Armand V. (“Val”) Feigenbaum’s 1951 book, Total Quality Control, established his credentials as a quality guru; his subsequent contributions to the study of quality improvement in organizational settings helped reshape the way companies conceive of quality management, making him a pivotal figure in the “quality revolution” that swept through Western companies during the 1980s. McKinsey recently spoke with Feigenbaum, the president and CEO of General Systems Company, about how changes in today’s competitive landscape—particularly ever-shortening product-development cycles and globalization—challenge companies to return to first principles of quality management.
The following are excerpts1:
McKinsey: Would you describe your approach to quality management?
Armand Feigenbaum: Quality assurance is everyone’s job. Improvements in quality lead to improvements throughout the organization. Above all, quality must be understood as a management style, and an infrastructure has to exist that supports both the work quality of the individual and teamwork between departments. Even today, these conditions don’t exist at all companies. Often, there are too many isolated quality initiatives.
DR. ARMAND V. (“VAL”) FEIGENBAUM
Education
Graduated with bachelor’s degree from Union College, Schenectady, New York
Received MS and PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Career highlights
General Systems Company
- President and CEO (1968–present)...