Contact:
Colin Schaller
800-248-1946 Ext 7617
cschaller@asq.org

For Immediate Release

ASQ Releases 2008 Future of Quality Study

Globalization and Social Responsibility Rank High in Future of Quality

Milwaukee, Wis., October 1, 2008 – Quality professionals concerned about the future of quality no longer need to gaze into the proverbial “crystal ball.” The American Society for Quality (ASQ) has released the 2008 Futures Study, a valuable resource that provides organizations and individuals with insights into anticipating the future of quality.

The triennial study, first published in 1996, incorporates the ideas of nearly 100 quality leaders from around the globe; representing every sector of the economy. Available at no cost to Society members and nonmembers, a PDF file of the Futures Study is available for downloading from the Knowledge Center of the ASQ Web site: http://www.asq.org/knowledge-center/2008-futures-study/index.html

The study is comprised of three main components:

• Key forces that will most likely shape the future of quality
• Alternative scenarios describing how these forces might unfold.
• Implications for organizations and the quality field, for quality professionals, and for ASQ.

 “While many studies attempt to provide answers, this one is aimed at provoking questions,” says Paul Borawski, Executive Director and Chief Strategic Officer of ASQ. “While it is impossible to know the future with any degree of certainty, the Futures Study is an invaluable resource for organizations and individuals to hone their anticipatory skills.”

Seven Key Forces
The first component that the expert panel needed to determine was the key forces that will shape the future of quality. After much discussion and deliberation—including multiple approximations and three rounds of selection—the group was able to arrive at a ranked order of seven key forces that will shape the future of quality. The ranked list, in order from greatest to least: Globalization, Social Responsibility, New Dimensions for Quality, Aging Population, Healthcare, Environmental Concerns and 21st Century Technology.

Based on these key forces, ASQ Past President Greg Watson developed four brief scenarios depicting potential future world conditions. The scenarios serve as narratives to help people imagine what the world might be like in the future as influenced by the forces of change for quality. Scenarios range from a “utopian” world where the forces of good overcome the forces of evil, to a “doomsday scenario”  that describes the opposite condition where the forces of evil win and humankind does not resolve the issues, concerns and challenges it is facing.

Next Steps
Finally, the hope in preparing the study is to enable change, which is featured in the implications section. Using the study as a starting point, ASQ will conduct a series of stakeholder dialogues with participants from around the globe to explore implications more deeply. The goal is to start leading change instead of reacting to change. The learning from those dialogues will help organizations, individuals and ASQ develop strategies and plans to anticipate the future.

“While important to ASQ, we encourage organizations that want to use the study to ponder the implications for themselves,” concludes Borawski. “The study is also important to individuals who will find valuable pointers and hints to what opportunities will be available in the future.”

The American Society for Quality, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As a champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.