What Is Quality, Really?

There are almost as many definitions for Quality as there are quality practitioners.  Some common ones include:

• Conforming to a quality standard
• Meeting customer specifications
• The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind
• Suitability for intended use

But what is Quality, really?  

• Individuals make good choices when they follow their conscience
• Webster’s defines conscience as “conformity to what one considers to be correct, right, or morally good”  
• If an organization were a person, then quality would be the act of that organization doing what they considered to be “right” or “correct”

While an organization is not a person, it is certainly made up of individuals who every day make personal decisions using “conscience” as their guide.  For example, you’re working on a part and something doesn’t seem quite right…or something seems a little “different” than it did the last time you ran it.  Your individual conscience is telling you something’s not quite right.  

If every person at Micron listens to that “still, small voice” of their conscience, then the quality of the organization itself is really just a reflection of the collective conscience of everyone who works here.  So, what will Micron’s “conscience” be like?  Based on what I’ve seen of the Micron Team in my short time here, I think we will all sleep well at night with a clear “quality conscience”!