This article examines the rise to leadership of the Japanese automaker's quality, lower quality reputation of American automakers, and whether poor quality is still contributing to the competitive woes of U.S. automakers. Perception plays a key role in the quality competition, but not necessarily in a way that we usually think. The way in which information is displayed as a performance plays an important role in the perception of the customer. Quality should not be considered as a separate asset, but rather it should be understood in the context of other assets, including the brand of the company. This is related to the quality of the brand, which helps to explain the current predicament U.S. automakers, and this holds lessons for other industries. "Hide
by Robert E. Cole, Michael S. Flynn Source: California Management Review 28 pages. Publication Date: 01 November 2009. Prod. #: CMR441-PDF-ENG
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