Total Quality Management (TQM), Basic Principles & Implementation of TQM

Total Quality Management (TQM)

A philosophy that involves everyone in an organization in a continual effort to improve quality & achieve customer satisfaction. There are three key philosophies

1. Never-ending push to improve, which is referred to as continuous improvement
2. Involvement of everyone in the organization 
3. Customer satisfaction, which means meeting or exceeding customer expectations

Basic Principles of TQM

 TQM versus Traditional Approach

Implementation of TQM

TQM systems are intended to prevent poor quality from occurring

• Find out what customers want

- Include internal customer (the next person in the process) as well as external customer (the final customer)

• Design a product or service that will meet (or exceed) what customers want

• Design processes that facilitate doing the job right the first time

- Failsafing (pokayoke): Incorporate design element that prevent incorrect action
- Quality at the source: Philosophy of making each worker responsible for the quality of his or her work

• Keep track of results, & use them to guide improvement in the system

• Extend these concepts throughout the supply chain

Successful TQM programs are built through the dedication & combined efforts of everyone in the organization

Obstacles to Implementing TQM

• Lack of a companywide definition of quality

- Efforts aren’t coordinated; people are working at cross-purposes, addressing different issues, & using different measures of success

• Lack of a strategic plan for change

• Lack of a customer focus

• Poor intra-organizational communication

• Lack of employee empowerment

• View of quality as a “quick fix”

• Emphasis on short-term financial results

• Inordinate presence of internal politics & “turf” issues

• Lack of strong motivation

• Lack of time to devote to quality initiatives

• Lack of leadership

Criticisms of TQM

• Overzealous advocates may pursue TQM programs blindly, focusing attention on quality even though other priorities may be more important

• Program may not be linked to the strategies of the organization in a meaningful way

• Quality-related decisions may not be tied to market performance. For instance, customer satisfaction may be emphasized to the extent that its cost far exceeds any direct or indirect benefit of doing so

• Failure to carefully plan a program before embarking on it can lead to false starts, employee confusion, & meaningless results

• Organizations sometimes pursue continuous improvement (incremental improvement) when dramatic improvement is needed

• Quality efforts may not be tied to results