A considerable number of executives today still struggle to make quality a top priority. Based on a survey of more than 300 executives, barely 50 percent of companies in large and mature industries currently make quality a top priority. In fact, for some industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, the percentage of companies that rate quality as a top objective is below 50 percent.

In manufacturing and industrial environments, quality is essential for survival (aka long-term viability and profitability). If you’re not monitoring and continuously searching for ways to improve the quality of your products or services, you’re going to fall by the wayside. Market leaders are only too aware of this. That being said, though, there still seems to be a steady flow of recalls and other quality issues throughout the world. Why is that?

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