Francis J Clauss

Product Quality Francis J Clauss

In the year 2014, the number of cars recalled in the United States for defects was a staggering 74 million - more than one quarter of all the cars registered! Among the most publicized were vehicles from GM with faulty ignition switches, Toyotas with sticky accelerators, and vehicles with exploding Takata airbags. These caused hundreds of deaths and injuries and devastated families. Other examples of bad product quality included exploding gas pipelines managed by public utilities and the collapse of bridges and other elements of our nation's aging infrastructure. Bad product quality and its consequences are a joint failure of our corporate business leaders and various government agencies responsible for their oversight and regulation. It is also a failure of our system of justice to make accountable the individuals responsible. Product Quality: A Crisis of Management and Culture describes what is happening, its causes and consequences, and what we must do to correct it.