The Total Quality Management: Key Aspects

To serve all customers at the local and international level, businesses must have a thorough understanding of how to satisfy buyers through improving the products and services it offers. According to Aized (2012), businesses focus on customers satisfaction, and therefore, all organizational task forces participate in the bid to improve the quality of product, service, processes, and work culture. According to QualityGurus (2016), TQM is a management framework developed by William Deming in the 1920s. This paper, therefore, will delve into the TQM concept particularly, the definitions and TQM acronym meaning. It will explain the eight principles of TQM and give an outline of its benefits. And lastly, examine one standard tool, purpose, and benefits of a TQM control chart.

TQM Definition and Process

Over the years, the quality in management in organizations has evolved to total quality management. TQM according to Besterfield et al. (2019), is the art that encompasses guiding principles to manage the entire organization to achieve excellence and improve the organization. In total quality management, total encompasses the organization as a whole (Besterfield et al., 2019). Quality is the extent to which the products and services excel and management constitutes how organizational operations and processes can be handled, controlled, and directed. The TQM process involves the definition and planning of a process to be carried out (Aized, 2012). The customers’ needs and expectations as well as external requirements such as standards, rules, practices, and regulations customers’ need expectations are analyzed. The quality concept in terms of goals and policy is then defined. Methods for monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the process are also determined. Lastly, the results are analyzed and continuous improvement measures are put in place.

Eight Basic Principles in TQM Process

As with most management techniques, total quality management is guided by some principles. Aized (2012), mentions these principles include:

  1. Customer focus principle which entails the proactive understanding of the customers’ needs and expectations.
  2. Employee participation principle which is aimed at realizing improved quality of the products and services offered.
  3. The process focus principle which helps prevent defects in the process.
  4. Systemization which conducts and implements quality control.
  5. Continuous improvement which is aimed at discovering problems and analyzing the critical root causes.
  6. Empowerment to promote autonomism in doing the right thing.
  7. The communications principle which lets everybody at the organization become aware of the plans, methods, and strategies put in place.
  8. The last principle is fact-based decision making which applies the TQM standard tools to maximum quality control.

TQM Benefits

Total quality management is a form of investment that leads to improved financial performance and overall operations in the organization. TQM helps improve quality, customers satisfaction, promotes teamwork and participation of employees, improves the working relationship, leads to employee satisfaction, and improves communication (Besterfield et al., 2019). TQM also leads to overall productivity, market share, and high profits of the products and services offered by the organization.

TQM Tools

The Pareto method is one of the standard tools alongside the control chart which is used in total quality management. The Pareto method according to Aized (2012) is used to check what percentage of outcome is derived from the available human resources. It is used to determine which area is crucial for improvement through identifying the root causes of the problems. The control chart is used to gauge how a process in the organization changes over time (Aized, 2012). The charts are used to give clear guidance on when to adjust or halt a process if the improvement is needed.

Therefore, Total Quality Management involves applying a quantitative approach and human resources to improve organizational processes that surpass the current and future customers’ necessities. Total quality managers have the responsibility to lead in the application of TQM standard tools to ensure the processes, services, and products are of good quality. The TQM system is guided by principles that lead to the overall improvement of the organization.

References

Aized, T. (Ed.). (2012). Total quality management and six sigma. BoD–Books on Demand.

Besterfield, D. H., Besterfield, C., Besterfield, G. H., Besterfield, M., Urdhwareshe, H., & Urdhwareshe, R. (2019) Total Quality Management (TQM) 5e by Pearson. Pearson Education India.

QualityGurus. (2016). A brief history of quality management [YouTube]. Web.

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