This seminal work is essential reading for managers, particularly since widely held assumptions and a growing mythology about quality "have not" produced the expected revolution in U.S. quality performance -- with few products able to match the quality and reliability levels of their overseas competitors. Garvin begins with a superb review of quality history in this country and an incisive analysis of what Japan has done with the same concepts and ideas -- and done demonstratively better -- revealing the hard facts that prove quality is the best competitive weapon to dramatically increase profits and cut losses.

Here is the actual evidence relating quality to such variables as price, market share, ad