Quality Management of Clothing in the Globalized Context - Essay Example

Quality Management of Clothing In the Globalized Context Globalization has resulted in the flow of a flood of products in the market and quality has become imperative in staying in business. However, the striving for uncompromising quality is a cultural aspect. The factors that motivate industries to develop the culture of stringent quality, if understood accurately, would result in a structured approach with in the industry to move towards a culture of quality maintenance at all levels (Adebanjo and Kehoe1998). This paper proposes to go into the quality management aspects of clothing industry in the globalized context. Across the world in all industries there is a heightened awareness that quality management goes hand in hand with the realization that quality has a cultural dimension and to attain quality, a culture change is a primary requirement (Dale et al 1997). Though measures like Total Quality Management (TQM) are vigorously undertaken by textile manufactures, half way through the implementation level the programs often run out of steam. Dean and Evans (1994) feel that this problem can be remedied by the development of appropriate culture of quality with in the entire edifice of the organization. Achieving Quality Through strategy in the Textile sector Attempts at improving quality in the textile sector have not yielded desired results in the past. Academic research in this area has shown that the failure is largely due to the attempt at improving quality targeting only on the operational level of the industry. Present day research shows that quality management to be effective in real time practice has to be integrated in the organization’s strategy. Beckford (1998) complains that the traditional remedial attempts were aimed at the operational level. . He pointed out that operational constrains eventually lead to compromise in quality. A three fold strategy (derived from Joseph Juran) will influence the organization across the board is put forward by him (Beckford 1998.P.107) 1Joseph Juran’s ‘quality trilogy’ Quality planning Determine quality goals Institute implementation planning Institute resource planning Express goals in quality terms Create the quality plan Quality control Monitor performance Compare objectives with achievements Act to reduce the gap Quality improvement Reduce waste Enhance logistics Improve employee morale Improve profitability Satisfy customers In Beckford’s (1998) analysis the highest priority is to be given to the relationship between quality and strategy. From Country of Origin Image to Country of Origin of Brand in Clothing Industry after Globalization Though quality is cardinal in clothing industry for achieving success, it is not any more possible to bask in the glory of the image of the country as a nation, which manufactured products of historic brand equity. Though country of origin image is still valued in the case of heavy equipments, in the textile sector it has become old wives tales. Instead of talking about countries of origin, customers have started taking about countries of origin of brands (Pay and Predergast 2000). Many factors have contributed in the shift of scenario. In the past only products moved from one country to another. Recently capital as well as entire factories started moving across the border. The monopoly, which some countries enjoyed, had in industrial excellence had to be given away. Lured by the cheap labor in some of the emerging markets multinational companies set up their operations there. So a product that is made in an industrially developed country is manufactured in an industrially backward country by the same process. In addition to this, globalization and technology made transportation and communication very easy. So products started moving freely and price advantage became a factor. Apart from these many emerging economies pursued a vigorous campaign to encourage export by opening export-processing zones with many incentives and privileges. This resulted in the free import of best machines, raw materials and testing equipment. Customers who were conscious of the image of the country as a producer of quality products were ready to look for quality elsewhere and if the quality was coupled with a price advantage they went for that product irrespective of the image of the country. Globalization has exploded the myth of country of origin and re-conditioned people to think in terms of country of origin of brand, quality and price, irrespective of the country of origin. Many brands of apparel that have become daily parlance internationally are produced across the globe in different countries. Cross-Cultrual Factors that Dictate Decision making in Apparel Buying Shakespeare (1564-1616) said: POLONIUS Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man. The relevance of this utterance has not been undermined by the passage of time. There are many Subliminal factors that underpin the apparel selection of different cultures .It is an area worth venturing into for ensuring success in marketing in a milieu of cultural-diversity. Race, social class, demography, income, sex, age etc do have a profound influence on apparel buying. In this context an examination of Chen-Yu and Kinkade (2001) has given valuable insights. Their opinions have been produced after much scholarly study. For them product information provided in the market like price, brand, country of origin and performance of the product influences the buyer. After buying the product according to her the consumer will make a comparative evaluation of past experience with the present product experience. During all this time the environmental factors like culture, family, personal influence, usage situation and social class factor in. The importance of cultural diversity in apparel selection is closely