Motorola’s customer-driven “six-sigma” quality

Founded in 1928, Motorola introduced the first commercially successful car radio- hence the name Motorola, suggesting, “sound in motion.” During World War II, it developed the first two-way radios9Walkie-Talkies), and by the 1950s, Motorola had become a household name in consumer electronics products. In the 1970s, however, facing intense competition mostly from Japanese firms, Motorola abandoned the radios and televisions that had made it famous. Instead, it focused on advance telecommunication and electronics produces two-way radio pagers cellular telephones, semiconductors, and related technology gizmos. However, by the early 198-, Japanese competitors were still beating Motorola to the market with higher quality products at lower prices.

Since those trying times, however Motorola has come roaring back. It now lead all competitors in the global two-way mobile radio market and ranks number one in cellular telephones with a 35 percent worldwide market share. Motorola is the world’s fifth-largest semiconductor,producer,trailing only Intel,NEC,Toshiba, and Fujitsu.One in danger of being forced out of the pager business altogether, Motorola now dominates that market an astonishing 85percent global market share rather then suffering at the hand of Japanese competitors, ,Motorola’s sales in Japan now exceed $2billion, accounting ,almost 8 percent of total company sales.
How has Motorola achieved such remarkable leadership? The answer is deceptively simple: an obsessive dedication to quality. In the early 1980s, Motorola launched an aggressive crusade to improve product quality first by ten fold then by hundred-fold .It set the unheard–of goal of six-sigma standard means that Motorola set out to slash product defected to fewer than 3.4 per million for every process 99.997 percent defect free. Six sigma become Motorola’s rallying cry. In 1988,It received one the first annual Malcolm Balding National Quality Awards recognizing “preeminent quality leadership.”

Motorola initial efforts focused on manufacturing improvements. The goal was to prevent defecates by designing products for quality and making things right the first time and every time. Meeting the six-sigma standard meant that everyone in the organization had to strive for quality improvement. Thus, total quality hs become an important part of Motorola’s basic corporate culture. Motorola spends $160 million annually to educate employees about quality, and then rewards people when they make things right. The company also forces its suppliers to meet exacting quality standards. Some suppliers grumble, but those that survive benefits greatly from their own quality improvement. As an executive from one of Motorola’s suppliers puts it, “if we can supply Motorola, we can supply God”
More recently, as Motorola has developed a deeper understanding of the meaning of quality, it initially focus on preventing manufacturing defects has evolved into an costumer-driven quality and costumer value. “Quality,” notes Motorola’s vice president of quality has to do something for the customers. If a product does not work the way the designer planned it. Our definition of the defects is “f the commuter doesn’t like, it’s a defects.”

Thus since 1980s, the fundamental aim of Motorola’s quality movement has been total customer satisfaction. Instead of focusing just on manufacturing defects, Motorola’s surveys customers about their quality needs analyzes customer complaints, and studies service record in a constant quest to improve value to the customer

Some skeptics are concerned that Motorola’s obsession might be too expensive. Not so, claim Motorola in fact the reverse is true –superior quality is the lowest-cost way to do thing. The cost of monitoring and fixing mistakes can far exec the cost of getting things right in the first place. Motorola estimate that is quality efforts have result in cumulative saving of more than $9 billion during the past six years.

Therefore, Motorola’s quest for quality continuous. By the year2001, Motorola is shooting for the near-perfection- a mind-boggling rate of just one defect per million.(Gopal )