= 2. E-Z Open Manufacturing Company is a leading maker of manual can openers. In the year just closed, E-Z Open controlled 17.2% of the manual can opener market in North America. That placed the company in the number two sales position for manual can openers. The company in the number one position, Saf-T Products Co., had a 22.3% share of the North American market.

E-Z Open was eager to expand its market with a new rechargeable battery-operated can opener. Saf-T also has an electric can opener, but it is a countertop model that must be plugged in to operate. E-Z Open thinks it has a more desirable product with a battery-operated model because it will not tie up kitchen counter space, nor will it be encumbered by an electric cord. In addition, both the manual and the electric models now have removable cutter heads that can easily be cleaned. (Difficulty in keeping can openers clean has been a problem since the first rotary cutter models appeared 80 years ago.)

Already well into the early work of a TQM implementation, E-Z Open is gearing up for a big year. It is at the point where it needs a vision statement, guiding principles, a mission statement, and a set of broad objectives. You have been retained as a consultant to help develop all of these. The company will hold an off-site meeting of the steering committee in 2 weeks, and you are to attend. It has asked you to provide the “strawman” documents to kick off the meeting. Your task is to develop the initial versions of each of the documents except the objectives.