1. From product-centric to stakeholdercentric
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Built on the principles of Joseph M. Juran, the man who is often referred to as the ‘father’ of
quality, Juran today is an organisation focused on providing research and pragmatic solutions that
enable businesses from any industry to achieve sustainable results based on superior quality.
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An article on the Juran website makes clear how a transformed, and transforming, business
environment has made many of the principles of conscious capitalism not just desirable in their
own right but a prerequisite for success.
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When Juran himself was first developing his ideas on quality, the emphasis for most businesses was
on the product. That has changed. As the article points out, we’ve moved away from a Henry Fordstyle product-centric business environment to a customer-centric one. Indeed, I would go further;
we’ve moved (or should be moving) to a stakeholder-centric model. Producer mentality is dead.
Long live stakeholder mentality.
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In a sense, the definition of quality has changed. And in order to meet the quality demands that are
now placed on businesses, their leaders, as the article points out, “need to adopt a strong
understanding of the major societal forces shaping our world, and be conscious of their
expectations and needs. [They] must know where and how to respond for the good of their
organization, and for society as a whole by providing services and products that meet both sets of
needs.”
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It’s quite a journey for business – from how to make better things to how to make the world a
better place. But who could deny that it’s a journey worth making?

2. Neela Bettridge
07771 726 971
neela@neelabettridge.com