Global quality management programmes: How to make their implementation more effective and less culture dependent

In this paper, we present a detailed description of the difference between cultural factors and key system factors for implementation of quality management systems. The findings are drawn from observation of the implementation of quality management programmes in numerous factories (electronics, plastic injection, garments, automobile, steel making, etc.) located in Hong Kong/South China, Brazil, Japan and the US. Moreover, we analyze the failure and success factors for multi-cultural implementations. Based on the analysis, we suggest guidelines for a more effective and less culture-dependent implementation methodology.