Global and Capable Quality Management

The idea of globalization has been evolving for centuries and still has not stopped. Visionary enterprises have recognized that competitive advantages can be gained with an effective globalization strategy. Many companies have established recognizable competitive advantages in their industry, but to be part of the global arena they spent many years in learning and implementing their global business models. These global activities can include developing strategic alliances with overseas development and marketing partners, off shoring and outsourcing of their product and service development process, moving operations to other countries, and acquiring companies.

As a result of globalization the competition for global acting companies has changed markedly. The increasing complexity of products and processes, increased environmental and market dynamics, shorter product life cycles, and increasing customer expectations are just some of the current trends. These developments affect the entire organization with all its strategic and operational activities. Thus, the quality manage-ment (QM) of global acting companies faces new challenges were established methods and approaches often reach their limits.