SOME CULTURAL GEOGRAPHICAL STYLES IN QUALITY STRATEGIES AND QUALITY COSTS (PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA VERSUS AUSTRALIA)/

The current presentation - rooted in a survey carried out in Israel in the early 1980s - discusses some principles and practices of quality management as emphasised across cultures. It is based on a glimpse int o quality practices in P.R. China, which is then compared with some To tal Quality Management experiences in Australia. Common traits, exhibi ting some similarity to a Japanese style of quality management, could be found among a group of state enterprises in P.R. China, visited in May-June 1992. Distinctive differences are noticed between quality pra ctices in the Chinese companies and those perceived in a small sample of Australian companies, investigated in the period September 1992-Jan uary 1993. The differences concern the reason for commencing the progr am, main improvement objectives, scope of jobs, as well as practice of quality control circles and quality cost reporting. Quality costs, wh ich were reported on a regular basis in all the visited Chinese enterp rises, are outlined here as a potential dynamic quality performance in dicator.