How is German quality forged?
　　
　　In today's world, "German quality" has become a world-renowned manufacturing Brand. The mention of "Made in Germany" naturally brings to mind German products people have seen or used, from trains, bridges, and buildings to tents, clocks, kitchenware, and even faucets, leaving an impression of durability, sophistication, safety, and reliability. "Made in Germany" has become a benchmark for modern industry in people's minds.
　　
　　In Europe, Germany was a relatively late modernizing nation with scarce natural resources. Yet, it rose to become a world power in over a hundred years, relying on high-quality "Made in Germany" products. This was the "Password" to its rapid recovery and resurgence after World War II, and the main reason for its continued success amidst the global financial crisis and the Eurozone crisis. Germany has a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in manufacturing. They often focus on one or a category of products. While their production may seem simple, they take product quality to the extreme. Even ordinary everyday items like knives and faucets are made to the highest standards by Germans.
　　
　　Quality spurred the rebirth and rise of "Made in Germany"
　　
　　However, looking back at history, the reputation of "Made in Germany" is not a special blessing from heaven, but rather the result of the German people's perseverance, innovation, quality, and hard work.
　　
　　In 1871, after German unification, the country was in need of development, and the world market was almost completely divided among the major powers. It was difficult for "latecomers" to Enter. Struggling to survive and develop, Germans began to imitate products from advanced countries like Britain, France, and the United States, undercutting the market with low Prices. Even the later famous Krupp company started this way. Britain resented the Germans' rampant patent theft, imitation, and counterfeiting, describing their actions as "shameless". In 1876, at the World's Fair in Philadelphia, Price inspector and mechanical engineering expert Rolocks described German goods as "cheap and of poor quality", a reputation that spread worldwide. This dealt a heavy blow to German products and manufacturing. To punish the unlawful acts of German merchants and protect domestic interests, Britain took action. The most direct trigger was this: At that time, a British company called Sheffield had a high reputation worldwide for its scissors and other cutlery. Because these tools were made of cast steel, they were exceptionally sharp and durable, though expensive. For profit, cutlery manufacturers in Solingen, Germany, counterfeited this Brand, stamping their products with "Sheffield" or "Made in Sheffield" and exporting them abroad. Since the imitation products were made of cast iron, although they looked identical to Sheffield's cutlery, their sharpness and hardness were far inferior, and their lifespan was much shorter. The counterfeit goods flooded the market, causing significant negative impact on the Sheffield Brand. After this scandal was exposed, the British could no longer tolerate the despicable conduct of German merchants, and British entrepreneurs launched a boycott of German goods. Under public pressure, the British Parliament passed a humiliating trademark clause on April 23, 1887, stipulating that all products imported from Germany must be marked "Made in Germany".


　　Britain's boycott and punishment of German products, along with Rolocks' authoritative assessment, greatly stimulated the Germans, leading to national self-reflection. They realized that Professor Rolocks' advice to "compete with quality" was entirely correct. In the following decade, most German companies followed Rolocks' teachings, strictly controlling product quality, paying attention to details, innovating in design, and advancing in technology. Coupled with the hard work and meticulousness of German workers, by the end of the 19th century, most German goods had largely shed their reputation for being "cheap and of poor quality" in the world market. Even the British, who had once strongly disliked "Made in Germany", began to realize that many German goods were indispensable in their daily lives, offering good value for money and superior quality, even surpassing British goods. Thus, through focus and persistence, the distinct characteristics of German products—reliable quality, durability, fine workmanship, timely delivery, and excellent service—completely reversed the negative impression of "Made in Germany" in the world's eyes.
　　
　　Krupp, once called the "most despicable industrial spy" by the British, returned to his factory in Essen, Germany, and worked hard to improve the company. By the late 19th century, his factory had become quite large, employing over 10,000 people. Krupp paid special attention to product and work quality. He made several trips to Britain to introduce technology and learn British management methods. Krupp also realized that improving product quality required improving the quality of the producers. While improving workers' welfare and living conditions, he implemented strict factory management. For example, anyone who was five minutes late for work would have an hour's wage deducted, which was then deposited into the company's health insurance fund. As a result, Krupp's business grew rapidly, its product lines expanded, quality improved, and profits soared. Thus, Krupp's name became known in the world market, and people immediately associated it with high-quality products. For example, Krupp's military products were technologically and qualitatively leading in the world at that time, making the German Emperor and many heads of state important clients. Even the distant Qing Empire in the East ordered Krupp cannons.
　　
　　In automobile manufacturing, Germany, after years of effort, has surpassed Britain. From after World War I to before World War II, the world recognized British brands like Rolls-Royce and Jaguar as the best quality cars, but they were later surpassed by globally popular brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche.

