Total Quality Management

Abbreviation for total quality management.

Approach to quality that emphasizes continuous improvement, a philosophy of "doing it right the first time" and striving for zero defects and elimination of all waste. It is a concept of using quality methods and techniques to strategic advantage within firms.

See also Business Process Reengineering (BPR).

Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to management methods used to enhance quality and productivity in organizations, particularly businesses. TQM is a comprehensive system approach that works horizontally across an organization, involving all departments and employees and extending backward and forward to include both suppliers and clients/customers.

TQM is only one of many acronyms used to label management systems that focus on quality. Other acronyms that have been used to describe similar quality management philosophies and programs include CQI (continuous quality improvement), SQC (statistical quality control), QFD (quality function deployment), QIDW (quality in daily work), TQC (total quality control), etc. Like many of these other systems, TQM provides a framework for implementing effective quality and productivity initiatives that can increase the profitability and competitiveness of organizations.

Origins of Tqm

Although TQM techniques were adopted prior to World War II by a number of organizations, the creation of the Total Quality Management philosophy is generally attributed to Dr. W. Edwards Deming. In the late 1920s, while working as a summer employee at Western Electric Company in Chicago, he found worker motivation systems to be degrading and economically unproductive; incentives were tied directly to quantity of output, and inefficient post-production inspection systems were used to find flawed goods.

Deming teamed up in the 1930s with Walter A. Shewhart, a Bell Telephone Company statistician whose work convinced Deming that statistical control techniques could be used to supplant traditional management methods. Using Shewhart's theories, Deming devised a statistically controlled management process that provided managers with a means of determining when to intervene in an industrial process and when to leave it alone. Deming got a chance to put Shewhart's statistical-quality-control techniques, as well as his own management philosophies, to the test during World War II. Government managers found that his techniques could be easily taught to engineers and workers, and then quickly implemented in over-burdened war production plants.

One of Deming's clients, the U.S. State Department, sent him to Japan in 1947 as part of a national effort to revitalize the war-devastated Japanese economy. It was in Japan that Deming found an enthusiastic reception for his management ideas. Deming introduced his statistical process control, or statistical quality control, programs into Japan's ailing manufacturing sector. Those techniques are credited with instilling a dedication to quality and productivity in the Japanese industrial and service sectors that allowed the country to become a dominant force in the global economy by the 1980s.

While Japan's industrial sector embarked on a quality initiative during the middle 1900s, most American companies continued to produce mass quantities of goods using traditional management techniques. America prospered as war-ravaged European countries looked to the United States for manufactured goods. In addition, a domestic population boom resulted in surging U.S. markets. But by the 1970s some American industries had come to be regarded as inferior to their Asian and European competitors. As a result of increasing economic globalization during the 1980s, made possible in part by advanced information technologies, the U.S. manufacturing sector fell prey to more competitive producers, particularly in Japan.

In response to massive market share gains achieved by Japanese companies during the late 1970s and 1980s, U.S. producers scrambled to adopt quality and productivity techniques that might restore their competitiveness. Indeed, Deming's philosophies and systems were finally recognized in the United States, and Deming himself became a highly-sought-after lecturer and author. The "Deming Management Method" became the model for many American corporations eager to improve. And Total Quality Management, the phrase applied to quality initiatives proffered by Deming and other management gurus, became a staple of American enterprise by the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, the U.S. manufacturing sector had achieved marked gains in quality and productivity.

Tqm Principles

Specifics related to the framework and implementation of TQM vary between different management professionals and TQM program facilitators, and the passage of time has inevitably brought changes in TQM emphases and language. But all TQM philosophies share common threads that emphasize quality, teamwork, and proactive philosophies of management and process improvement. As Howard Weiss and Mark Gershon observed in Production and Operations Management, "the terms quality management, quality control, and quality assurance often are used interchangeably. Regardless of the term used within any business, this function is directly responsible for the continual evaluation of the effectiveness of the total quality system." They go on to delineate the basic elements of total quality management as expounded by the American Society for Quality Control: 1) policy, planning, and administration; 2) product design and design change control; 3) control of purchased material; 4) production quality control; 5) user contact and field performance; 6) corrective action; and 7) employee selection, training, and motivation.

For his part, Deming pointed to all of these factors as cornerstones of his total quality philosophies. In his book Out of the Crisis, he contended that companies needed to create an overarching business environment that emphasized improvement of products and services over short-term financial goals. He argued that if such a philosophy was adhered to, various aspects of business—ranging from training to system improvement to manager-worker relationships—would become far more healthy and, ultimately, profitable. But while Deming was contemptuous of companies that based their business decisions on statistics that emphasized quantity over quality, he firmly believed that a well-conceived system of statistical process control could be an invaluable TQM tool. Only through the use of statistics, Deming argued, can managers know exactly what their problems are, learn how to fix them, and gauge the company's progress in achieving quality and organizational objectives.

