Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby , (June 18, 1926 – August 18, 2001) was an American businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality management practices.
106-693: Zero Defects (or ZD ) was a management-led program to eliminate defects in industrial production that enjoyed brief popularity in American industry from 1964 to the early 1970s. Quality expert Philip Crosby later incorporated it into his "Absolutes of Quality Management" and it enjoyed a renaissance in the American automobile industry—as a performance goal more than as a program—in the 1990s. Although applicable to any type of enterprise, it has been primarily adopted within supply chains wherever large volumes of components are being purchased (common items such as nuts and bolts are good examples). "[...] Zero Defects
212-560: A $ 490 million company loss. Sperry Rand 's UNIVAC division took over the RCA computer division in January 1972. Univac did not want the Spectra computers because they were similar to its own 9000 series; instead, they wanted RCA's computer customer base. On January 1, 1965, Robert Sarnoff succeeded his father as RCA's president, although the elder Sarnoff remained in control as chairman of
318-564: A 54% defect reduction over a single year. During its heyday, it was adopted by General Electric , ITT Corporation , Montgomery Ward , the United States Army among other organizations. While Zero Defects began in the aerospace and defense industry, thirty years later it was regenerated in the automotive world. During the 1990s, large companies in the automotive industry cut costs by reducing their quality inspection processes and demanding that their suppliers dramatically improve
424-400: A 60%–40% ratio in output between the two companies. Although the patent cross-licensing agreements had been intended to give the participants domination of equipment sales, the tremendous growth of the market led to fierce competition, and in 1925 RCA fell behind Atwater Kent as the leader in receiver sales. RCA was particularly hamstrung by the need to coordinate its sales within the limits of
530-791: A better-paying position as reliability engineer at Bendix Corporation in Mishawaka, Indiana in 1955, working on the RIM-8 Talos missile. He left after less than two years to become senior quality engineer at The Martin Company 's new Orlando, Florida organization to develop the Pershing missile . There he developed the Zero Defects concept. He eventually rose to become department head before leaving for ITT Corporation in 1965 to become director of quality. In 1979, Crosby started
636-607: A commercial version of his prototype system could be produced in a relatively short time for $ 100,000. Following what would actually be many years of additional research and millions of dollars, RCA demonstrated an all-electronic black-and-white television system at the 1939 New York World's Fair . RCA began regular experimental television broadcasting from the NBC studios to the New York metropolitan area on April 30, 1939, via station W2XBS, channel 1 (which evolved into WNBC channel 4) from
742-535: A company whose holdings included motion picture theaters. The theaters in which RKO had an interest provided a potential market for the RCA Photophone sound systems. RCA ownership of RKO stock expanded from about one quarter in 1930 to about 61% in 1932. RKO encountered severe financial problems, going into receivership from early 1933 until 1940. RCA sold its holdings in the studio to raise funds for its basic operations. After years of industry complaints that
848-406: A cross-licensing agreement, effective July 1, 1921, that included a concession that 40% of RCA's equipment purchases would be from Westinghouse. Following these transactions, GE owned 30.1% of RCA's stock, Westinghouse 20.6%, AT&T 10.3%, and United Fruit 4.1%, with the remaining 34.9% owned by individual shareholders. In 1930, RCA agreed to occupy the yet-to-be-constructed landmark skyscraper of
954-485: A diversified multinational conglomerate. Additionally, RCA began to face increasing domestic competition from international electronics firms such as Sony , Philips , Matsushita and Mitsubishi . RCA suffered enormous financial losses in the mainframe computer industry and other failed projects including the CED videodisc system. Although the company was rebounding by the mid-1980s, RCA never regained its former eminence and
1060-434: A fully independent company. As a result, GE and Westinghouse gave up their ownership interests in RCA, while RCA was allowed to keep its factories. To give RCA a chance to establish itself, GE and Westinghouse were required to refrain from competing in the radio business for the next two and one-half years. RCA began television development in early 1929, after an overly optimistic Vladimir K. Zworykin convinced Sarnoff that
1166-522: A joint new company, RCA initially had little true interest in the phonograph record business. The management of RCA was interested essentially in Victor's superior sales capabilities through the record company's large network of authorized distributors and dealers, as well as the extensive, efficient manufacturing facilities in Camden, New Jersey . Immediately following the purchase of Victor, RCA began planning
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#17327919815971272-471: A limited market of amateur radio enthusiasts. By 1922, the rise of broadcasting had dramatically increased the demand for radio equipment by the general public, and this development was reflected in the title of RCA's June 1, 1922, catalog, "Radio Enters the Home". RCA began selling receivers under the "Radiola" name, marketing equipment produced by GE and Westinghouse under the production agreement that allocated
1378-534: A major producer of vacuum tubes, which were branded Radiotron in the United States. Especially after the rise of broadcasting, they were a major profit source for the company. RCA's strong patent position meant that the company effectively set the selling prices for vacuum tubes in the U.S., which were significantly higher than in Europe, where Lee de Forest had allowed a key patent issued to him to lapse. RCA