Important Factors Contributing to "German Quality"

 

　　Based on various analyses and my personal experience working in Germany, the global reputation of "German Quality" stems from at least the following fundamental reasons:

 

1. A strong foundation of quality culture

 

　　Since the Industrial Revolution, quality culture has arguably become an important content and component of the national culture of industrialized countries. Originally, German traditional culture was a Christian culture, believing in and revering "God," and cultivating "honesty, trustworthiness, and dedication," among other "human virtues," in accordance with God's requirements. Following the rise of the Western Industrial Revolution, during the process of Germany's rise and modernization, people's beliefs also subtly changed. Although they still believed in "God," they actually revered science more. Science is linked to quality, because the more scientific and technologically advanced something is, the higher its quality must be. Therefore, the Germans' adherence to and loyalty to the "morality" required by "God" were subtly transformed into the pursuit and adherence to high-quality scientific and high-tech products, gradually cultivating professional spirit and quality character such as honesty, trustworthiness, dedication, responsibility, meticulousness, adherence to rules, and pursuit of excellence. It is no exaggeration to say that most Germans have established a strong sense of quality, able to attach importance to quality in everything, at all times, and in every place; quality awareness has been "rooted in their minds and integrated into their blood."

 

　　Historically, Germany launched two world wars, causing immense suffering and disaster for the people of the world. However, the German nation respects objective facts and is able to face history and its mistakes, which distinguishes it from some countries that have done similar things. Germany has produced many great people in different historical periods, and the number of outstanding scientists who have won Nobel Prizes is among the best in the world; they have made significant contributions to human progress and technological development. The reason why Germany has been able to rise again and win the respect of the world with "Made in Germany" and "German quality" ultimately lies in the excellent cultural qualities of the German nation.

 

2. A Unique Education System

 

　　Germany was one of the first countries in the world to compulsorily implement "universal compulsory education." The reason it is described as compulsorily implementing compulsory education is that while education is completely free, the state stipulates that students are not allowed to skip school, otherwise parents will be penalized. This shows that education is not primarily seen as a means of cultivating "livelihood" skills, but rather as a means of cultivating "qualified national citizens."

 

　　In Germany, the cultivation of workers' quality and skills mainly relies on a system known as "dual vocational education." This highly distinctive education system was a German invention, implemented since 1880. This vocational education adopts a method where students are jointly trained by schools and enterprises, combining theory and practice closely. Each student undergoes three years of apprenticeship-style education and training, including: two years at school and one year at an enterprise. The learning and training costs for the two years at school are funded by the relevant state government, and the one year of internship at an enterprise is funded by the relevant enterprise. According to statistics, approximately 70% of young people in Germany will receive this dual vocational education after graduating from secondary school; it is also an important path for young people to their careers (what we now call "employment"), unlike China where "thousands of troops and horses" all crowd onto the single-plank bridge of university. In fact, in Germany, various professional and technical workers are admired by many young people, with salaries and benefits comparable to those of white-collar workers in countries such as Britain, France, the United States, and Japan. This may be the secret behind "Made in Germany" and "German quality."

