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QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGEMENT IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

The accent on quality was lost in American industry in the post World War II era, when the country's industry could sell almost anything that it can make, at a time when the quality level of foreign made products was of no great worry (Halberstam, 1986, p. 313). To be sure, there were advocates of quality control in the United States (US), such as Edwards Deming; however, American industry was in no mood to listen to them. Unfortunately for American industry, someone else did listen to Deming the Japanese. The superior quality control procedures of today's Japanese industry were originally developed under the guidance and tutelage of Edwards Deming (p. 314). Further, the statistical and mathematical element of Deming's procedures, and, in turn, those of Japanese industry, were based on the work of another American quality control expert, Walter Shewhart (p. 314).

Deming insisted that true quality control began with a real commitment from top management. American companies, particularly automobile manufacturers, however, made quality control a minor function of middle or lower level management (Halberstam, 1986, pp. 312-313).
People would agree that fear is the enemy of success. According to Deming, fear is the enemy of innovation and improvement. "No one... can put in his best performance unless he feels secure. Secure means without fear...," stated Deming (Schmoker, 1993, p. 13). Creating a positive stress-free work environment, eliminating fears and anxieties is important for any company. Employees working in a supportive non-threatening work atmosphere display significantly better results. Most importantly, people "become more open and honest about discussing barriers to performing their jobs... workers cooperate to ensure the long-term survival of the company " (Gitlow, 1987, p. 133). Dr. Deming's philosophy does not target a specific area of business. If implemented, it will be extremely beneficial to any organization, institution, or business that has growth, prosperity, and customer satisfaction as its goal.
What Deming sought was a mathematical means of controlling the level of quality by seeking "ever finer manufacturing tolerances" (Halberstam, 1986, p. 312). While this system of quality control demanded a commitment from the highest management levels, it depended upon the participation of personnel from all levels of the organization involved in the production

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