin
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http://www.well.com/user/bbear/garvin.html
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Organizational Learning, Operations, Quality & Six Sigma
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In the early 1980s, when everyone was talking about Japanese management, "quality circles," and "Theory Z," David Garvin of Harvard Business School did something truly interesting. He felt that, "If quality is to be managed, it must first be understood." So he studied one industry which was active in both the United States and Japan -- the room air conditioning industry -- analyzing the products to determine which plants in which country were turning out the highest quality. Then he analyzed every step of the manufacturing process, to find the differences that made the difference. He administered hundreds of questionnaires, toured plants, and questioned everyone from line supervisors to CEOs. His findings were often surprising. Some things that everyone thought guaranteed higher quality (such as exhaustive testing) did not, while some things rarely mentioned in the literature (such as the way the factory dealt with layoffs and seniority, and the length of production runs) made a big difference.
This detailed examination of a single industry provided a wealth of insights that apply to quality management in other industries. He explores his findings, and what they mean for other industries, in his book, Managing Quality: The Strategic and Competitive Edge.
In a wide-ranging conversation, I asked Dr. Garvin to tell us how his findings can make a difference in the health care industry. He started by mapping out a somewhat different, and more detailed, view of what exactly quality is.
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5 books found | |
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By Garvin, David
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Amazon's customers rating 
General Management: Processes and Action by David Garvin focuses on implementation, and the way that general managers get things done. Typically they work through processes like strategic planning,...
Ranking at Amazon 0
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McGraw Hill
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December - Paperback
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General Management
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Our price: n/a (list: n/a)
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Information updated on 08/25/2008
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By Garvin, David
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Amazon's customers rating
Today's business leaders must always know what their stakeholders are thinking--be they customers, employees, constituents, or competitors--and act upon that information in a timely and appropriate...
Ranking at Amazon 0
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Harvard Business School Press
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December - Hardcover
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Organizational Learning
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Our price: n/a (list: n/a)
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Information updated on 08/26/2008
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By Garvin, David
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Amazon's customers rating
Today's business leaders must always know what their stakeholders are thinking--be they customers, employees, constituents, or competitors--and act upon that information in a timely and appropriate...
Ranking at Amazon 0
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Harvard Business School Press
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December - Paperback
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Organizational Learning
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Our price: n/a (list: n/a)
Used from: n/a
Information updated on 08/27/2008
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5 books found | | | |
