The Ishikawa Medal Week 3 Quality Award – GM588 1/24/2010 Purpose “In management, the first concern of the company is the happiness of the people connected with it. If the people do not feel happy and cannot be made happy, that company does not deserve to exist” (Ishikawa. K. , 1985). This is the message that Kaoru Ishikawa stood for throughout his life-long efforts of improving quality. It would be almost impossible to tell you the importance of the Ishikawa Medal without first acknowledging the man behind the medal. Kaoru Ishikawa was born in 1915 and graduated in 1939 from the Engineering Department of Tokyo University having majored in applied chemistry. In 1947 he was made an assistant professor at the university. He obtained his Doctorate of Engineering and was promoted to professor in 1960″ (DLSU, 2009). Ishikawa wanted to change the way people think about work. He urged managers to resist becoming content with merely improving a product’s quality, insisting that quality improvement can always go one step further. “His notion of company-wide quality control called for continued customer service.
This meant that a customer would continue receiving service even after receiving the product. This service would extend across the company itself in all levels of management, and even beyond the company to the everyday lives of those involved. According to Ishikawa, quality improvement is a continuous process, and it can always be taken one step further” (SkyMark Corp. (2009). Throughout Ishikawa’s career he went on to influence quality with the uses of several well known tools such as the fishbone diagram, and the quality circle.
He was an unassuming man who saw a link between workplace quality and prosperity. High-quality products would sell, and their makers would prosper. If work was thus made a joyful and human experience, such prosperity and joy would lead to world peace. In recognition of his life-long efforts the American Society for Quality established the Ishikawa Medal in 1993. “Dr. Ishikawa wrote that Total Quality is management based on respect for humanity and a discipline that combines knowledge with action. It was his desire that companies using
Total Quality to become instruments for enhancing the quality of life of all people, and in this way help bring about peace in the world”(ASQ – Ishikawa Medalist, 2009). Work that reflects his philosophy and addresses the “human aspects of quality” is recognized through the Ishikawa Medal. Award Criteria The medal is awarded to an individual or a team whose work has had a major positive impact on the human aspects of quality in keeping with the legacy of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa. The criteria for the Ishikawa Medal are based upon the following: (ASQ – Medal Application, 2009). Individual’s criteria Leaders who have had prolonged positive impact on quality and the human environment of their organizations. * Consultants who have worked with managers to improve both the quality of goods, services, systems, and processes, as well as the human aspects of quality. * Leaders of professional or trade organizations, unions, regional networks, etc. who have improved quality and the human environment within their organizations and among their members. * Teachers and authors who have contributed substantially to the knowledge of quality and the human environment and whose teachings others have applied effectively.
Team’s criteria * A management team that has ‘turned the human environment around’ while improving quality for customers. * A cross-functional team that has accomplished major breakthroughs in quality and the human environment. * A cross-company team that has improved quality and the human environment for its industry or geographic region. The application to nominate an individual or team list the following questions to determine the recipient of the Ishikawa Medal. (ASQ – Medal Application, 2009).
Question 1 asks the applicant to provide indicators in impact that the nominee’s work has truly improved the human environment, while improving the quality of goods and services to customers. Question 2 addresses the spreading awareness and understanding of the potential impact of quality on the human side and invites the applicant to provide indicators that – as a result of the nominee’s efforts- led to greater awareness and deeper understanding of both the technical and the human aspects of quality among people in the same areas listed in Question 1.
Question 3 addresses transferability and sustainability of factors impacting the human side of quality. Have the nominee’s successful efforts withstood the test of time and remained effective-and even improved-through various trials and circumstances? What are the indicators that the nominee’s efforts will last and grow? Question 4 looks for indications that the nominee’s work honors the memory, philosophy, and commitment of Dr. Ishikawa regarding both quality and human values. Benefits of the Award The Benefits of the Ishikawa Medal can best be described by Pekka Ala-Pietila.
Pekka Ala-Pietila is Past-President of Nokia Mobile Phone and was awarded the Ishikawa Medal in 2005 for his outstanding work in quality service. In his acceptance speech he explains how Ishikawa influenced the Nokia values. “When the Nokia management team created its system of values in the early 1990s we had two cornerstones that would resonate with the teachings of Dr. Ishikawa: our customers and our people. In 1992 we defined the words that would symbolize Nokia to the world in our advertising and we chose “Connecting People” to signify what the company was about.
