There is More to Quality than Continuous Improvement: Listening to Plato

Abstract

Quality programs that focus on continuous improvement are vital in providing incremental improvement of processes, products, and services in an existing technological paradigm. These programs view quality as being measurable in some quantitative way. Breakthrough improvement that leads to development of new paradigms requires thinking of quality in a different way. The transcendent view of quality is necessary for development of paradigm-shifting technologies. Plato's divided line represents four stages of awareness. The understanding stage is necessary for effective continuous improvement but inadequate for paradigm-shifting improvement. That requires Plato's insight stage of awareness. Drawing from Plato's divided line model, this article develops the approach to quality that is best suited for developing radical innovations.The authors believe that organizations operating at Plato's level of understanding that focus almost exclusively on continuous improvement may be blind to breakthrough, paradigm-shifting innovations developed by organizations operating at Plato's level of insight. The see continuous improvement as essential but not sufficient for the long-term survival of an organization. Continuously improving a product that has been made technologically obsolete will not ensure the firm's survival. A firm in that position is forced to play catch up by developing its own version of the new technology. Operating at Plato's insight level becomes more critical to a firm's success as the level of technology increases and the length of the product life cycles decreases.

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