Management Case Study 1

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The Battle of the Gurus

The voices from the conference room were loud and animated. Everyone on the first floor could tell that a heated debate was underway. Knowing that Bill Reyers and George Hales were in there, no one was surprised. They were like oil and water. If one claimed the sky is blue, the other would hotly debate the claim.

The debate concerned the direction that the company's quality system would take. Bill, the operations manager, had just read The Deming Management Method and was convinced that Deming's way was the only way. George had recently read Quality is Free and felt equally strongly that Crosby's was the right path.

Finally, the division VP had heard enough. She turns to you and says, "Obviously we need a neutral party to sort this out. You learn all you can about the Deming and Crosby systems and tell me which is best. I want your report next week. Next agenta item!"

1. Prepare a report summarizing the two quality systems and showing where they are similar and where they differ.

2. Is there a "best" system for all organizations? Discuss.

3. What types of organizational cultures would favor each of the two approaches?