It is clear that our company’s products would connect people, but how does “Connecting People” work internally? In a nutshell, Nokia values – our supportive work environment – connects people internally through teamwork, allowing them to self-regulate the quality of their work in order to deliver exceptional quality to our customers! The Nokia values established a common bond of values that were fundamental to our way of working. The most important things that we do are strategic work.
Strategic work is anything that we do that is valued by our customers and valued by our organization, and that we find personally satisfying. The importance of such strategic activity is that it is energizing and exciting and creates enthusiasm for coming to work, and it also motivates us to continue doing a good job! ” (ASQ – Pekka Ala-Pietila, 2005). “The next six years were marked by growth and turbulence, but by 1998, Nokia Mobile Phones had 18,627 employees, contributed 60% of the total annual revenue of 13. 26 billion Euros, and enjoyed almost 25% of the global market share – making it the industry leader! ” (ASQ- Pekka Ala-Pietila, 2005). With Dr. Ishikawa’s teachings in mind, Nokia was able to benefit internally with the growth of employees and externally with the growth of customers. This Award is not only and acknowledgement of Ala-Pietila’s accomplishments, but it also serves as a symbol of motivation to continue offering customers the quality they deserve. Past Winners One of the most notable past winners is the distinguished Dr.
Edward Baker , who was awarded the medal in 1995. His colleagues at Ford Motor Company stated “To learn about quality from Edward was to discover that it was not about statistics but about human aspiration, about striving once more to be proud of the way Americans could work together to achieve something fine. ” Dr. Edward Baker follows the legacy of Ishikawa view that “quality leads to enhancing the quality of life . . . for all peoples and in this way can help bring about peace in the world. ” (ASQ – Medal Application, 2009).
According to the American Society for Quality the following Individual have accomplishment deserving recognition by an Ishikawa Medal. Ishikawa Medalists 2007| | John Timmerman| 2005| | Pekka Ala-Pietila| 2004| | Elmer (Bud) Gookins, Jr | 2003| | Donald L. Dewar| 2002| | Yoshio Kondo| 2001| | Kenzo Sasaoka| 2000| | Peter R. Scholtes| 1998| | Takanori Yoneyama| 1997| | Irving Bluestone| 1996| | Joseph W. Dickey| 1995| | Dr. Edward M. Baker| 1994| | Paula Brooks Sommer| 1994| | Horst Schulze| 1993| | William R. Garwood| Conclusion
This medal commemorates the quality legacy of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa and celebrates his emphasis on the human aspects of quality management. His purpose was to improve quality control by taking customer service a step further. He believed that quality began with the interaction of people. Top-down goals and bottom-up means involvement by all members of an organization is required to optimize quality. The Ishikawa Medal helps recognize employee’s potential key leadership skill. Enhancing the quality of life of people enhances the quality of outcomes and productivity of their services.
The Ishikawa medal is “For innovative leadership in the application of quality management principles and methods through his personal example of continuous learning by adapting best practices to design a dynamic work environment founded, upon respect for individuals that delivered business success as measured by achievements in customer satisfaction and profitable growth. ” (ASQ-Ishikawa Medal, 2005) References Books 1. Ishikawa. K. , (Lu. D. J. trans. ), 1985, What is Total Quality Control? , Prentice-Hall Inc. , Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Websites 2. ASQ (2006-2007) Kaoru Ishikawa retrieved January 18, 2010 from ttp://www. asq. org/about-asq/who-we-are/bio_ishikawa. html 3. ASQ (2009) Ishikawa Medalist/ Application, retrieved January 18, 2010 fromhttp://www. asq. org/about-asq/awards/ishikawa. html 4. ASQ (2005) Ishikawa Medal – Pekka Ala-Pietila,retrieved January 20, 2010 from http://www. asq. org/about-asq/awards/2005-2006-recipients/ishikawa-ala-pietila. html 5. DLSU (2009)Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa: Rise to fame, January 20, 2010 from http://quality. dlsu. edu. ph/chronicles/ishikawa. html 6. SkyMark Corporation (2009) One Step Further, retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www. skymark. com/resources/leaders/ishikawa. asp
