Building the Invisible Quality(tm) Corporation

Kevin Maromonte, a specialist in corporate performance improvement, maintains that the next logical necessary step in the evolution of quality management is no less than the abolition of all company quality departments, including the Quality Assurance and Total Quality Management (TQM) departments, and their specialized functions. Instead, he argues persuasively that the responsibility for quality improvement should be dispersed throughout the organization, resulting in what he calls the Invisible Quality corporation. Only in this way can responsibility for the continuing creation and maintenance of quality in the production of goods and services be shared by management and employees. Why this is so and how it can be accomplished with little or no disruption to the organization is discussed reasonably and in compelling detail. More than just a guide, Maromonte's book offers a provocative new way to think about the organization and to help it achieve its highest potential. Essential reading for people at all corporate levels, and a challenging presentation for their colleagues in the academic business community.

Maromonte points out that as industry has evolved over the past century, the responsibility for corporate quality improvement has been increasingly decentralized, yet quality departments continue to exist in organizations. As a result, people in organizations now tend to look to others - specifically quality professionals - for quality improvement rather than to themselves. To rectify this, he argues that such compartmentalized responsibilities continuing to be absorbed by quality departments must be transferred to other departments throughout the corporation. If this is done, Maromonte states that not only will corporate performance be dramatically improved, but operating expenses will be drastically reduced, and he shows clearly how to do it. His approach is rational, methodical, and mindful of the hazards of attempting to impose drastic changes on any organization. The Invisible Quality concept must first be thoroughly understood and the reason for it accepted throughout the top levels of management. He shows how to accomplish this, how to instill a commitment to Invisible Quality in others, and then how to quantify and measure the results it achieves.