quality-cost品质成本分析英文版

QUALITYPROGRESSISEPTEMBER2006I45hequalitymovementhasusedthetermcostofquality(COQ)fordecades.Butfeworga-nizationshaveactuallyadoptedareliableandrepeatablemethodformeasuringandreport-ingCOQandappliedittoimproveoperations.Istheadministrativeeffortjustnotworththebenefits,oristhereadeeperproblemwiththemethodologyformeasuringCOQ?WhatCOQShouldDoAtanoperationallevel,qualitymanagementtechniqueseffectivelyidentifywasteandaccelerateproblemsolvingfortacticalissuesrelatedtoprocessimprovement.Formanyorganizations,qualitymanagementinitiativeshavepreventedfinanciallossesfromcustomerdefectionscausedbyqualityproblemsorfromwasteandinefficiencies.Atamorestrategiclevel,however,hasqualitymanagementreachedanadequatelevelofsupportfromseniorexecutives?Unfortunately,theavoid-anceofreducedprofitsfromqualityinitiativesisnotwidelymeasuredorreportedbyorganization-alfinancialaccountingsystems.Asaresult,organizationscannoteasilyquantifythemagnitudeofbenefitsinfinancialterms—andthelanguageofmoneyishowmostorganizationsoperate.Inshort,therehasbeenadisconnectbetweenqualityinitiativesandbottom-lineprofitstovalidateanyfavorableimpactonprofitabilityandcosts.TIn50WordsOrLess•Althoughmanagementpreferstohavefactbaseddataandreasonableestimatestoevaluatedecisionsandprioritizespending,financialmeasurementsgenerallyaren’tusedtovalidatequality’simpactonprofitabilityandcosts.•Activitybasedcost/managementsystemsareeffectivewaystoaccountforthehiddencostsofpoorquality.MeasuringtheCostofQualityForManagementbyGaryCokinsECONOMICCASEFORQUALITYErrorfreeCostsofqualityPostponedprofitsLostprofitsCustomerincurredcostsSocioeconomiccostsPurchasedgoodsandservicesLevelsandScopeofQualityCostsFIGURE1WhyTraditionalAccountingFailsOneoftheobstaclesaffectingqualitymanage-mentandotherinitiativeshasbeentheaccountingfield’straditionalemphasisonexternalreporting.Theinitialfinancialdataarecapturedinaformatthatdoesnotlenditselftodecisionmaking.Itisalwaysriskytoinvestinimprovingprocesseswhentruecostsarenotwellestablished.Thisisbecausemanagementlacksavalidcostbaseagainstwhichtocomparetheexpectedbenefitsfromimprovingorreengineeringtheprocess.InTheProcess-CenteredEnterprise,GabePallsays:Historically,processmanagementhasalwayssufferedfromthelackofanobviousandreliablemethodofmeasurementthatconsistentlyindi-catesthelevelofresourceconsumption(expenses)bythebusinessprocessesatanygiventime—anindicatorwhichalwaysinterestsexecutiveman-agementandiseasilyunderstood.Thebottomlineisthatmostbusinesseshavenoclueaboutthecostsoftheirprocessesortheirprocesses’variousoutputs.1Whenthecostsofprocessesandtheiroutputscanbemeasuredadequately,twothingscanhappen:1.Itcangainmanagement’sattentionandgivemanagementconfidencetheaccountingdataarereliablebusinessindicators.2.Managementcanmorereliablyassessthedif-ferentvalueofprocessesandhowtheycon-tributetotheoverallperformanceofthebusiness.Theaccountant’straditionalgeneralledgerisawonderfulinstrumentforwhatitisdesignedtodo:postandsummarizetransactionsintospecificaccountbalances.Butthecostdatainthisformat(salaries,supplies,depreciation)arestructurallydeficientfordecisionsupport,includingmeasuringCOQ.Theydisclosewhatwasspentbutnotwhyorwhoorforwhat.Expensedatamustbetransformedintothecostsoftheprocessesthattraverseacrossthedepartmen-talcostcentersreportedinageneralledgersys-tem—andultimatelytransformedintothecostsofproducts,servicesandcustomersthatuniquelycon-sumethecostsofvariousprocesses.BringFacts,NotHunchesTosomepeople,itisobviousbettermanagementofqualityultimatelyleadstogoodperformance,whichinturnshouldleadtoimprovedfinancialhealthofanorganization.Thesepeoplebelieveifyousimplyimprovequality,goodthings,suchashappiercustomersandhigherprofits,automatical-lywillfallintoplace.Othertypespreferhavingfactbaseddataandreasonableestimatesforevaluatingdecisionsandprioritizingspending.Theydobelieveinqualityprograms,butincomplexorganizationswithscarceidleresources,theyprefertobemorecertainofwhereitisbesttospenddiscretionarymoney.SomequalitymanagershavebecomeskepticalaboutmeasuringCOQ.Theyhaveseenincreasingregulationsandstandards,suchastheISO9000series,inwhichinstallinganyformofCOQmea-surementisperceivedasmoreofadocumentationcomplianceexerciseforcertificationtoastandardratherthanabenefittoimproveperformance.Veteransofqualitymanagementbelievequalityjustforquality’ssake—meaningconformancetoastandard—isnotsufficient.Theysayqualityshouldbeviewedasaconditioninwhichvalueentitlementisrealizedforcustomers,suppliers,employeesandshareholdersineveryaspectofarelationship.Therealwayswillbedebatesamongsharehold-ers,customers,employees,taxpayersandenviron-46ISEPTEMBER2006I’sterminalcollapse.Tosomepeople,qualityc