1484-406: A major proponent of the 8-track tape cartridge , which it launched in 1965. Initially, the 8-track made a huge and profitable impact on consumers of recorded music. Sales of the 8-track tape format began to decline during the late 1970s when consumers increasingly favored the 4-track compact cassette tape format developed by Philips . RCA was one of a number of companies in the 1960s that entered
1590-574: A quality control department manager on the Pershing missile program at the Martin Company , though at least one contemporary reference credits a small, unnamed group of Martin employees. Zero Defects was not the first application of motivational techniques to production: during World War II, the War Department's "E for Excellence" program sought to boost production and minimize waste. The Cold War resulted in increased spending on
1696-620: A reorganization of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (commonly called "American Marconi"). In 1897, the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, Limited, was founded in London to promote the radio (then known as "wireless telegraphy") inventions of Guglielmo Marconi . As part of worldwide expansion, in 1899 American Marconi was organized as a subsidiary company, holding the rights to use
1802-475: A short distance from the match site, and operating under the call letters WJY . For the broadcast White and Sarnoff telephoned commentary from ringside, which was typed up and then read over the air by J. Owen Smith. The demonstration was a technical success, with a claimed audience of 300,000 listeners throughout the northeast. RCA quickly moved to expand its broadcasting activities. In the fall of 1921, it set up its first full-time broadcasting station, WDY , at
1908-547: A similar agreement with China in 1932. RCA claimed this was breach of contract on the grounds that its 1928 agreement had given it exclusive rights. The dispute went to arbitration, and in 1935 a decision, issued in Radio Corporation of America v China , concluded the Mackay concession was valid, because the earlier RCA concession had not granted exclusive rights. The introduction of organized radio broadcasting in
2014-776: A simple receiver using a curtain rod as an antenna, matching, at a small fraction of the cost, the performance of the massive alternator transmitters. In 1926, Harold H. Beverage further reported that a shortwave signal, transmitted on a 15-meter wavelength (approximately 20 MHz), was received in South America more readily during the daytime than the 200-kilowatt alternator transmissions. The Alexanderson alternators, control of which had led to RCA's formation, were now considered obsolete, and international radio communication would be primarily conducted using vacuum tube transmitters operating on shortwave bands. RCA would continue to operate international telecommunications services for
2120-590: A standard must be specified for each. These become the requirements for a product and the organization must inspect, or measure what comes out of the production process against those standards to determine whether the product conforms to those requirements or not. An important implication of this is that if management does not specify these requirements workers invent their own which may not align with what management would have intended had they provided explicit requirements to begin with. Companies typically focus on inspection to ensure that defective product doesn't reach
2226-559: A station's normal transmission frequency – Westinghouse's Frank Conrad unexpectedly found that in some cases the harmonics could be heard farther than the primary signal, something previously thought impossible, as high-frequency shortwave signals, which had poor groundwave coverage, were thought to have a very limited transmission range. In 1924, Conrad demonstrated to Sarnoff that a low-powered shortwave station in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania could be readily received in London by
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#17327919815972332-552: A suspension of the pending alternator sales to the Marconi companies. This would leave General Electric without a buyer for its transmitters, so the officers proposed that GE purchase American Marconi, and use the assets to form its own radio communications subsidiary. Young consented to this proposal, which, effective November 20, 1919, transformed American Marconi into the Radio Corporation of America. The decision to form
2438-447: A transmission rate of a billion or more bits of information a second ... Eventually, a global communications network handling voice, data and facsimile will instantly link man to machine—or machine to machine—by land, air, underwater, and space circuits. [The computer] will affect man's ways of thinking, his means of education, his relationship to his physical and social environment, and it will alter his ways of living. ... [Before
2544-514: Is a management tool aimed at the reduction of defects through prevention. It is directed at motivating people to prevent mistakes by developing a constant, conscious desire to do their job right the first time." — Zero Defects: A New Dimension in Quality Assurance Zero Defects seeks to directly reverse the attitude that the number of mistakes a worker makes doesn't matter since inspectors will catch them before they reach
2650-441: Is defective. Workers must "make the attitude of Zero Defects [their] personal standard." To convince executives to take action to resolve issues of poor quality, costs associated with poor quality must be measured in monetary terms. Crosby uses the term "the price of nonconformance" in preference to " the cost of quality " to overcome the misimpression that higher quality requires higher costs. The point of writing Quality Is Free
2756-412: Is merely setting performance standards that no one can misunderstand and then starting a two-way communications exercise to let everyone know about it." He blamed management actions and attitudes for creating the opportunity for defects. Philip B. Crosby Crosby initiated the Zero Defects program at the Martin Company . As the quality control manager of the Pershing missile program, Crosby
