The Quest for Quality Under Tech alumnus Thomas Malone, Milliken has made quality more than a buzzword—it's a way of life By Gary Goettling
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"hen Milliken & Co. won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1989, it was more than a moral triumph for a textiles giant at the forefront of a very troubled industry. The award was also a personal victory for Georgia Tech alumnus Thomas J. Malone, president and chief operating officer, who had staked the company's fortunes—and perhaps his own—on making fundamental changes in Milliken's corporate culture. In the early '80s, Malone and Chairman Roger Milliken could foresee that competitive pressures on a global scale would seriously undercut Milliken's leadership role in the industry if more effective ways of managing people and products were not found. For answers, the two men looked to Japan, where concepts relating to the improvement and management of quality had been refined over the past 40 years. Working with a cadre of experts, including Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who is credited with having Continued next page
Tom Malone (left) and company Chairman Roger Milliken discuss the future of American textiles. Continued next page GEORGIA TECH • Milliken's Malone
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