Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very practical and insightful book, May 22, 2001
This book contains excellent material, which shows what way to look if you want to increase your productivity/profitability. The whole approach is very customer-oriented, which makes it possible to avoid distinguishing between manufacturing and service businesses (and thus getting lost in irrelevant details). The concept of quality the way that Crosby presents it is fairly universal to all types of businesses. This lets one see to the bottom of the quality issue, which is essential for true understanding. I found very useful the idea that quality should be observed in all business activities, not only customer-specific (e.g. hiring, bookkeeping, etc. vs programming). If this is neglected then the firm simply does not know the true cost of quality. Seems to be so obvious, but ask yourself if you really think of it this way. Also very useful is the suggested way to measure quality in dollars, instead of indirect measurements, like defects-per-KLOC and such. After all, everything boils down to money, and that's the only real indicator of performance. The weak point of this book is its language: it is a little bit hard to read, especially if English is not native to you. It would be much better if it were written in decent English, instead of US spoken. Another pitfall is a somewhat free use of terminology. Thanks to this, many authors argue that the book message is not (entirely) correct, but the point is that some of its statements should not be taken literally. One needs to grasp the true meaning, which Crosby attaches to some of his words, like "requirements". I rate that book with 4 stars only because of readability, which could be better. The contents deserves full 5 stars, and I consider it a must-read for all managers.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An important book. It should open your eyes., May 17, 1998
By A Customer
Phil Crosby was a manager at ITT when he conceived the "zero defect" concept. Later its true meaning was lost and the phrase became a meaningless slogan. He realized that managment was usally passing the buck on quality, and blaming poor quality on blue collar workers, rather than accepting full responsibility for quality. He also emphasizes that many management policies encourage poor quality. He recommends that companies determine the real costs of quality errors, which often rise to 25% of gross sales in manufacturing firms. Even more alarming, in the service industries mistakes often cost up to 40% of gross income. There is a lot of money to be saved!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quality is not a gift, but it is free., November 16, 2002
The author has figured out that it is traditionally difficult to have a meaningful, real-life, factual discussion on sex, quality and other complicated subjects until some basic erroneous assumptions are examined and altered. "The first erroneous assumption is that quality means goodness, or luxury, so shininess, or weight. We must define quality as conformance to requirements if we are to manage it. The second erroneous assumption is that quality is an intangible and therefore not measurable. In fact, quality is precisely measurable by the oldest and most respected of measurements - cold hard cash", says the author. For example, "It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them". This book does not only have theoretic approach, but also brings practical value. It offers a quality improvement program that can be installed in any service or manufacturing company. Philip Crosby's "Quality Is Free", first published in 1979, influences the book "Business @ Speed of Thought" by Bill Gates, released twenty years afterwards. With a bright set of modern case studies, he illustrates the basic concepts presented by Philip Crosby: - There is absolutely no reason for having errors or defects in any product or service.
- Basically, we are slow to change because we reject newness.
- Transmitting: how you come across to others should not be left to chance.
- It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them.
- Business is ... communication that we control and utilize. The effectiveness of the business is determined by how well we do that data transmission. In the same year when the Bill Gates's book was published, Philip Crosby exposes his own case studies entitled "Quality and Me: Lessons from an Evolving Life".
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