.

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.
. 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.
. 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.
. 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.
. 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.
. 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.
. 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.
. 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.

Free TQM Resources

TQM: The History and the Now(ASQTV)

Linking the Supply Chain to TQM(Article)

A Comprehensive Approach to Quality Aims at Inclusive Growth(Article)

Guru Guide: Six thought leaders who changed the quality world forever(Article)

Total Quality, Total Commitment(Article)

Business School Improves Learning, Research, and Placement Measures With

TQM (Case study)

ADDITIONAL TQM INFORMATION

 Benefits of Total Quality Management

 Implementing Total Quality Management
 History and Evolution of Total Quality Management
 Deming’s 14 Points for Total Quality Management

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT RESOURCES

Quality management resources act as a catalyst to creating a competitive

advantage. The TQM resources below grant access to knowledge that can help
foster the development of any organization.
 BENEFITS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Note: 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. Please see our series of pages
on quality management systems for more information.

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

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.

GENERIC STRATEGY MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTING TQM

SYSTEMS

. Top management learns about and decides to commit to TQM. TQM is

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

EXAMPLES OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

STRATEGIES

Strategy 1: The TQM element approach

The TQM element approach takes key business processes and/or

organizational units and uses the tools of TQM to foster improvements. This
method was widely used in the early 1980s as companies tried to implement
parts of TQM as they learned them. Examples of this approach include quality
circles, statistical process control, Taguchi methods, and quality function
deployment.

Strategy 2: The guru approach

The guru approach uses the teachings and writings of one or more of the
leading quality thinkers as a guide against which to determine where the
organization has deficiencies. The organization makes appropriate changes to
remedy those deficiencies. For example, managers might study Deming’s 14
points or attend the Crosby College. Afterward, they would work on
implementing the approach learned.

Strategy 3: The organization model approach

In this approach, individuals or teams visit organizations that have taken a

leadership role in TQM and determine their processes and reasons for success.
They then integrate these ideas with their own ideas to develop an
organizational model adapted for their specific organization. This method was
used widely in the late 1980s and is exemplified by the initial recipients of
theMalcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
 Strategy 4: The Japanese total quality approach

Organizations using the Japanese total quality approach examine the detailed
implementation techniques and strategies employed by Deming Prize-winning
companies and use this experience to develop a long-range master plan for
in-house use. This approach was used by Florida Power and Light—among
others—to implement TQM and to compete for, and win, the Deming Prize.

Strategy 5: The award criteria approach

When using this model, an organization uses the criteria of a quality award (e.g.,
the Deming Prize, the European Quality Award, or the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award), to identify areas for improvement. Under this
approach, TQM implementation focuses on meeting specific award criteria.

Although some argue that this is not an appropriate use of award criteria, some
organizations do use this approach and it can result in improvement.

Adapted from The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence

Handbook. Fourth Edition, ASQ Quality Press.

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.
 W. EDWARDS DEMING’S 14 POINTS FOR TOTAL QUALITY

MANAGEMENT

Deming’s 14 Points on Quality Management, or the Deming Model of Quality

Management, a core concept on implementing total quality
management (TQM), is a set of management practices to help companies
increase their quality and productivity.

W. EDWARDS DEMING’S 14 POINTS

. 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.
. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce.
. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for
management.
. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate
the annual rating or merit system.
. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for
everyone.
. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the
transformation.

These total quality management principles can be put into place by any
organization to more effectively implement total quality management. As a total
quality management philosophy, Dr. Deming’s work is foundational to TQM and
its successor, quality management systems.