Quality in Action: Ninety-three Lessons in Leadership, Participation and Measurement - Hardcover

"An important book--and one that's just plain fun to read...This book is gem!"----Tom Peters "The rational person's guide to BS-less quality improvement. It's a must read."----Ron Zemke, co-author of Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service The art of quality management taught as never before--by two of the nation's leading quality gurus NOW IN PAPER! Ever since the time of Aesop, the fable has proven to be an effective and colorful way to teach a valuable lesson. Blending this lively storytelling style with the authority of their experience, Pat Townsend and Joan Gebhardt build on their pioneering advances to offer 93 lessons that teach the art of quality management. These lessons come from many sources: case studies, stories, anecdotes, and straightforward advice; but they reinforce the three overriding principles of quality management: increased profitability, strong employee satisfaction, and improved service. PATRICK L. TOWNSEND and JOAN E. GEBHARDT (Holden, Massachusetts) are partners at Townsend and Gebhardt, a quality management and training company. They are also the co-authors of Commit to Quality (Wiley).

About the authors PATRICK L. TOWNSEND is a noted speaker and consultant on quality. From 1983-1987 he directed and coordinated the most active employee participation quality process in the country: In just three years, the 250 Quality Teams at the Paul Revere Insurance Group implemented over 20,000 Quality Ideas, saving the company $16 million dollars and boosting the company's position to number one. He is the author of the bestselling book Commit to Quality and has written hundreds of articles. He is President of Townsend & Gebhardt--Advisers on Quality, a quality management and training company. Mr. Townsend lives and works in Holden, Massachusetts. JOAN E. GEBHARDT collaborated with Patrick Townsend on Commit to Quality and is his partner at Avatar. She honed her opinions on quality in a number of settings, including elementary school teaching, public relations, electric motor sales, administrative assistant, dorm mother, and professional entertainer.