2862-897: The Rockefeller Center complex, 30 Rockefeller Plaza , which in 1933 became known as the RCA Building (renamed the GE Building in 1988 and currently known as the Comcast Building after Comcast acquired NBC). This lease was critical for enabling the massive project to proceed as a commercially viable venture—David Rockefeller cited RCA's action as being responsible for "the salvation of the project". RCA's primary business objectives at its founding were to provide equipment and services for seagoing vessels, and "worldwide wireless" communication in competition with existing international undersea telegraph cables. To provide
2968-569: The Spark-gap transmitters that had been traditionally used by the Marconi companies. Marconi officials were so impressed by the capabilities of the Alexanderson alternators that they began making preparations to adopt them as their standard transmitters for international communication. A tentative plan made with General Electric proposed that over a two-year period the Marconi companies would purchase most of GE's alternator production. However,
3074-453: The cathode ray-tube (CRT) picture tube itself. The rapid rise of radio broadcasting during the early 1920s, which provided unlimited free entertainment in the home, had a detrimental effect on the American phonograph record industry. The Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey , was then the world's largest manufacturer of records and phonographs , including its popular showcase "Victrola" line. In January 1929, RCA purchased
3180-504: The management consulting company Philip Crosby Associates, Inc. This consulting group provided educational courses in quality management both at their headquarters in Winter Park, Florida , and at eight foreign locations. In 1979, Crosby published his first business book, Quality Is Free, with the subtitle The Art of Making Quality Certain. This book gained prominence during a critical period for North American industry, when, between
3286-505: The post–World War II economic expansion , had a lackadaisical attitude on the whole toward work. Crosby saw statistical quality control and the MIL-Q-9858 standard as contributing to this through acceptable quality levels —a concept that allows a certain number of acceptable defects and reinforces the attitude that mistakes are inevitable. Another contributor is the self-imposed pressure to produce something to sell, even if that thing
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3392-590: The FCC adopted a standard for color television that had been promoted by CBS, but the effort soon failed, primarily because the color broadcasts could not be received by existing black-and-white sets. As the result of a major research push, RCA engineers developed a method of "compatible" color transmissions that, through the use of interlacing, simultaneously broadcast color and black-and-white images, which could be picked up by both color and existing black-and-white sets. In 1953, RCA's all-electronic color television technology
3498-425: The FCC stepped in to limit its broadcasts. Following the adoption of National Television System Committee (NTSC) recommended standards, the FCC authorized the start of commercial television broadcasts on July 1, 1941. The entry of the United States into World War II a few months later greatly slowed its deployment, but RCA resumed selling television receivers almost immediately after the war ended in 1945. In 1950,
3604-655: The GE/Westinghouse production quotas, and often had difficulty keeping up with industry trends. However, the company made a key advance in early 1924 when it began selling the first superheterodyne receivers, whose high level of performance increased the brand's reputation and popularity. RCA was the exclusive manufacturer of superheterodyne radio sets until 1930. All RCA receivers were battery powered until late 1927 when plug-in AC sets were introduced, providing another boost in sales. RCA inherited American Marconi's status as
3710-461: The Marconi patents in the United States and Cuba. In 1912 it took over the assets of the bankrupt United Wireless Telegraph Company , and from that point forward it became the dominant radio communications company in the United States. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the federal government took control of most civilian radio stations to use them for the war effort. Although
3816-536: The NBC name and remained under RCA ownership until 1986. For two decades the NBC radio network's roster of stars provided ratings consistently surpassing those of its main competitor, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). But in 1948, as the transition from radio to television was beginning, NBC's leadership came under attack due to what became known as the "Paley raids", named after the president of CBS, William S. Paley . After World War II
3922-507: The Navy return the stations it had taken control of to the original owners. Due to national security considerations, the Navy was particularly concerned about returning high-powered international stations to American Marconi, since the majority of its stock was in foreign hands, and the British already largely controlled the international undersea telegraph cables. This concern was increased by
4028-656: The Roselle Park, New Jersey company plant. By 1923, RCA was operating three stations—WJZ (now WABC ) and WJY in New York City, and WRC (now WTEM ) in Washington, D.C. A restriction imposed by AT&T's interpretation of the patent cross-licensing agreements required that the RCA stations remain commercial free, and they were financed by profits from radio equipment sales. Beginning in 1922, AT&T became heavily involved in radio broadcasting, and soon became
4134-539: The U.S. Navy objected to the plan, fearing British domination in international radio communications and the national security concerns this raised. The Navy, claiming support from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , looked for an alternative that would result in an "all-American" company taking over the American Marconi assets. In April 1919, two naval officers, Admiral H. G. Bullard and Commander S. C. Hooper , met with GE president, Owen D. Young and requested
