The definitions of Total Quality Management (TQM) are not as important as what TQM means to the organization. The crux of TQM is based on two fundamental pillars; meeting (and exceeding) customer expectations and revitalizing organizational processes to help improve the former; and there is empirical evidence that there is a consistent relationship between performance and good quality management. TQM has been synonymous with business excellence for some time now, and both concepts emphasize not only the improvement of processes and relationships in an organization, but also the constant and continuous improvement of processes and organizational mechanics to maintain and exceed that quality.
The importance of TQM lies in its ability to contribute to the success of the organization by pleasing the customer, delighting the customer, and thereby retaining the customer. Customer loyalty, which is argued to be the natural result of a customer-centric organization, is the premise on which TQM is based. The concept of internal customer (and internal supplier) is new, which engenders the concept of quality chain, underlining and underlining the concept of TQM for a shift from the external customer focus to the internal customer focus.
An important point to keep in mind would also be the leverage. Quality guru Deming believes that top management is responsible for 94% of the organization’s problems; and Crosby and Juran tend to have similar views, albeit to varying degrees (Oakland, 2009). If we hold this to be true, and if we also agree that employee empowerment is crucial to successful TQM, then the direction and leverage of the organization’s mechanism may have changed, and although a cursory assessment of this may issue an automatic agreement, You need to understand that employee empowerment does not necessarily mean a loss of direction by top management. However, in the same way, a framework for quality management improvement could well include a renewal of management and top management relationships, as well as employee empowerment. Hafeez et al (2006) suggest that a framework is useless if there are no clear and measurable achievement goals. Guru Ishikawa believed in using statistical tools to measure quality improvements; He also held the view that the internal customer was one of the most intrinsic elements for a successful TQM implementation, a sentiment shared by Oakland (2009).
TQM is a management philosophy that emphasizes improvement through innovation. Different TQM writers and thinkers have defined or described improvement as disparate practices, theories, or philosophies. Today, TQM encompasses and incorporates standards development, quality control management, the zero defect principle, lean manufacturing and management, meeting requirements, and even business process reengineering (BPR) and business excellence. While it can be argued that innovation is part of TQM, it is unclear whether it is radical or incremental innovation that fully supports TQM, which probably explains why BPR (which is more like radical innovation) is considered a management philosophy different from that of TQM. (which tends to support incremental innovation from a continuous improvement perspective). The danger in leaning towards the philosophy of continuous improvement as a watchword of TQM is the suggestion that unique quality improvements and innovations (radical or not) may be considered outside the scope of TQM.
The crux of TQM is based not on one or two concepts, but on managing a combination of concepts including employee empowerment and engagement, customer satisfaction and delight; continuous improvement of business processes; and an organization is restructured that facilitates the breakdown of the traditional hierarchy and introduces a new structure where the flow of information is fluid and where the disconnect between senior management and the workforce is repaired.
References
1. Hafeez, K., Malak, N. and Abdelmeguid, H. (2006) A Framework for TQM to Achieve Business Excellence. The Total Quality Management Journal. Flight. 17, no. 9, pp. 1213-1229.
2. Oakland, JS (2009) TQM: Text with cases. 3rd ed. Elsevier Ltd.