Evolution of Quality Management in China

INTRODUCTION
After the adoption of the open market policy by the Chinese Government in the late 70, the awareness of the importance of quality among Chinese companies has been rising gradually. On one hand, the Chinese Government has laid down some policies and regulations to emphasize and promote

the importance of quality and quality management. High

percentages of state-owned enterprises have started to implement modern quality management or TQM since the early 1980s.

Major obstacles and problems

On the other, the development of market economy has intensified competitive pressures, which in turn has created a strong driving force in implementing TQM.

The concept of modern quality management was not properly promoted. Some managers still cannot distinguish between quality control and quality management.
Implementing top-down approach leads to low participation as it creates more fears at the workplace.

QUANTITY STAGE
Early 1950s
Industries were mainly manual operations. Delegated inspectors and professional quality inspection mechanisms were only observed in military industry. Management models of Soviet Union were introduced. Mainly focused on quality control by inspection only. Some machine and apparel industries started using SPC. With the strong emphasis on socialism, nearly all prefer quantity rather than quality, and the idea of SPC is rejected. The phenomenon of "1 year of production, 3 years of rework" appeared.

1957
The first quality control research group was founded in China, offered courses about SQC.

Early 1960s
The Sino-Soviet relationship was broken. The management system "two participations, one reform, three-way combinations" was established.

DARK STAGE
1966-1976 Cultural Revolution 1976 Mr. Yuanzhang Liu lead a SQC experiment at Beijing's Qinghe Wool Yarn Factory.

EXPERIMENTAL STAGE
1978 Beijing Internal-Combustion Engine Company introduced the concept of TQC and QCC from Japan. Ishikawa lead a visit of Japanese quality management delegation in China. The first Quality Month was started in September 1978. The national China Quality Control Association (CQCA) was established.

PROMOTION STAGE
1980 The National Council of Economy issued "Temporary Provisions of Total Quality Management in Industrial Organizations", and stated that all industrial organizations should start to implement TQM.

1982 The programme of the State Quality Management Prize was started.

STRENGTHENING STAGE
December 1988, China adopted the ISO 9000 series of standards for its own national standards with conversion made for technical contents and the coding system. August 1992 The State Council issued the "Decision on Further Strengthening Quality Management". September 1993 The National People's Congress passed the Product Quality Law.

October 1993 The National People's Congress passed the Consumer Rights Protection Law.

December 1993 The State Economic and Trade Commission, State Science and Technology Commission, and the State Technical Supervision Bureau jointly issued "Regulations of Adoption of International Standards and Foreign Advanced Standards".

 1998 The Chinese ISO 9000 accreditation body, CNACR, signed the MLA with other 16 countries. Quality management has undergone several stages and has become a more concern among enterprises in China. From non-existence to gathering momentum, quality management has gained a legal status that it deserved. We might describe quality management in China with the idiom, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Cultural Influence on Quality

Since the establishment of the

Peoples Republic of China in 1949, the Workers Congress has mandated workers participation in setting rewards, penalty and other regulations in relation to the interests of workers. The dependence on power and authority distinguish Chinese culture from that in the Western world where rules are repeatedly debated and challenged.

 When the system is subsequently criticized in the implementation stage by the workers, the management feels alienated and labels the criticism. The Chinese are more risk aversive and resistant to new management concepts.

 The tendency to maintain status quo and preference to follow peer are the major obstacles to successful implementation of quality management system in china. Strong peer pressure discourages education in the areas of leadership, entrepreneur and experimentation. Chinese managers are unwilling to accept mistakes, especially in front of peers or seniors.

Market Forces
1. Planned Economy to Market Economy With the visit of Deng Xiaoping, China has officially moved from a state-controlled economy to a market economy Increased competition has woken the industries to the importance of quality to sustain and dominate the market. The concept of quality management is a result of the market economy.

2. Open Door policy China has been striving to enter the WTO. As a condition for successful entry, China has been forced to remove tariffs for foreign competitors. To survive and flourish, they must improve the quality of their products. Chinas open door policy has facilitated the development of quality management.

3. Joint Venture chinas open door policy and pursuit of a market economy have encouraged a lot of foreign companies to set up business in China. Many of these companies partner with local companies to set foreign companies will bring in not only the high technologies but also their quality management practices and standard requirements.

4. International Trade

Foreign trade has been a great source of income for China. To maintain this income source, China has to compile with the quality standard laid down by the foreign markets. In most of these markets, ISO 9000 is the required standard. This was another external factor that helped to speed up the practice of quality management in China.

CONCLUSION
Although China has implemented quality management since the 50s, the concept of quality management has been weak and the quality of many manufactured products remains poor. The Chinese culture and values have also generated unfavourable factors such as too much respect for the authority, face saving attitude, unquestioned obedience, which have hindered the development of quality management.

CONCLUSION
However, since her open door policy, a lot of foreign companies have come to do business in China. They have brought in quality management standards and practices, which facilitate the development of quality management in China. If China starts building in the concept of quality to her education system now, China can share with Japan the reputation of being a country that guarantee quality products.