Total Quality Management

Total quality management or TQM is an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes. TQM functions on the premise that the quality of products and processes is the responsibility of everyone who is involved with the creation or consumption of the products or services offered by an organization. In other words, TQM capitalizes on the involvement of management, workforce, suppliers, and even customers, in order to meet or exceed customer expectations. Considering the practices of TQM as discussed in six empirical studies, Cua, McKone, and Schroeder (2001) identified the nine common TQM practices as cross-functional product design, process management, supplier quality management, customer involvement, information and feedback, committed leadership, strategic planning, cross-functional training, and employee involvement

The Six Sigma management strategy originated in 1986 from Motorolas drive towards reducing defects by minimizing variation in processes. The main difference between TQM and Six Sigma (a newer concept) is the approach. At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is 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.At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is 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. 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. A core concept in implementing TQM is Demings 14 points, a set of management practices to help companies increase their quality and productivity: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services. Adopt the new philosophy. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total cost by working with a single supplier. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and service. Institute training on the job. Adopt and institute leadership. Drive out fear. Break down barriers between staff areas.

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce. 11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management. 12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating or merit system. 13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone. 14. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the transformation. The term Total Quality Management has lost favor in the United States in recent years: Quality management is commonly substituted. Total Quality Management, however, is still used extensively in Europe.

Principles of TQM

1- Be Customer focused: Whatever you do for quality improvement, remember that ONLY customers determine the level of quality. Whatever you do to foster quality improvement, training employees, integrating quality into processes management, ONLY customers determine whether your efforts were worthwhile.

2-Insure Total Employee Involvement: You must remove fear from work place, then empower employee... you provide the proper environment.

3- Process Centered: Fundamental part of TQM is to focus on process thinking.

4- Integrated system: All employee must know the business mission and vision. An integrated business system may be modelled by MBNQA or ISO 9000

5- Strategic and systematic approach: Strategic plan must integrate quality as core component.

6- Continual Improvement: Using analytical, quality tools, and creative thinking to become more efficient and effective.

7- Fact Based Decision Making: Decision making must be ONLY on data, not personal or situational thinking.

8- Communication: Communication strategy, method and timeliness must be well defined.

TQM Implementation Approaches You can't implement just one effective solution for planning and implementing TQM concepts in all situations. Below we list generic models for implementing total quality management theory: 1- Train top management on TQM principles. 2- Assess the current: Culture, customer satisfaction, and quality management system. 3- Top management determines the core values and principles and communicates them. 4- Develop a TQM master plan based on steps 1,2,3. 5- Identify and prioritize customer needs and determine products or service to meet those needs. 6- Determine the critical processes that produces those products or services. 7- Create process improvement teams. 8- Managers supports the efforts by planning, training, and providing resources to the team. 9- Management integrates changes for improvement in daily process management. After improvements standardization takes place. 10- Evaluate progress against plan and adjust as needed. 11- Provide constant employee awareness and feedback. Establish an employee reward/ recognition process. Strategies to develop TQM

1-TQM elements approach: Take key business process and use TQM Tools to foster improvement. Use quality circles, statistical process control, taguchi method, and quality function deployment. 2 - The guru approach: Use the guides of one of the leading quality thinker. 3- Organization model approach: The organization use benchmarking or MBNQA as model for excellence. 4- Japanese total quality approach: Companies pursue the deming prize use. Questions 1. What is Total Quality Management? 2. How can you implement TQM? Sources :www.bexcellence.org, www.asq.org, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Compiled by Divya Dominic