Relationship Between Cost of Poor Quality and Continuous Improvement: Reflection of Literature

Quality is a vital factor for every organization that seeks to sustain its competitive advantage. As such, organizations, especially those operating in the manufacturing industry, have enhanced their level of awareness on matters that align with quality, especially because of ever-advancing technology. In this regard, the cost of poor quality (COPQ) has been identified as a major component that is negatively impacting the profit maximization of many organizations. COPQ causes significant losses of revenue and businesses, as it takes the form of external and internal product failures. Nevertheless, there is a relationship between COPQ and continuous improvement; COPQ acts as a driver for continuous improvement initiatives that the organization adopts to enhance its quality. Thus, COPQ and continuous improvement are related because after an organization experiences the losses associated with COPQ, then it will strategize on ways to achieve continuous improvement.