TQM comes to the Carter Company

216 Pages·2017·5.31 MB·English

by  James William Teegarden

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and
Retrospective Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations
1996
TQM comes to the Carter Company: a case study
of quality improvement teams in a total quality
management initiative in a mid-sized
manufacturing company
James William Teegarden
Iowa State University
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Recommended Citation
Teegarden, James William, "TQM comes to the Carter Company: a case study of quality improvement teams in a total quality
management initiative in a mid-sized manufacturing company " (1996).Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 11342.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/11342
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TQM comes to the Carter Company: A case study
of quality improvement teams in a total quality management initiative
in a mid-sized manufacturing company
by
James William Teegarden
A Dissertation Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department; Industrial Education and Technology
Major: Industrial Education and Technology
Approved:
Signature was redacted for privacy.
^ Charge of Major Wori
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Depaj
Signature was redacted for privacy.
For the (^duatie College
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
1996
Copyright © James W. Teegarden, 1996. All rights reserved.
UMI Number: 9626071
Copyright 1996 by
Teegaraen, Jcuaes William
All rights reserved.
UMI Microform 9626071
Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. Ail rights reserved.
Tliis microform edition is protected against unauthorized
copying under Title 17, United States Code.
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11
To Cynthia, Alicia, Monica, Mark, and Amelia
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ! vlil
PROLOGUE: WHY MANUFACTURING MATTERS 1
CHAPTER ONE: PLANT CLOSURES AND LAYOFFS-
AMERICA'S FUTURE? 4
The decline of American manufacturing 6
The resurgence of American manufacturing 12
What is TQM? 15
The origins of TQM 16
The debate about TQM 18
The purpose of this study 22
The selection of the Carter Company for the study 23
Conducting the investigation 24
The researchcr: Background and biases 24
A look ahead..... 26
CHAPTER TWO: THE CARTER COMPANY 27
An overview 28
The origins, growth, and expansion 28
Reaching maturity 30
The Carter family decides to sell: 1984 32
Harold Miller takes over: 1988 33
iv
The TQM penod: 1993-1995 35
CHAPTER THREE: THE TQM IMPLEMENTATION 45
The keys to success; or the seeds of failure 45
Approaches to TQM implementation 49
The TQM Institute's approach to implementation 51
TQM implementation at the Carter Company 35
Implications for other organizations 70
CHAPTER FOUR: THE GOOD WASTE TEAM 74
The problem of good waste. 74
The team members 75
The experiences of team members (the view from inside) 76
Management perspectives (the view from outside) 81
Results from the team 82
Team member perspectives (after the team experience) 82
Implications for other organizations 96
CHAPTER FIVE: THE JOB TICKET TEAM 99
The problem 99
The team members 100
The experiences of team members (the view from inside) 101
Management perspectives (the view from outside) 105
Results from the team 106
Team member perspectives (after the team experience) 106
Implications for other organizations 114
CHAPTER SIX: PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES 117
V
The "comparison" groups 117
The management groups 122
Contrasts and commonalities 132
Implications for other organizations 138
CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMING UP 141
Where the TQM implementation went wrong 141
Team member trust and understanding 144
Organizational trust and understanding 144
The rest of the stoi^ 149
What really happened? 1S5
CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS. IMPLICATIONS. AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 158
Conclusions 158
Implications for organizations considering TQM 161
Recommendations 171
EPILOGUE: A CLOSING NOTE 176
REFERENCES 178
APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY 188
APPENDIX B: TQM DEFINED 199
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Ranking of competitiveness of business firms in 23i ndustrialized countries 8
Table 2. Changes in the levels of understanding and trust during
the Carter Company's TQM implementation 145
Table 3. Significant events in the Carter Company: 1879-1992 150
Table 4. Significant events in the Carter Company: 1993-1994 151
Table 5. Significant events in the Carter Company: 1995 153
Tabic 6. Aspects of trustworthiness 190