 

3. Vibrant Technological Innovation

 

　　Germany has a vibrant technological innovation system, which is also one of the key factors for the success of "Made in Germany." Historically, regardless of which party is in power, the German government has attached great importance to technological innovation and its transformation of achievements, focusing on establishing and improving a comprehensive technological innovation system integrating scientific research and development, achievement transformation, knowledge dissemination, and HR training. A notable feature of this system is the unity and coordination of individuals, enterprises, and the government: scientific researchers produce results, enterprises provide capital, the state provides policies, and is responsible for communication, liaison, and consultation with enterprises and the scientific and technological community. The highly efficient and well-functioning technological innovation system ensures that the country's manufacturing industry remains at the forefront of the world. The philosophy adhered to by German companies is that what truly determines the future and fate of an enterprise is research and development and quality, not other objective factors beyond their control. Therefore, German enterprises are not stingy with R&D investment. Although Germany has many famous universities and independent institutions engaged in R&D, enterprises are still the main body of technological innovation, serving as both important providers of R&D funds and the main drivers and participants in independent R&D and innovation. A survey by the German Research Foundation shows that after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, R&D investment by German enterprises, which had once stagnated, increased instead of decreasing, growing by 7% in 2012, the highest increase in recent years.

 

4. Strict Standards and Quality Certification System

 

　　Germany has established unified and complete industry standards covering machinery, construction, mining, metallurgy, chemicals, electrical engineering, telecommunications, safety technology, environmental protection, hygiene, fire protection, transportation, food, medicine, medical care, and even household services. It is no exaggeration to say that everything involving society and people has corresponding standards or regulations. Thousands of industry standards are issued in Germany each year, with about 90% being used as models or directly adopted by European countries and other countries and regions around the world. During my participation in the acceptance and operation training of imported equipment in the Federal Republic of Germany, I learned that many companies also set factory internal standards with stricter quality precision than national standards. Japan's high-end manufacturing industry supported by qualityLike "German quality," "Japanese quality" is also an excellent manufacturing Brand. It can be said that "Japanese quality" helped Japan create economic miracles.

 

　　A recent prominent example is the 2011 magnitude 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake. Many houses in the affected areas remained intact and did not collapse. The quality of Japanese housing construction is truly admirable. This is in stark contrast to the distressing phenomenon in many parts of China where even with much lower intensity earthquakes, houses collapse on a large scale. In recent years, due to the overall economic environment, many Japanese manufacturing companies have indeed lost their former glory and are on the decline. However, overall, the world market's trust in "Japanese quality" has not wavered. Some high-quality, high-value-added core parts and components manufactured by Japanese companies are always in high demand on the world market, and it is no exaggeration to call them hidden champions in certain high-end manufacturing fields. For example, Japanese-produced semiconductor silicon wafers account for about 70% of the world market share and are used in various products of all sizes. The three major US automakers specify the use of "Made in Japan" stamping dies, because US-made dies wear out after 30,000 pressings of related parts, while Japanese-made dies can operate for 60,000-100,000 cycles.

 

　　Japanese cars are a prominent representative of "Made in Japan." In the global automotive industry, German and Japanese cars, overall, both possess strong market competitiveness, making them two leading forces, each with its own characteristics and advantages, making it difficult to distinguish between them. In summary, although Japanese automakers vary greatly in size, their products and technologies each have unique features and expertise, achieving success in their respective niche markets. Toyota is known for its lean manufacturing, superior quality, and high cost-performance ratio; Honda has repeatedly taken the lead in the motorcycle and engine fields, and its CRV and other cars are very popular in the market; Nissan is not only highly praised for its image as "Nissan Technology," but also shines in the sports car field; Mazda has made remarkable achievements in rotary engine models; Mitsubishi Motors excels in four-wheel drive technology; Subaru is world-renowned for its horizontally opposed engines and four-wheel drive technology for sedans, and is an outstanding representative of sports sedans; and Suzuki is known as a world expert in small car manufacturing. In terms of quality, German and Japanese cars each have their own strengths. In the 2012 Global Top 100 Brands ranking released by BrandZ Consulting, in the sub-ranking of the world's top ten automotive brands, German and Japanese brands each occupied four positions, essentially a "tie."

