Throughout the management literat ure, as elegantly trumpeted by management consultants and gurus, there seems to be a common message: tor a firm to be competitive it must produce quality goods or services. This means that firms, to remain competitive, must at the same time produce at the least cost possible to be price competitive and deli ver high quality products and services. As a result, quality has become strategie overnight, involving all, both in and out of the firm, in the management of its interfaces with clients and the environment. To give quality, suppliers, buyers, operations...