related to man’s innate desire to use clothes as a communicating symbol (Hamilton and Hamilton 1989). Even a cursory glance of our everyday apparels amply testifies this tendency. From time immemorial people wore different apparel to symbolically communicate their roles in society. The functional aspect of these clothes is only one aspect of the picture. Priests, doctors, nuns, lawyers, policeman, soldiers, waiters etc do have special attire not only for the convenience of doing their functions but also to communicate their special roles in society. Apart from this selection of apparel for special roles and functions cultural factors play an important role. The oriental taste for bright colors is well attested. In India widows do not go for bright colors. So if the cultural factors that determine the shape, design and color of apparel could be determined by research the product that are made for a geographic region could be determined. This can be a big aid in marketing in that cultural and geographic milieu. Importance of Communication in International Clothing marketing in the Globalized Context Globalization has made the world truly a village. We have tools of technology to transport goods anywhere in the world. We have adequate communication systems to reach any part of the world in the twinkling of an eye. If there is a barrier that stands in the way of the worlds further integration it is mainly the language barrier. It is a well understood phenomenon that the early colonies of Britain became better equipped countries for international trade. In the heyday of outsourcing it is the English speaking developing countries that had the better edge. Much of India’s success in the service industry is due to large numbers of Indian’s who can use English with some degree of finesse. The English language enabled many Indian health workers to go to English Speaking countries and the main strength of India’s flourishing software industry is the English speaking new generation. Apparel industry is also dependent on a medium of communication for its varied activities. The emerging South East Asian economies are investing heavily also on English language training. China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, etc have a massive English language-training program mostly handled by native speakers of English. Apart from the functional aspects communication, textile industry uses a unique idiom of marketing communication. Textile marketing is increasingly centered on lifestyle concerns. Forces of hedonism, endearingly called by the media lifestyle, prop up the textile industry. All the industries that revolve around pleasure and well-being are central to modern culture. The moment has become important in modern life style. There is a new symbiosis between the textile market and media. Media promotes desire to buy products and garment related programs in which celebrities take part is the in-thing today. So, apart from the functional communication in any industry, textile industry demands an idiom of communication, a journalese that is typical to the fashion and apparel industry. There is an identifiable phenomenon which is at work in the fashion industry which compels a perpetual supple of the new or novel. This has created and additional pressure in the logistics of apparel industry. The moment media has created the desire fore the new the textile industry should fulfil the desire by timely and steady supply of those products, which the customer is forced to buy. This has created a further symbiosis between media, textile and logistics. It is interesting that textile industry has created a language of life style: Just as interesting are some of the signs and symbols of textiles communication, its celebrities, politics, fantasies and mythologies. Through the language of ‘lifestyle’, textiles keeps pace with contemporary culture. To stay competitive, textile professionals need to be alert to the changing cultural nature of work, the home, leisure and fashion. (Gale, and Kaur 19). Conclusion Globalization has given new dimension to textile quality. Textile quality that was measured in terms of durability, comfort and hygiene is now replaced a new idiom of textile quality that is centered on the consumerism of the new way of life. There are critics who fear the dangers of this tendency. Globalization has left industry with no choice. Either adapt to the changing scenario or get out of business are the only two choices. =============== Works cited Adebanjo D. and Kehoe D., “An evaluation of quality culture problem in the UK companies” International journal of quality science, Vol 3, number 3, pp 275-286, 1998 Beckford J. (1998) Quality: a critical introduction (London: Routledge). Chen-Yu H.J. and Kincade D.H., “effects of product image at three stages of the consumer decision process for apparel products, Alternative evaluation, purchase and post-purchase”, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol 5, number 1, pp 29-43, 2001 Dale, B.G., Cooper, C.L. and Wilkinson, A. (1997), Managing Quality and Human Resources – A Guide to Continuous Improvement, Blackwell Publishers Ltd, UK. Dean, J.W. Jr and Evans, J.R. (1994), Total Quality – Management, Organisation, and Strategy, West Publishing Co, Minneapolis. Hamilton, J. A. & Hamilton, J. W. (1989). Dress as a reflection and sustainer of social reality: A cross-cultural perspective. Clothing and Textile Research Journal, 7(2), 16-22. Juran, J. M. (1988) Juran on planning for quality (New York, NY: The Free Press). Phau I and Predergast G (2000) Conceptualizing the Country of Origin Brand: Journal of Marketting Communication, Vol.6 : Colin Gale and Jasbir Kaur (2002): The Textile Book. New York. Page Number: 19. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3 ================================================================== Read More