 

　　Japanese cars place importance on quality, which is certainly due to market competition considerations. However, from another perspective, this is also a conscious and proactive behavior. The "three guarantees" for automobiles have been discussed and deliberated in China for nearly ten years, finally being implemented last October. In Japan, there are no specific policy regulations regarding repair, replacement, or return of automobiles. All after-sale services are provided by automakers based on market user needs and competitive conditions. However, the after-sale service content of various Japanese automakers is currently largely the same, with a general vehicle warranty period of 3 years or 60,000 kilometers, and 5 years or 100,000 kilometers for major components.

 

The author believes that the achievement of "Japanese quality" and its world-class reputation is inseparable from the following two factors:

 

1. The Influence of Traditional Culture and Values

 

　　The latest research results from US personnel indicate that quality culture is the fundamental factor determining the outcome of quality management processes. Quality culture originates from the social (or public) culture of a country or nation, and the social culture of an era evolves from the nation's traditional culture. Therefore, a country's quality status and level are closely related to the inheritance and evolution of the positive aspects of its traditional culture and values. Like Chinese traditional culture, Japanese traditional culture and values have both strengths and weaknesses; the key lies in how to select, inherit, and discard them.

 

　　Japan is in a completely different environment from China, such as its small land area, scarce resources, and frequent earthquakes. These unfavorable objective conditions have led people there to develop a unique sense of crisis and a sense of insecurity from a young age. This constant sense of crisis and insecurity has also gradually cultivated their special spirit of perseverance and strong ability to withstand pressure and setbacks. The Japanese realize that within their limited land area and resource conditions, they can only make efforts in the development of their internal capabilities to compensate for or balance their disadvantages. Therefore, they pursue a model of "small but refined, small but strong." This is consistent with the essence of quality. The fact that lean production methods originated in Japan rather than the United States has some inherent reasons.

 

　　Recently, the author read an article by Japanese scholar Tanaka Jun titled "Japan Should Build a Nation of Quality." Starting from Japan's traditional culture and values, he offers "advice" to the current Japanese government. He wrote that Japan used to be the overwhelmingly dominant power in Asia, but that era has ended. Japan cannot compete with China in terms of "quantity" and can only strive to build a nation of "quality." We must, of course, remain vigilant about this trend in Japan. However, this Japanese scholar is "teaching" us in a special way, from another perspective, allowing the Chinese people to better understand the meaning of "quality" and "quantity" and how to handle the relationship between the two.

 

　　After World War II, the Japanese government established the revitalization of quality as one of its national strategies, believing that quality issues would play a decisive role in its economic recovery. Guided by this idea, the Japanese government advocated learning advanced quality management experience and methods from abroad, especially the United States. It not only sent personnel to the United States for on-site inspections and study but also invited renowned American quality experts such as Deming and Juran to Japan to give lectures and impart advanced quality management concepts. In 1952, the country also established the world's first national quality award—the Deming Prize. Japanese companies also attach great importance to quality, especially core quality (such as safety quality related to human life). By relying on strict law enforcement and widespread social supervision, the occurrence of serious quality problems or accidents is prevented, resulting in a significant improvement in the country's overall quality level and establishing a good image of Japanese quality in the international market. For example, Toyota Motor Corporation, while learning and absorbing American experience, created the "lean production method," which later became popular worldwide, not only greatly reducing production costs but also significantly improving quality and significantly enhancing the company's market competitiveness. Korean cars, which rose to prominence through quality, are a rising star on the world economic stage. The rise of the Korean economy has been synchronized with the progress of Korean corporate quality culture and the rapid improvement of Korean product quality, with the Hyundai Motor Group being a typical example. It has developed rapidly in recent decades, achieving success that has amazed the world. The core factor behind Hyundai's ability to "rise to the top" in the fiercely competitive global automotive market is the revitalization of quality, serving as an outstanding example of "quality-driven enterprise" in the global automotive industry.

