As we continue our sabbatical journey, more opportunities for the improvement of management practices continue to appear. This month, the overriding theme that I have observed is the lack of front-line performance that seems to be a result of the system.

The headline’s question seemed a bit far-fetched to me when it was originally posed. The answer provided another delightful illustration of the myriad analogies we find in our everyday lives that relate so effortlessly to our work as quality professionals.

(Toyota Motor Sales: Torrance, CA) -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A. Inc. has announced the five winners in its Ideas for Good initiative, a unique program that invited consumers to share their ideas on how to repurpose Toyota technologies beyond their automotive applications.

Editor’s note: This column first ran May 10, 2011, more than five years before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. We think it's worth reading now not so much for political reasons but rather to emphasize the enduring usefulness of quality management tools.

How safe is our food? It is a question asked all over the world on a daily basis as food-scare stories fill the media and governments act to calm consumer fears.

If you're reading this article, especially in the United Kingdom, it’s possible that you are a member of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).

(The Conference Board: New York) -- When it comes to recessions, the U.S. economy doesn’t bounce back like it used to, The Conference Board reports in a recent analysis.

During the past 30 years I’ve had the opportunity to measure quite a few manufactured parts, machine tools, fabrications, and large vessels. I’ve also reviewed hundreds of metrology surveys done by technicians.

When a supply chain is firing on all cylinders—moving products, information, and money on schedule—it goes largely unnoticed, at least to the average consumer.

This is one of the first questions that executives always ask me. Because it is a broad question, the answer is often challenging.