4240-490: The U.S. entered the war in December 1941. During World War II, RCA was involved in radar and radio development in support of the war effort, and ranked 43rd among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts. One such contract was to outfit the battleship USS Texas with a 400-megahertz pulse radar set, using technology developed by RCA acoustics scientist, Irving Wolff . During and after
4346-651: The United States entered World War II, the cornerstone was laid for a research and development facility in Princeton, New Jersey called RCA Laboratories. Led for many years by Elmer Engstrom , it was used to develop many innovations, including color television , the electron microscope , CMOS -based technology, heterojunction physics, optoelectronic emitting devices , liquid crystal displays (LCDs), videocassette recorders , direct broadcast television, direct broadcast satellite systems and high-definition television . RCA plants switched to war production shortly after
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4452-480: The United States; JVC retained the 'Victor' and "His Master's Voice" trademarks for use in Japan only. In 1955, RCA sold its Estate brand of large appliance operations to Whirlpool Corporation . As part of this transaction, Whirlpool was given the right to market "RCA Whirlpool" appliances through the mid-1960s. RCA manufactured equipment for repairing radios, such as oscilloscopes. RCA Graphic Systems Division (GSD)
4558-767: The Victor Talking Machine Company; this acquisition became known as the RCA Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America, and included ownership of Victor's Japanese subsidiary, the Victor Company of Japan (JVC), formed in 1927 and controlling interest in The Gramophone Company Ltd. (later EMI Records ) in England. RCA's acquisition of the Victor company included the western hemisphere rights to
4664-619: The acting president of the National Amateur Wireless Association (NAWA), an organization originally formed by American Marconi which had been inherited by RCA. White agreed to recruit the NAWA membership for volunteers to provide assistance at the listening sites, and also enlisted David Sarnoff for financial and technical support. RCA was authorized to set up a temporary longwave radio station, located in Hoboken
4770-721: The announcement in late 1918 of the formation of the Pan-American Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company, a joint venture between American Marconi and the Federal Telegraph Company , with plans to set up service between the United States and South America. The Navy had installed a high-powered Alexanderson alternator , built by General Electric (GE), at the American Marconi transmitter site in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It proved to be superior for transatlantic transmissions to
4876-437: The area of vacuum tube technology and GE needed access to additional patents before its new subsidiary could be fully competitive. During this time American Marconi had been steadily falling behind others in the industry. The two companies entered into negotiations which resulted in a series of mutually beneficial cross-licensing agreements between themselves and various other companies in the industry. On July 1, 1920, an agreement
4982-549: The attic or basement. RCA Victor began selling the first all-electric Victrola in 1930 and in 1931 the company attempted to revitalize record sales with the introduction of 33 1 ⁄ 3 revolutions-per-minute (rpm) long play records, which were a commercial failure during the Great Depression, partly because the Victrolas with two speed turntables required to play them were exorbitantly expensive, and also because
5088-399: The audio performance of the new records was generally poor; the new format used the same groove size as existing 78 rpm records, and it would require the smaller-radius stylus of the later microgroove systems to achieve acceptable slower-speed performance. Additionally, the new long-play records were pressed in a pliable, vinyl-based material called "Victrolac" which wore out rapidly under
5194-471: The board. The younger Sarnoff sought to modernize RCA's image with the introduction in late 1968 of what was then a futuristic-looking new logo (the letters 'RCA' in block, modernized form), replacing the original lightning bolt logo, and the virtual retirement of both the Victor and Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademarks. The RCA Victor Division was renamed RCA Records; the 'Victor' and 'Victrola' trademarks were no longer used on RCA consumer electronics. 'Victor'
5300-401: The company's founding, served as president from 1930 to 1965, and remained active as chairman of the board until the end of 1969. During the 1970s, RCA's seemingly impregnable stature as a leader in technology, innovation and home entertainment began to weaken as the company attempted to expand beyond its main focus of the development and marketing of consumer electronics and communications into
5406-423: The contract date in 1962. Martin marshaled all of its resources to meet this challenge and delivered the system with no discrepancies in hardware and documentation and were able to demonstrate operation within a day of the start of setup. After reviewing how Martin was able to overachieve, its management came to the conclusion that while it had not insisted on perfection in the past, it had in this instance, and that
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#17327919815975512-506: The core motivation techniques of booklets, films, posters, speeches, and the "ZD Day" centerpiece. According to Crosby, there are four Absolutes: Newcomers to manufacturing bring their own vague impressions of what quality involves. But in order to tackle quality-related problems, there must be widespread agreement on the specifics of what quality means for a particular product. Customer needs and expectations must be reduced to measurable quantities like length, or smoothness, or roundness and
5618-614: The costs of establishing a robust quality system. According to Crosby, "quality is free" because it is more cost-effective to do things right the first time than to incur additional expenses from rework and repairs. RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America . It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse , AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company . In 1932, RCA became an independent company after
