ATTs use of Total Quality Management
The following is an attempt to analyze AT&T's use of Total Quality Management throughout its organization. Since AT&T is an elaborately enormous corporation I will focus my study to AT&T Power Systems/Lucent Technologies. This division of AT&T has been the industry standard for excellence since TQM was first introduced to the company. AT&T Power Systems has become one the world's most dynamic companies because of its use of TQM. I will provide a brief description of who AT&T Power Systems is, a description of the events that lead up to its use of TQM, AT&T's TQM philosophy, and how this philosophy was implemented. Finally I will discuss the benefits AT&T Power Systems realized through their use of Total Quality Management. Who is AT&T Power Systems?
AT&T Power Systems provides a verity of power products for the data processing and telecommunications industries. Power System and its 4,200 employee's design, develop, manufacture, and market electronic power systems, components, and power supplies to an increasingly international marketplace.
In the past ten years AT&T as a whole has gone through a dramatic metamorphous. It was forced to change from a large telecommunications monopoly providing universal telephone service, to a competitive global corporation providing a full range of communication services and technologies. The "new" AT&T is a potpourri of smaller, highly focussed entities. Each entity has its own customers, competitors, and operational functions.
Power Systems is the pinnacle of the "new" AT&T. In less than five years Power Systems has become the prototype for successfully implementing the cultural and organizational revolution know as Total Quality Management. It has not only received internal recognition, but external achievement as well. In 1994 Power Systems was the first American company to win Japan's prestigious Deming Prize for Quality Management. In the same year AT&T's long distance division won America's Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. AT&T's TQM philosophy made it the first corporation to win these two awards.
Why did Power Systems change to TQM?
Prior to 1990 Power Systems provided equipment for only its parent company AT&T. Power Systems was a lackluster division of AT&T that reported losses in numerous quarters. As the scope AT&T and business as a w...
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...earned this remarkable achievement; they know that the real winners are our customers." I think the reason that AT&T has been successful with its TQM is that this philosophy has become inbreed into the culture at AT&T. Allen comments are a testament to that. Andrew M. Guarriello's participation in AT&T's implementation has earned a spot in the Shingo Prize Academy. The Shingo Prize Academy consists of individuals who have distinguished themselves in the area of manufacturing excellence. Other members of the Academy include Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jerry J. Jasinowski.
Bibliography:
Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. "Shingo Prize Manufacturing Academy".
[http://www.usu.edu/~shingo/academy.html]
AT&T. "Welcome to AT&T MICROELECTRONICS". [http://www.careermosaic.com/cm/att_micro/att_micro1.html]
Byrnes, and Adele Ambrose. "AT&T wins Baldrige Award and Deming Prize in quality coup "
[http://www.att.com/press/1094/941018.chb.html]
Gualt, and Betsy Harrod. "Power Systems is first U.S. manufacturer to win Deming Prize".
[http://www.att.com/press/1094/941018.meb.html]
Dean, Edwin. "Total Quality Management". [http://akao.larc.nasa.gov/dfc/tqm.html]
Robert Zimmerman, the senior vice president of business development, for American Cable Communications (ACC) was in the process of looking for a potential acquisition target for ACC. In December 2007, Zimmerman remember a presentation that was made recently by Rubinstein & Ross (R&R). R&R was a boutique investment bank that was well known for doing deals in the media and telecommunications area. During this presentation it was suggested that ACC buy out AirThread Connections (AirThread) which is a large regional cellular provider. The current industry of these companies were moving more toward bundled service offerings and by adding AirThread it would help ACC cover an area of service it does not currently offer. In order to determine if the acquisition should be done an analysis needs to be done.
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Channel Exposure- AT&T is adequate in its point of sales. They intend to match most competitors in using Radio Shack, BEST Buy, Walmart, Mall locations, high visible real estate traffic.
In an industry with favorable conditions, a company with a solid history of investments and rates of return. Duke Energy has a bright economic outlook due to strategic investments internationally and market dominance in the rapidly growing southwest. Although a highly-regulated industry Duke has shown to maintain its value over the long term making it a high performing investment. The income potential is small when compared to other industries but with its document history of growth it is a wise
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Sharplin, Arthur. (1989). Lincoln Electric Company Harvard Case Study. McNeese State University. Retrieved from http://my.uopeople.org/pluginfile.php/59756/mod_book/chapter/39460/Lincoln_Electric.pdf
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