At first I thought we were in the training business but quickly learned that we were in the change business. Motorola University was not only a survival (early stage) strategy but helped lead the organization to be one of the premier corporations in the world. JC: What was the role of Motorola University in driving change?ĮB: Our role was to capture the best practices of exemplary performers and convert that into training programs which would ACCELERATE the transition of average performers into the exemplary model. However, management wisely realized that these dramatic changes would introduce a high level of incompetence in the workforce-not because they were not intelligent but because they did not know how to perform in new ways. A new style of management (participative management), a new way to compete (global manufacturing) and new higher unheard of levels of quality (10X improvement) were mandated. JC: Amazing! Did that help stimulate the formation of Motorola University?ĮB: This ‘wake-up call" led Motorola senior executives under CEO Bob Galvin to dramatically change the way Motorola operated. Within 18 months of the Japanese firm running the TV manufacturing operations, the defect rate dropped from approximately 125 defects per 100 TVs to 25 defects per 100 sets – using the same workforce. The Japanese were advertising and selling TV’s which never needed repairs! In 1974, Motorola sold its entertainment business to Matsushita because we could no longer compete in that market. We were proudly advertising a TV set that was the easiest to repair. ![]() What was that?ĮB: In the 1970’s we sold the Quasar brand (solid state works-in-a-drawer) television. You’ve indicated that during the early days Motorola was also a big name in the television business and there was a quality wake-up call. When you think of Motorola, you think cell phones and radios. ![]() I know you came to Motorola in 1963 fresh out of the Navy and were later one of four people to start what became Motorola University. This month columnist Jeff Cole speaks with Ed Bales, Program Manager at Motorola University, about his 47 years at Motorola and his involvement with the birth and growth of Six Sigma. From the start it was intended to drive organizational transformation. Six Sigma is about much more than p-values, residuals, and improved processes.
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