Publications
Publications
- May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
- HBS Case Collection
Motorola: Institutionalizing Corporate Initiatives
By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan
Abstract
Motorola became a recognized quality leader in large part by becoming a leader in employee education and by encouraging "participative management." Through the Motorola Training and Education Center, later Motorola University, the company invested substantial resources in improving workers' skills and establishing a common language of quality across the corporation to support its ambitious quality improvement goals. Through quality circles, its Total Customer Satisfaction quality competition, and its potentially more far-reaching empowerment initiative, Motorola encouraged its employees to apply their new knowledge and skills in innovative and proactive ways. The growing interest in empowerment raised a number of organizational issues that led many to wonder how best to achieve its stated goals.
Keywords
Experience and Expertise; Customer Satisfaction; Training; Human Resources; Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Strategy; Education Industry
Citation
Zuboff, Shoshana, and Janis Lee Gogan. "Motorola: Institutionalizing Corporate Initiatives." Harvard Business School Case 494-139, May 1994. (Revised October 1994.)