 

　　In 1989, Hyundai began exporting cars to the United States, with its first model being the Pony. Due to its low Price, it attracted the attention of some low-income earners, achieving annual sales of 126,000 units and ranking first in sales among similar models in the US imported car market. However, the good times did not last long. By 1994, its inherent quality weaknesses and hidden dangers began to emerge, and consumer complaints about car quality increased. Sales of Pony cars plummeted, and Korean cars were generally regarded as low-end, unreliable, and poorly handling products, making people hesitant to use them.

 

　　Hyundai's "quality scandal" in the international market (especially in the United States) caused a huge shock within the company, especially for top leaders, it was like a "slap in the face." This prompted the entire company to conduct a profound self-reflection, learning from the pain, making the greatest determination to improve quality, implementing continuous quality improvement projects, and making them a normalized and institutionalized practice. After a period of hard work, Hyundai's automotive quality finally underwent fundamental improvement and enhancement, achieving a qualitative change. However, the market's actual response remained rather lukewarm, as the previously negative reputation had become deeply ingrained in people's minds. Under the objective conditions at the time, and given Hyundai's capabilities, it had made its utmost efforts to improve the narrow sense of product quality. The next area for potential action was to focus on improving the broader sense of quality. In 1998, Hyundai made a groundbreaking decision in the global automotive industry—significantly extending the service life of its automotive products, promising a 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty, equivalent to double the service life or mileage offered by most car companies at that time. Many in the industry at the time believed that this would lead to financial burdens that could cause the company to go bankrupt. However, Hyundai's top management had absolute confidence in the quality of its products; they simply wanted to use this shocking measure to change the market's traditional perception of Hyundai's quality. Subsequent results showed that Hyundai's decision was extremely correct. From then on, American consumers' confidence in Hyundai's quality significantly increased. After several years of solid work and continuous improvement activities, by the beginning of the 21st century, Hyundai's image in the US market had greatly improved.

 

　　Entering the 21st century, after Chung Mong-koo took office as the highest leader of Hyundai Motor Company, he strictly enforced quality control, making further improvement of Hyundai's automobile quality his top priority and first task. His strict requirements for quality were well-known both inside and outside the company; some in the industry even called him the "quality president," using "iron-fisted" methods to manage quality. According to Bob Martin, former president of Hyundai America, the word "quality" seemed inseparable from the name Chung Mong-koo. He said, "Chung Mong-koo always seemed to have endless energy and was usually very easy to get along with. However, there was one minefield that couldn't be touched—quality. If anyone was careless about quality, they would be immediately fired." Chung Mong-koo established a rule that all employees of Hyundai, regardless of their position or job, could propose quality improvement plans at any meeting. Chung Mong-koo's unwavering persistence and pursuit of quality eventually paid off, especially in the US market. In 2004, Hyundai's performance in J.D. Power's new car quality survey was the same as Honda's, second only to Toyota. Two years later, in 2006, in the same survey, Hyundai achieved a better ranking of third, surpassing its long-term competitor, Toyota.

 

　　In 2008, Hyundai Motor Company formulated a strategy called "GQ3355" targeting "product quality" and "Brand image," aiming to place Hyundai's automobile products among the top three globally in terms of product quality within three years and its "Brand image" among the top five within five years. Facts show that Hyundai Motor Company has largely achieved this strategic goal.

 

　　Recently, Hyundai Motor Company has launched an initiative called "Quality Echo" (ECHO), which comprises four parts: "Effective" (Effective quality improvement), "Creative" (Creative quality management), "Human" (Proactive quality awareness), and "Organizational" (Organizational quality innovation). This is essentially about building a corporate quality culture and creating an effective and dynamic quality management system, enabling the organization to proactively improve and innovate in quality internally. Chung Mong-koo stated that Hyundai's achievements should be attributed to the continuous improvement efforts and investments made in product quality, resulting in continuous improvement of product and service quality, advancing with changes in the times and markets.