The Singapore Syndrome: The Decline of British Manufacturing Industry, and How to Fight It

Abstract

Organisations, whether they are companies or nation‐states, are just as prone to falling sick as are individuals; they too may exhibit the symptoms of ill health which characterise a syndrome. Many of our organisations today are less than healthy, particularly those which comprise what is left of our withering manufacturing industry, which throws away resources to the tune of £1,500 million a year due to ineffective quality management. In this article the lessons learned from the defeat of Singapore in 1942 are used to reflect on the challenge facing British manufacturing industry from the attack by the Japanese using the weapons of quality management. It is a story of lions and donkeys.

Citation

Price, F. (1985), "The Singapore Syndrome: The Decline of British Manufacturing Industry, and How to Fight It", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb002849