5724-675: The costs of providing programming threatened to exceed the funds available from equipment profits. The problem was resolved in 1926 when AT&T unexpectedly decided to exit the radio broadcasting field. RCA purchased, for $ 1,000,000, AT&Ts two radio stations, WEAF and WCAP in Washington, D.C., as well as its network operations. These assets formed the basis for the creation of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), with ownership divided between RCA (50%), General Electric (30%), and Westinghouse (20%) until 1930, when RCA assumed 100% ownership. This purchase also included
5830-524: The cross-licensing agreements between RCA, GE, and Westinghouse had in effect created illegal monopolies, the U.S. Department of Justice brought antitrust charges against the three companies in May 1930. After much negotiation, in 1932 the Justice Department accepted a consent agreement that removed the restrictions established by the cross-licensing agreements, and also provided that RCA would become
5936-418: The customer. But this is both costly and still lets nonconformances through. Prevention, in the form of "pledging ourselves to make a constant conscious effort to do our jobs right the first time", is the only way to guarantee zero defects. Beyond that, examining the production process for steps where defects can occur and mistake proofing them contributes to defect-free production. Workers, at least during
6042-406: The customer. This stands in contrast to activities that affect the worker directly, such as receiving a paycheck in the correct amount. Zero Defects involves reconditioning the worker "to take a personal interest in everything he does[,] by convincing him that his job is just as important as the task of the doctor or the dentist." The development of Zero Defects is credited to Philip B. Crosby ,
6148-584: The development of defense technology in the 1950s and 1960s. Because of the safety-critical nature of such technology, particularly weapons systems, the government and defense firms came to employ hundreds of thousands of people in inspection and monitoring of highly-complex products assembled from hundreds of thousands of individual parts. This activity routinely uncovered defects in design, manufacture, and assembly and resulted in an expensive, drawn out cycle of inspection, rework, reinspection, and retest. Additionally, reports of spectacular missile failures appearing in
6254-450: The early 1920s resulted in a dramatic reorientation and expansion of RCA's business activities. The development of vacuum tube radio transmitters made audio transmissions practical, in contrast with the earlier transmitters which were limited to sending the dits-and-dahs of Morse code . Since at least 1916, when he was still at American Marconi, David Sarnoff had proposed establishing broadcasting stations, but his memos to management promoting
6360-418: The end of that same year, David Sarnoff, after being incapacitated by a long-term illness, was removed as the company's chairman of the board. He died in December 1971. RCA's exit from the mainframe computer market in 1971 marked a milestone in its transition from electronics and technology toward Robert Sarnoff's goal to diversify RCA as a multinational business conglomerate . During the late 1960s and 1970s,
6466-701: The end of this century, these forces] will coalesce into what unquestionably will become the greatest adventure of the human mind." RCA marketed a Spectra 70 computer line that was hardware, but not software, compatible with IBM's System/360 series. It also produced the RCA Series, which competed against the IBM System/370 . This technology was leased to the English Electric company, which used it for their System 4 series, which were essentially RCA Spectra 70 clones. RCA's TSOS operating system
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#17327919815976572-431: The fact. Performance standard: The goal in terms of quality should be to achieve zero defects, ensuring that all products meet specified requirements. Measurement of quality: Quality is measured by the cost of nonconformance, i.e., the costs associated with failing to meet requirements. Crosby argued that implementing strong quality management principles would enable organizations to achieve significant savings that far exceed
6678-467: The federal government and felt it deserved to maintain its predominant role in U.S. radio communications. At the company's recommendation, President Wilson appointed Rear Admiral Bullard "to attend the stockholders' and director's meetings... in order that he may present and discuss informally the Government's views and interests". The radio industry had been making technical advances, particularly in
6784-500: The first superheterodyne sets. The company also created the first nationwide American radio network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). RCA was also a pioneer in the introduction and development of television, both black and white and especially color television . Throughout most of the company's existence, RCA was closely identified with the leadership of David Sarnoff . He became general manager at
6890-403: The first of five RCA plants to produce Madame X vacuum tubes, which included a proximity fuse used to electronically detonate its payload when it was in range of its target, as opposed to relying on a direct hit. James V. Forrestal, former secretary of the Navy said, "The proximity fuse had helped blaze the trail to Japan. Without the protection this ingenious device has given the surface ships of
6996-425: The fleet, our westward push could not have been so swift and the cost in men and ships would have been immeasurably greater." Greatly miniaturized Nuvistor tubes were a last major vacuum tube innovation, along with General Electric's Compactron , and were meant to compete with the newly introduced transistor. By 1975, RCA had completely switched from tubes to solid-state devices in their television sets, except for
