3 - Jacobs University

should be a permanent objective of the organization.
g) Factual approach to decision making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and
information.
h) Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a
mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both
to create value. (pp. 5–6)
Furthermore, Hendricks and Singhal (2000) provide statistical evidence that companies, which
have embraced the TQM philosophy and have successfully incorporated the TQM principles in
their organization show convincing long term performance. Their financial stability and good market
standing makes such companies reliable and preferred business partners. For that reason in the
automotive sector certification to the international quality standards such as the ISO 9000 family
and especially ISO/TS 16949 has become a fundamental requirement for entering business. Certification
attests the conformity of the implemented quality management system to the respective
standards.
Gropp (2009) argues, however, that possessing a valid certificate does not necessarily imply
high product quality. He points out that for a number of companies the major incentives for certification
are the desire to maintain a good corporate image as well as the practical compulsion
for certification itself imposed by the outsourcing companies. Gropp (2009) writes further that in
many cases certified organizations do not follow the TQM philosophy and show high deficits in
the implementation of the standard requirements especially on the process level, and sees this as
the main reason why automotive companies resort to additional quality control of their certified
business partners especially on the process and product levels.
A standard business practice to proactively assess the quality capability of your suppliers’ production
processes is through quality auditing (Figure 1). Such type of evaluation is based on the
assumption that process parameters are especially important and have a direct influence on the
quality of the process outputs (VDA 6.3, 2010; ISO 19011, 2011; The EFQM Excellence Model,
2012). The quality audit focuses therefore on critical processes and compares their conformity to
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