Making Tqm Work

Joseph Jablonski, author of Implementing TQM, identified three characteristics necessary for TQM to succeed within an organization: participative management; continuous process improvement; and the utilization of teams. Participative management refers to the intimate involvement of all members of a company in the management process, thus de-emphasizing traditional top-down management methods. In other words, managers set policies and make key decisions only with the input and guidance of the subordinates that will have to implement and adhere to the directives. This technique improves upper management's grasp of operations and, more importantly, is an important motivator for workers who begin to feel like they have control and ownership of the process in which they participate.

Continuous process improvement, the second characteristic, entails the recognition of small, incremental gains toward the goal of total quality. Large gains are accomplished by small, sustainable improvements over a long term. This concept necessitates a long-term approach by managers and the willingness to invest in the present for benefits that manifest themselves in the future. A corollary of continuous improvement is that workers and management develop an appreciation for, and confidence in, TQM over a period of time.

Teamwork, the third necessary ingredient for the success of TQM, involves the organization of cross-functional teams within the company. This multidisciplinary team approach helps workers to share knowledge, identify problems and opportunities, derive a comprehensive understanding of their role in the over-all process, and align their work goals with those of the organization.

Jablonski also identified six attributes of successful TQM programs:

• Customer focus (includes internal customers such as other departments and coworkers as well as external customers)
• Process focus
• Prevention versus inspection (development of a process that incorporates quality during production, rather than a process that attempts to achieve quality through inspection after resources have already been consumed to produce the good or service)
• Employee empowerment and compensation
• Fact-based decision making
• Receptiveness to feedback.

Implementing Tqm

Jablonski offers a five-phase guideline for implementing total quality management: preparation, planning, assessment, implementation, and diversification. Each phase is designed to be executed as part of a long-term goal of continually increasing quality and productivity. Jablonski's approach is one of many that has been applied to achieve TQM, but contains the key elements commonly associated with other popular total quality systems.

• Preparation—During preparation, management decides whether or not to pursue a TQM program. They undergo initial training, identify needs for outside consultants, develop a specific vision and goals, draft a corporate policy, commit the necessary resources, and communicate the goals throughout the organization.
• Planning—In the planning stage, a detailed plan of implementation is drafted (including budget and schedule), the infrastructure that will support the program is established, and the resources necessary to begin the plan are earmarked and secured.
• Assessment—This stage emphasizes a thorough self-assessment—with input from customers/clients—of the qualities and characteristics of individuals in the company, as well as the company as a whole.
• Implementation—At this point, the organization can already begin to determine its return on its investment in TQM. It is during this phase that support personnel are chosen and trained, and managers and the work force are trained. Training entails raising workers' awareness of exactly what TQM involves and how it can help them and the company. It also explains each worker's role in the program and explains what is expected of all the workers.
• Diversification—In this stage, managers utilize their TQM experiences and successes to bring groups outside the organization (suppliers, distributors, and other companies have impact the business's overall health) into the quality process. Diversification activities include training, rewarding, supporting, and partnering with groups that are embraced by the organization's TQM initiatives.

Further Reading:

Deming, W. Edwards. Out of the Crisis. MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study, 1982.

Hiam, Alexander. Closing the Quality Gap: Lessons from America's Leading Companies. Prentice Hall, Inc., 1992.

Hunt, V. Daniel. Quality in America: How to Implement a Competitive Quality Program. Business One Irwin, 1992.

Jablonski, Joseph R. Implementing TQM. 2nd ed. Technical Management Consortium, Inc., 1992.

McManus, Kevin. "Is Quality Dead?" IIE Solutions. July 1999.

Roberts, Harry V., and Bernard F. Sergesketter. Quality Is Personal: A Foundation for Total Quality Management. The Free Press, 1993.

Weiss, Howard J., and Mark E. Gershon. Production and Operations Management. Allyn and Bacon, 1989.

Youngless, Jay. "Total Quality Misconception." Quality in Manufacturing. January 2000.

See also: ISO 9000; Quality Control

For more information on Total Quality Management, visit Britannica.com.

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Total Quality Management (TQM) is a business management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, hospitals, call centers, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs^[1].

Contents 1 Definition 1.1 A comprehensive definition 2 Origins 3 TQM and contingency-based research 4 Possible lifecycle 5 References 6 See also

Definition

When used together as a phrase, the three words in this expression have the following meanings:

• Total: Involving the entire organization, supply chain, and/or product life cycle
• Quality: With its usual definitions, with all its complexities [1]
• Management: The system of managing with steps like Plan, Organize, Control, Lead, Staff, provisioning and organizing^{[citation needed]}.

As defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO):

"TQM is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society." ISO 8402:1994

One major aim is to reduce variation from every process so that greater consistency of effort is obtained. (Royse, D., Thyer, B., Padgett D., & Logan T., 2006)

In Japan, TQM comprises four process steps, namely:

1. Kaizen – Focuses on "Continuous Process Improvement", to make processes visible, repeatable and measurable.
2. Atarimae Hinshitsu – The idea that "things will work as they are supposed to" (for example, a pen will write).
3. Kansei – Examining the way the user applies the product leads to improvement in the product itself.
4. Miryokuteki Hinshitsu – The idea that "things should have an aesthetic quality" (for example, a pen will write in a way that is pleasing to the writer).^{[citation needed]}

TQM requires that the company maintain this quality standard in all aspects of its business. This requires ensuring that things are done right the first time and that defects and waste are eliminated from operations.^{[citation needed]}

Total Quality Management continues to evolve in the form of the Criteria for Performance Excellence which was first published in 1988. The criteria provide the basis for the Baldrige National Quality Program (BNQP) that is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Organizations benchmark against the criteria to assess how well their actions are aligned with their strategies. Results are examined to determine the effectiveness of their approaches and deployment of these strategies. Dr. Juran once stated that the Criteria for Performance Excellence is the embodiment of those philosophies and practices we call TQM.

A comprehensive definition

Total Quality Management is the organization-wide management of quality. Management consists of planning, organizing, directing, control, and assurance. Total quality is called total because it consists of two qualities: quality of return to satisfy the needs of the shareholders, or quality of products.[2]

Origins

The origin of the expression Total Quality Management is unclear.

Bill Creech claims to have coined the phrase in his book "The Five Pillars of TQM", comparing the functionally centralised approach to organisation (with examples from America) with the team-oriented, decentralised approach pioneered in Japan after World War Two.

"Total Quality Control" was the key concept of Armand Feigenbaum's 1951 book, Quality Control: Principles, Practice, and Administration. In a chapter titled "Total Quality Control" Feigenbaum grabs on to an idea that sparked many scholars' interest in the following decades. The expression Total Quality Control existed together with the Japanese expression "Company Wide Quality Control" (CWQC) and the differences between the two expressions were unclear. Major influencers for both expressions were W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, Philip B. Crosby, and Kaoru Ishikawa, known as the big four.

The expression Total Quality Management started to appear in the 1980s and there are two theories of its origin:

One theory is that Total Quality Management was created as a misinterpretation from Japanese to English since no difference exists between the words "control" and "management" in Japanese. ^[2]. According to William Golomski (American quality scholar and consultant, 1924-2002) TQM was first mentioned by Koji Kobayashi at NEC (Nippon Electrical Company) in his speech when he received the Deming Prize in 1974. ^[3]

The American Society for Quality says that the term Total Quality Management was used by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command in 1984 to describe its Japanese-style management approach to quality improvement since they did not like the word control in Total Quality Control. The word management should then have been suggested by one of the employees, Nancy Warren. ^[4] [3] This is consistent with the story that the United States Navy Personnel Research and Development Center began researching the use of statistical process control (SPC), the work of Juran, Crosby, and Ishikawa, and the philosophy of W. Edwards Deming to make performance improvements in 1984. This approach was first tested at the North Island Naval Aviation Depot.

TQM and contingency-based research

Total Quality Management has not been independent of its environment. In the context of management accounting systems (MCSs), Sim and Killough (1998) show that incentive pay enhanced the positive effects of TQM on customer and quality performance. Ittner and Larcker (1995) demonstrated that product focused TQM was linked to timely problem solving information and flexible revisions to reward systems. Chendall (2003) summarizes the findings from contingency-based research concerning management control systems and TQM by noting that “TQM is associated with broadly based MCSs including timely, flexible, externally focused information; close interactions between advanced technologies and strategy; and non-financial performance measurement.”

A discussion of TQM and pay is not complete without considering the work of Dr. W. Edward Deming. Deming's 14 points include 11. Eliminate Numerical Quotas and 12. Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship. It can be argued that incentive compensation, goals, and quotas are extrinsic motivators that interfere with pride of workmanship and are not consistent with the basic philosophy of TQM. Alfie Kohn's book, Punished by Rewards, discusses the effects of these extrinsic motivators and how they displace intrinsic motivation.

Possible lifecycle

Abrahamson (1996) argued that fashionable management discourse such as Quality Circles tends to follow a lifecycle in the form of a bell curve, possibly indicating a management fad. Total quality management is commonplace in today's modern world.

References

1. ^ http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/status/sstories/nasa2.htm
2. ^ Xu , Q. (1994) The making of TQM: History and margins of the hi(gh) story
3. ^ Bergman B. & Klefsjö B. (2007) Kvalitet från behov till använding
4. ^ Bergman B. & Klefsjö B. (2007) Kvalitet från behov till använding

See also

• Quality management
• Quality Management System

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