7102-426: The government planned to restore civilian ownership of the radio stations once the war ended, many United States Navy officials hoped to retain a monopoly on radio communication even after the war. Contrary to instructions it had received, the Navy began purchasing large numbers of radio stations. When the war ended, Congress rejected the Navy's efforts to have peacetime control of the radio industry and instructed that
7208-550: The heavy tonearms then in use. In 1934, following the debacle of its long-play record, RCA Victor introduced the Duo Jr., an inexpensive, small, basic electric turntable designed to be plugged into radio sets. The Duo Jr. was sold at cost, but was practically given away with the purchase of a certain number of Victor records. The Duo Jr.'s rock-bottom price helped to overcome the national apathy to phonographs, and record sales gradually began to recover. Around 1935, RCA began marketing
7314-405: The iconic Nipper /" His Master's Voice " trademark. RCA Victor popularized combined radio receiver-phonographs, and also created RCA Photophone , a movie sound-on-film system that competed with William Fox 's sound-on-film Movietone and Warner Bros. ' sound-on-disc Vitaphone . Although early announcements of the RCA and Victor merger stressed that the two firms were linking equally to form
7420-745: The idea for sales of a "Radio Music Box" had not been followed up at the time. Around 1920, a small number of broadcasting stations began operating, and soon interest in the innovation was spreading nationwide. In the summer of 1921, a Madison Square Garden employee, Julius Hopp, devised a plan to raise charitable funds by broadcasting, from ringside, the July 2, 1921 Dempsey-Carpentier heavyweight championship fight to be held in Jersey City, New Jersey. Hopp recruited theaters and halls as listening locations that would charge admission fees to be used as charitable donations. He also contacted RCA's J. Andrew White,
7526-653: The industry, in 1941 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promulgated a rule designed to force NBC to divest one of them. This order was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and on October 12, 1943, the NBC-Blue network was sold to candy magnate Edward J. Noble for $ 8,000,000, and renamed "The Blue Network, Inc." In 1946 the name was changed to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The "Red" network retained
7632-419: The international service, the company soon undertook a massive project to build a "Radio Central" communications hub at Rocky Point, Long Island , New York, designed to achieve "the realization of the vision of communication engineers to transmit messages to all points of the world from a single centrally located source". Construction began in July 1920, and the site was dedicated on November 5, 1921, after two of
7738-630: The late 1970s and early 1980s, North American manufacturers were losing market share to Japanese products, which were distinguished by their superior quality. Crosby's response to this quality crisis was based on the principle of "doing it right the first time" (DIRFT). This approach was structured around four key principles: Definition of quality: Quality is defined as conformance to requirements, with requirements encompassing both product specifications and customer expectations. Quality system: The quality management system should be based on defect prevention, rather than relying on inspection or correction after
7844-408: The mainframe computer field to challenge the market leader International Business Machines (IBM). Although at this time computers were almost universally used for routine data processing and scientific research, in 1964 Sarnoff, who prided himself as a visionary, predicted that "The computer will become the hub of a vast network of remote data stations and information banks feeding into the machine at
7950-528: The manufacture of radio sets and components on Victor's Camden assembly lines, while decreasing the production of Victrolas and records. The entire phonograph record industry in America nearly foundered after the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression . During the nadir of the record business in the early 1930s, the manufacture of phonographs and records all but ceased; extant older phonographs were now obsolete and many had been relegated to
8056-538: The modernistic RCA Victor M Special, a polished aluminum portable record player designed by John Vassos that has become an icon of 1930s American industrial design. In 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 rpm "single" records, as a response to Columbia Records successful introduction of its microgroove 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm " LP " format in 1948. As RCA Victor adopted Columbia's 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm LP records in 1950, Columbia then adopted RCA Victor's 45 rpm records. RCA also made investments in
8162-586: The movie industry, but they performed poorly. In April 1928, RCA Photophone, Inc., was organized by a group of companies including RCA to develop sound-movie technology. In the fall of 1927, RCA had purchased stock in Film Booking Office (FBO), and on October 25, 1928, with the help of Joseph P. Kennedy , the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation (RKO) studio was formed by merging FBO with Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation (KAO),
8268-519: The new Empire State Building transmitter on top of the structure. Around this time, RCA began selling its first television set models, including the TRK-5 and TRK-9, in various New York stores. However, the FCC had not approved the start of commercial television operations, because technical standards had not yet been finalized. Concerned that RCA's broadcasts were an attempt to flood the market with sets that would force it to adopt RCA's current technology,
8374-399: The new company was promoted as a patriotic gesture. The corporate officers were required to be citizens of the United States, with a majority of the company stock to be held by U.S. citizens. Upon its founding, RCA was the largest radio communications firm in the United States. Most of the former American Marconi staff continued to work for RCA. Owen Young became the chairman of the board of
