Quality culture in a Hong Kong subsidiary of a Japanese-based corporation

Quality Culture under a business setting is affected by differences in the background among staff. In one Japanese-based company, the Japanese staff does not have the strongest quality culture. Their attitude towards quality differs with respect to working environment and other external factors. The Japanese personnel in Manila office have a stricter view towards quality than their Japanese colleagues in the Hong Kong Office. Disparity and problems in the quality culture are characterized by the differences in prioritizing the Quality Management Principles among the Japanese, Hongkongese and Filipino staff. The Japanese staff put "Continual Improvement" on the top of the list. Those in Hong Kong emphasized on "Customer Focus". The Filipinos were more concerned of "Mutual Beneficial Supplier Relationships". The revision of the ISO 9001: 1994 to ISO 9001: 2000 version provided a good chance for closing the cultural gaps by improvement in training, communications and leadership. Top-down commitment and support drive out the reluctance and fear to change.