(Open book management) You have been hired as a consultant by a company that manufactures plastic and resin toys. Company management is presently discussing ways to improve product quality. Evidence of quality problems is everywhere: high rates of product defects, many product returns from customers, poor rate of customer retention, and high warranty costs. Top management has traced virtually all quality related problems to the production department.

Production workers in the company are paid a flat hourly rate. No bonuses are paid based on corporate profits or departmental performance measures. As the outside consultant, prepare an oral report to present to your client’s top management discussing how open book management could be applied to address the quality problems. At a minimum, include in your report how quality information would be conveyed to workers, how workers would be trained to understand the information, and how incentives would be established for improved quality performance.