8480-400: The new company. Former American Marconi vice president and general manager E. J. Nally become RCA's first president. Nally was succeeded by Major General James G. Harbord , who served from 1922 until January 3, 1930, when Harbord replaced Owen Young as chairman of the board. David Sarnoff, who was RCA's founding general manager, became its third president on the same day. RCA worked closely with
8586-464: The new industry's most important participant. From the beginning, AT&T's policy was to finance stations by commercial sponsorship of the programs. The company also created the first radio network, centered on its New York City station WEAF (now WFAN ), using its long-distance telephone lines to interconnect stations. This allowed them to economize by having multiple stations carry the same program. RCA and its partners soon faced an economic crisis, as
8692-413: The partners were required to divest their ownership as part of the settlement of a government antitrust suit. An innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. In the early 1920s, RCA was at the forefront of the mushrooming radio industry as a major manufacturer of radio receivers , and the exclusive manufacturer of
8798-423: The performers, while Sarnoff professed his indifference to the defections, stating at an annual meeting that "Leadership built over the years on a foundation of solid service cannot be snatched overnight by buying a few high-priced comedians. Leadership is not a laughing matter." RCA acted as the sales agent for a small line of Westinghouse and GE branded receivers and parts used by home constructors, originally for
8904-581: The press heightened the pressure to eliminate defects. In 1961, the Martin Company's Orlando Florida facility embarked on an effort to increase quality awareness and specifically launched a program to drive down the number of defects in the Pershing missile to one half of the acceptable quality level in half a year's time. Subsequently, the Army asked that the missile be delivered a month earlier than
9010-485: The program, and therefore compliance with it, fades without this verification. Point 10 of Deming's 14 points (" Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. ") is clearly aimed at ZD. Joseph M. Juran was also critical of ZD. Another criticism is that Zero Defects is a motivational program aimed at encouraging employees to do better. Crosby stated that "Motivation has nothing to do with it...It
9116-497: The proposed twelve antenna spokes had been completed, and two of the 200-kilowatt alternators installed. The debut transmissions received replies from stations in 17 countries. Although the initial installation would remain in operation, the additional antenna spokes and alternator installations would not be completed, due to a major discovery about radio signal propagation. While investigating transmitter "harmonics" – unwanted additional radio signals produced at higher frequencies than
9222-490: The quality of their supplies. In 1979, Crosby penned Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain which preserved the idea of Zero Defects in a Quality Management Maturity Grid , in a 14-step quality improvement program, and in the concept of the "Absolutes of Quality Management". The quality improvement program incorporated ideas developed or popularized by others (for example, cost of quality (step 4), employee education (step 8), and quality councils (step 13)) with
9328-525: The remainder of its existence, through its subsidiary RCA Communications, Inc., and later the RCA Global Communications Company. In 1975, the company formed RCA American Communications , which operated its Satcom series of geostationary communications satellites . International shortwave links were in turn largely supplanted by communications satellites, especially for distributing network radio and television programming. At
9434-665: The right to begin commercial operations. NBC formed two radio networks that eventually expanded nationwide: the NBC-Red Network , with flagship station WEAF, and NBC-Blue , centered on WJZ. Although NBC was originally promoted as expecting to just break even economically, it soon became extremely profitable, which would be an important factor in helping RCA survive the economic pressures of the Great Depression that began in late 1929. Concerned that NBC's control of two national radio networks gave it too much power over
9540-434: The tax rate for annual incomes above $ 70,000 was 77%, while capital gains were taxed at 25%. Paley worked out an accounting technique whereby individual performers could set up corporations that allowed their earnings to be taxed at the significantly lower rate. Instead of NBC responding with a similar package, Sarnoff decided that this accounting method was legally and ethically wrong. NBC's performers did not agree, and most of
9646-508: The time RCA was founded in 1919, all radio and telegraphic communication between China and the US, including official messages, were sent through either German radio or British cable links. The U.S. Navy lobbied RCA to seek a concession for a radio link to China, however the company was reluctant because its other concessions were already operating at a loss. This link began operation in 1928. The Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company of California signed
9752-428: The top stars, including Amos and Andy , Jack Benny , Red Skelton , Edgar Bergen , Burns and Allen , Ed Wynn , Fred Waring , Al Jolson , Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra moved from NBC to CBS. As a result, CBS boasted of having sixteen of the twenty top-rated programs in 1949. The consequences would carry over to television, where CBS maintained its newfound dominance for decades. Paley had personally worked to woo
9858-479: The upper dozen or so top-rated programs" and "The popular programs, to put the matter bluntly, have very little appeal for him." RCA professional video cameras and studio gear, particularly of the TK-40/41 series, became standard equipment at many American television network affiliates, as RCA CT-100 ("RCA Merrill" to dealers) television sets introduced color television to the public. In 1941, shortly before
