Word: chungs
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...minor change, but no one treats it that way, least of all Chung, a hard-nosed, detail-oriented boss with a penchant for micromanagement. ("He still makes the decision on how big a Christmas tree to put in the lobby," quips a former Hyundai executive.) After eyeballing the gizmo from several angles, Chung demands, "Is this enough?" Finally, he nods his O.K. but reminds his execs, "We can't allow any defects to damage our cars...
...Chung, 67, has spent six years hammering that zero-defects message into the heads of Hyundai's employees, and the result has been one of the most surprising turnabouts in automotive history. A few years ago, Hyundai, South Korea's largest car manufacturer, was a synonym for shoddy. Seoul was the only place in the world where you were likely to see large numbers of its cars on the street. Today the company's line of pleasantly stylish, relatively inexpensive and certifiably reliable sedans and sport-utility vehicles is tailgating the industry's best-known brands in several prime markets...
...architect of Hyundai's rise is Chung, who was named chairman in 1998. Although his father Chung Ju Yung founded Hyundai Motor in 1967, it was clear that the son would not get a free ride. Shortly before his appointment, the Korean economy was slammed by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and Hyundai was forced to lay off 25% of its staff. Complicating matters, Hyundai agreed in 1998 to acquire South Korean rival Kia Motors, which had to be assimilated. Chung had little experience with the automotive industry. He had spent most of his career managing a smorgasbord of affiliates...
...Chung was quietly engineering a revolution. Revered by the staff as a member of the founding clan, he was able to gather information quickly and impose his will. He concluded that quality problems were the crux of the company's ills. Suh Byung Kee, Hyundai's president, recalls Chung bursting into his office five years ago and saying, "Quality is crucial to our survival. We have to get it right no matter what the cost...
...Although Chung's revelation might seem obvious, it wasn't to Hyundai's staff. A premium had always been placed on making cars quickly and cheaply. Even Suh, who is in charge of Hyundai's quality-improvement efforts, admits, "When I first came to Hyundai, I too didn't think quality cars were important." But the new chairman made blemish-free manufacturing the top priority. To break down interdivisional barriers, Chung forced designers, engineers and factory managers to work as a team to weed out potential defects. Twice a month, Chung summons senior managers into a conference room...