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What Is Total Quality Management (TQM) ?

Total quality management (TQM) is a management approach that aims to long-term success through customer satisfaction by having all organization members participate in improving processes, products, services, and culture. TQM began in the 1950s with contributions from quality experts like Deming and Juran and was adopted by Japanese companies. Key elements of TQM include being customer-focused, using a process approach, involving all employees, having strategic and fact-based decision making, and continually improving. While the term TQM is less commonly used today, its principles are still reflected in modern quality management systems and standards.

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62 views4 pages

What Is Total Quality Management (TQM) ?

Total quality management (TQM) is a management approach that aims to long-term success through customer satisfaction by having all organization members participate in improving processes, products, services, and culture. TQM began in the 1950s with contributions from quality experts like Deming and Juran and was adopted by Japanese companies. Key elements of TQM include being customer-focused, using a process approach, involving all employees, having strategic and fact-based decision making, and continually improving. While the term TQM is less commonly used today, its principles are still reflected in modern quality management systems and standards.

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Phamya Shree
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WHAT IS TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)?

A core definition of total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach to


long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an
organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in
which they work. Total quality management (TQM) as a term to describe an organization's
quality policy and procedure has fallen out of favor as international standards for quality
management have been developed.

HISTORY OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The history of total quality management (TQM) began initially as a term coined by the
Naval Air Systems Command to describe its Japanese-style management approach to
quality improvement. An umbrella methodology for continually improving the quality of all
processes, it draws on a knowledge of the principles and practices of:

 The behavioral sciences


 The analysis of quantitative and nonquantitative data
 Economics theories
 Process analysis

EVOLUTION OF TQM: TIMELINE & HISTORY

1920s  Some of the first seeds of quality management were planted as the principles of
scientific management swept through U.S. industry.
 Businesses clearly separated the processes of planning and carrying out the plan, and
union opposition arose as workers were deprived of a voice in the conditions and
functions of their work.
 The Hawthorne experiments in the late 1920s showed how worker productivity could
be impacted by participation.

1930s  Walter Shewhart developed the methods for statistical analysis and control of quality.

1950s  W. Edwards Deming taught methods for statistical analysis and control of quality to
Japanese engineers and executives. This can be considered the origin of TQM.
 Joseph M. Juran taught the concepts of controlling quality and managerial breakthrough.
 Armand V. Feigenbaum’s book Total Quality Control, a forerunner for the present
understanding of TQM, was published.
 Philip B. Crosby’s promotion of zero defects paved the way for quality improvement in
many companies.
1968  The Japanese named their approach to total quality "companywide quality control." It is
around this time that the term quality management systems arises.
 Kaoru Ishikawa’s synthesis of the philosophy contributed to Japan’s ascendancy as a
quality leader.

Today  TQM is the name for the philosophy of a broad and systemic approach to managing
organizational quality.
 Quality standards such as the ISO 9000 series and quality award programs such as the
Deming Prize and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award specify principles and
processes that comprise TQM.
 TQM as a term to describe an organization's quality policy and procedure has fallen out
of favor as international standards for quality management have been developed. Please
see our series of pages on quality management systems for more information.

BENEFITS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total quality management benefits and advantages:

 Strengthened competitive position


 Adaptability to changing or emerging market conditions and to environmental and other
government regulations
 Higher productivity
 Enhanced market image
 Elimination of defects and waste
 Reduced costs and better cost management
 Higher profitability
 Improved customer focus and satisfaction
 Increased customer loyalty and retention
 Increased job security
 Improved employee morale
 Enhanced shareholder and stakeholder value
 Improved and innovative processes

TQM IMPLEMENTATION AND SYSTEMS

When planning and implementing a total quality management system or quality


management strategy, there is no one solution for every situation or workplace.

Each organization is unique in terms of the culture, management practices, and the
processes used to create and deliver its products and services. Quality management
strategy vary from organization to organization; however, a set of primary elements should
be present in some format.
PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF TQM

TQM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization


that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective
communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the
organization. Many of these concepts are present in modern quality management systems,
the successor to TQM. Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

1. Customer-focused: The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter


what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating
quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer
determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.
2. Total employee involvement: All employees participate in working toward common
goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from
the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the
proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous
improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one
form of empowerment.
3. Process-centered: A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is
a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them
into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to
carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored
in order to detect unexpected variation.
4. Integrated system: Although an organization may consist of many different functional
specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal
processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.
 Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business
processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the
vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical
processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and
communicated continuously.
 An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or
incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it
is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a
good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business
improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations
of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
5. Strategic and systematic approach: A critical part of the management of quality is the
strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals.
This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation
of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.
6. Continual improvement: A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement.
Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding
ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.
7. Fact-based decision making: In order to know how well an organization is performing,
data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization
continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve
consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.
8. Communications: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day
operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in
motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and
timeliness.

These elements are considered so essential to TQM that many organizations define them, in
some format, as a set of core values and principles on which the organization is to operate.
The methods for implementing this approach come from the teachings of such quality
leaders as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa,
and Joseph M. Juran.

GENERIC STRATEGY MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTING TQM SYSTEMS

1. Top management learns about and decides to commit to TQM. TQM is identified as one of
the organization’s strategies.
2. The organization assesses current culture, customer satisfaction, and quality
management systems.
3. Top management identifies core values and principles to be used, and communicates
them.
4. A TQM master plan is developed on the basis of steps 1, 2, and 3.
5. The organization identifies and prioritizes customer demands and aligns products and
services to meet those demands.
6. Management maps the critical processes through which the organization meets its
customers’ needs.
7. Management oversees the formation of teams for process improvement efforts.
8. The momentum of the TQM effort is managed by the steering committee.
9. Managers contribute individually to the effort through hoshin planning, training,
coaching, or other methods.
10. Daily process management and standardization take place.
11. Progress is evaluated and the plan is revised as needed.
12. Constant employee awareness and feedback on status are provided and a
reward/recognition process is established.

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