9964-519: The war, RCA set up several new divisions for defense, space exploration and other activities. The RCA Service Corporation provided large numbers of staff for the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line . RCA units won five Army–Navy "E" Awards for Excellence in production. Due to the hostilities between Japan and the United States during World War II , the Victor Company of Japan became an independent company after seceding from RCA Victor in
10070-403: Was adopted as the standard for the United States. At that time, Sarnoff predicted annual color television sales would reach 1.78 million in 1956, but the receivers were expensive and difficult to adjust, and there was initially a lack of color programming, so sales lagged badly and the actual 1956 total would only be 120,000. RCA's ownership of NBC proved to be a major benefit, as that network
10176-496: Was all that was needed to attain outstanding product quality. Management commissioned a team to examine the phenomenon and come up with an action plan, which became the organizing, motivating, and initiating elements of Zero Defects. The Department of Defense also took notice and in 1964, began to actively encourage its vendors to adopt Zero Defects programs. Interest in the program from outside firms, including Litton Industries , Thiokol , Westinghouse , and Bendix Corporation ,
10282-682: Was an early supplier of electronics designed for the printing and publishing industries. It contracted with German company Rudolf Hell to market adaptations of the Digiset photocomposition system as the Videocomp, and a Laser Color Scanner. The Videocomp was supported by a Spectra computer that ran the Page-1 and, later the Page-II and FileComp composition systems. RCA later sold the Videocomp rights to Information International Inc. RCA Victor became
10388-726: Was credited with a 25 percent reduction in the overall rejection rate and a 30 percent reduction in scrap costs. Crosby was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1926. He served in the Navy during World War II and again during the Korean War. In between, he earned a degree from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine . His first job in the field of quality was that of test technician in the quality department at Crosley Corporation in Richmond, Indiana , beginning in 1952. He left for
10494-497: Was instructed to promote its color program offerings; even so, it was not until 1968 that color television sales in the United States surpassed those of black-and-white sets. While lauding the technical prowess of his RCA engineers who had developed color television, David Sarnoff, in marked contrast to William Paley, president of CBS, did not disguise his dislike for popular television programs. His authorized biography even boasted that "no one has yet caught him in communion with one of
10600-541: Was keen and many made visits to Martin to learn about it. Their feedback was incorporated and rounded out the program. In particular, General Electric suggested that error cause removal be included in the program. Martin claimed a 54% defect reduction in defects in hardware under government audit during the first two years of the program. General Electric reported a $ 2 million reduction in rework and scrap costs, RCA reported 75% of its departments in one division were achieving Zero Defects, and Sperry Corporation reported
10706-842: Was made with the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), which purchased 500,000 shares of RCA, although it would divest these shares in early 1923. The United Fruit Company held a small portfolio of radio patents and signed two agreements in 1921. GE's traditional electric company rival, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Corporation , had also purchased rights to some critical patents, including one for heterodyne receiving originally issued to Reginald Fessenden , plus regenerative circuit and superheterodyne receiver patents issued to Edwin Armstrong . Westinghouse used this position to negotiate
10812-516: Was now restricted to the labels and album covers of RCA's regular popular record releases, while the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark was seen only on the album covers of Red Seal records. In 1969, the company name was officially changed from Radio Corporation of America to the RCA Corporation , to reflect its broader range of corporate activities and expansion into other countries. At
10918-649: Was reacquired by General Electric in 1986. This was during the Jack Welch era of GE and Welch began selling off or liquidating most of RCA's assets, retaining only NBC and government services. Today, RCA exists as a brand name only; the various RCA trademarks are currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment and Vantiva , which in turn license the RCA brand name and trademarks to several other companies, including Voxx International , Curtis International, AVC Multimedia, TCL Corporation and Express LUCK International, Ltd. for their various products. RCA originated as
11024-513: Was responsible for creating a series of innovative products, ranging from octal base metal tubes co-developed with General Electric before World War II, to miniaturized Nuvistor tubes used in the tuners of the New Vista series of television receivers. The company began work on a secret project for the U.S. Navy called Madame X in September 1942. The Bloomington, Indiana, plant was one of
11130-506: Was the first mainframe, demand paging, virtual memory operating system on the market. By 1971, despite a significant investment, RCA had only a 4% market share, and it was estimated that it would cost around $ 500 million over the next five years to remain competitive with the IBM/370 series. On September 17, 1971, the RCA board of directors announced its decision to close its computer systems division (RCA-CSD), which would be written off as
11236-481: Was to demonstrate that quality improvement efforts pay for themselves. Crosby divides quality-related costs into the price of conformance and the price of nonconformance. The price of conformance includes quality-related planning, inspection, and auditing; the price of nonconformance includes scrap, rework, claims against warranty, unplanned service The main criticism is the amount of effort required to verify every person's performance in an organization. Confidence in
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