Corning, Inc has an established relationship with customer that dates back to 1879 when Thomas Edison requested that Corning craftsman manufacture the first glass bulb. This emphasis on meeting customer needs has been hallmark of Corning, Inc success. In order to maintain lasting customer satisfaction and strengthen business objective, Corning Inc. embarked on a total quality effort in 1983. Four specific quality principles drove the Corning effort such as meet the requirements of the customer, promote " error-free " work, manage by prevention and measure the cost of quality.

Twenty departments are actively involved in the total quality process within the RD & E group. Quality improvement teams ( QITs ) have been formed throughout each of the twenty departments. The responsibility of each team is to examine and improve its processes. Team design measures for each process they intend to improve. These measures serve as " Key Result Indicator " which gauge guilty improvement as well as demonstrate tangible benefits. Each team within RD & E has its own personality. According to Dr. Eve Menger said that quality is a line function to achieve success. Team and total quality activities are monitored through the " World Class Quality " ( WCQ ) committee which reports directly to the vice president's staff. WCQ provides a framework from which to measure success by using template that examines what, how and why total quality principles were used to solve a problem or identify. From these extensive reviews, five to six teams are selected for their contribution to developing " best practices ". Corning, Inc has encouraged its employees and manager to steel shamelessly from the successful teams and adapt these best practices to meet a particular set of needs. According to Dr Eve Menger, the system is working well. The division has become attentive and satisfaction. Both technically and managerially, the organization has benefited from the implementation of total quality principles.

As with the implementation of any new cultural change, skeptics ex-isted within RD & E from beginning. The company initiated the total quality approach with the announcement by Chairman of the Board James Houghton that quality would become a key component of the Corning approach. Corning created the quality initiative and began to implement the process using a top-down approach. Within the RD & E division, Dr Jack Hutchins was assigned the task of integrating quality principles into the organization A traditional approach was initially applied. Traditional quality approaches used in industry, serve plant employees well but were never accepted globally by the RD & E division. Therefore, process " ownership " was transferred to the division, where it continues to be successfully implemented.

The most critical change in the culture at Corning's RD & E division was the focus placed on the internal and external customer. The division now sees itself as both a customer and supplier and serves. The method used to experiment and conduct research has change within the RD & E division. Mistakes are seen as learning experiences. What matters is that the scientist or engineer learns from his or her mistakes rather than the frequency of error. Total quality has infused the organization with the desire to do scientific research using " best practices ". Another element of the corning success story is that the division found ways to make innovation move faster by implementing the " Innovation process ". The innovation model has become a hallmark of the Corning RD &E total quality program. Five key stage define the " Innovation Process " such as build knowledge, determine feasibility, test practically, prove profitability and commercialize. The process provides employees with method of using skills and expertise to accomplish objectives and goals in an efficient and effective manner. Through the use of quality principles, innovation has accelerated within the division. Total quality has created an environment for a better model of innovation to emerge by outlining a successful path for employees to follow. As a result of using total quality principles, employees continue to maintain a positive attitude and feel good about suggestions they make. In essence, employees are shaping the " bottom line " and reshaping their organization for the fortune.

Total quality has assisted in bringing " breakthroughs " into the corporation. Employees are empowered to seek their greatest potential. Working in teams and communicating with customers have brought products brought to market at a more efficient pace with fewer errors and within projected costs. Another striking benefit of implementing total quality is the self-awareness that employees now have concerning their quality of work. As a result of ongoing global quality requirements, the Analytical Lab is now certified for established tests and fully accredited. This accreditation has also assisted the bottom line by increasing the level of performance and enabling Corning to enter commercial ventures that supplement the income of the lab. That is, business has grown with assessment and evaluation. The total quality initiative has allowed open communications ( management and employees ) during the restructuring process. In addition, corning RD & E employees are now actively involved in cross training within and between departments to facilitate this ongoing economic challenge.

In terms of the total quality model, the largest change in RD & E occurred in the human systems where management systems benefited the most. Changing management systems also present the biggest obstacle to total quality. According to Mark Mitchell, manager need to be better understood and valued for their contribution.

The most difficult aspect of total quality for RD & E divisions appears to be that of metrics. Quality metrics is often difficult to quantify. Measures such as cost of quality are more applicable for manufacturing divisions where the bottom line is easily quantified. Corning's RD & E division has taken a unique approach which has worked well. A description of this approach follows and represents a valuable lesson learned for implementing total quality. Due to the nature of RD & E, two global measures were chosen to gauge improvement. The first of these is customer satisfaction. This information comes from both internal and external customer. Customer satisfaction is measured with traditional instruments such as surveys, forums and one-on-one personal interviews. The second critical measure of excellence adopted by the division is employees satisfaction. The focus of this measures is to " pay attention to employees needs".