Ishikawa
Ishikawa was a organizational theorist and professor, known for his cause and effect diagram and his contribution to Feigenbaum’s concept of total quality by introducing quality circles. In his commitment to Japan’s economic recovery at the time, Ishikawa was able to apply his statistical methods and Quality Control in an organized, systematic manner. In the late 1950’s and 1960’s, he developed quality control courses for executives and top managers, eventually launching the Quality Control Conference for Top Management. He developed an audit system that determines whether companies qualify for the Deming prize. He has promoted quality through several books; his Guide to Quality Control became a staple in quality training programs among US corporations. In the 1950’s, he became involved in Japanese and international standardization activities. His views indicated the need for more constant change in standards in order to keep up with customer needs. Besides implementing his own strategies, Ishikawa expanded on other principles coined by other quality gurus. One includes the plan-do-check-act model from W. Edwards Deming. The steps start with determining goals and targets, finding the right methods, training, implementation, evaluation, and appropriate action.
The cause and effect method is used to identify all causes of a result. It is one of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, which consists of specific techniques aimed at troubleshooting issues affecting quality. Common uses of the Ishikawa diagram are product design and quality defect prevention. The causes are grouped into general categories, which include