TQM - Short Question and Answers

1. Define Total Quality?
TQM is a enhancement to the traditional way of doing business. It is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence. It is defined both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization.

2. Define Quality?
Quality = Performance x Expectations

History of Quality Evolution

The Evolution of Quality

Over the past few decades there have been several leaders who have been instrumental to developing the concept of quality as understood today.

Joseph M Juran is one of these key figures. Using eastern philosophies learnt in Japan, he advocated the idea that quality related to "fitness for use".

Juran believed that this definition of quality fell into two key areas. Higher quality products had a greater number of features which fit with the requirements of the consumer and also had fewer defects.

His book "Managerial Breakthrough" published in the 1960s was the first to offer a step-by-step sequence for improvement, while the Juran Trilogy, published in the 1980s, produced the three definitive quality management processes; quality planning, quality improvement and quality control.

World‐Class Quality: ISO 9000 Certification

With the highly competitive nature of the current business world, customers can dictate who, what, when, where, why, and how much regarding market commodities and services. In other words, quality has never counted more. As a result, management and organizations must heed these calls and specifically cater to the ever‐changing expectations of their international clientele.

Globally, customers expect quality whether they are buying a consumer product or receiving a service. As a result, many countries have adopted the quality standards set by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Businesses that want to compete as world‐class companies are increasingly expected to have ISO 9000 Certification at various levels. To gain certification in this family of quality standards, businesses must undergo a rigorous assessment by outside auditors to determine whether they meet ISO requirements. Increasingly, the ISO stamp of approval is viewed as a necessity in international business; the ISO certification provides customers with an assurance that a set of solid quality standards and processes are in place.

Productivity and Quality

After companies determine customer needs, they must concentrate on meeting those needs by yielding high quality products at an efficient rate. Companies can improve quality and productivity by securing the commitments of all three levels of management and employees as follows:

• Top‐level management: Implement sound management practices, use research and development effectively, adopt modern manufacturing techniques, and improve time management.
• Middle management: Plan and coordinate quality and productivity efforts.
• Low‐level management: Work with employees to improve productivity through acceptance of change, commitment to quality, and continually improving all facets of their work.

Major Contributors to TQM

Total quality management is a much broader concept than just controlling the quality of the product itself. Total quality management is the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement. TQM is a way of thinking about organizations and how people should relate and work in them. TQM is not merely a technique, but a philosophy anchored in the belief that long‐term success depends on a uniform commitment to quality in all sectors of an organization.

W. Edwards Deming

The concept of quality started in Japan when the country began to rebuild after World War II. Amidst the bomb rubble, Japan embraced the ideas of W. Edwards Deming, an American whose methods and theories are credited for Japan's postwar recovery. Ironically enough, Deming's ideas were initially scoffed at in the U.S. As a result, TQM took root in Japan 30 years earlier than in the United States. American companies took interest in Deming's ideas only when they began having trouble competing with the Japanese in the 1980s.

TQM Tools

Total quality management (TQM) tools help organizations to identify, analyze and assess qualitative and quantitative data that is relevant to their business. These tools can identify procedures, ideas, statistics, cause and effect concerns and other issues relevant to their organizations. Each of which can be examined and used to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, standardization and overall quality of procedures, products or work environment, in accordance with ISO 9000 standards (SQ, 2004). According to Quality America, Inc. the number of TQM tools is close to 100 and come in various forms, such as brainstorming, focus groups, check lists, charts and graphs, diagrams and other analysis tools. In a different vein, manuals and standards are TQM tools as well, as they give direction and best practice guidelines to you and/or your staff. TQM tools illustrate and aid in the assimilation of complicated information such as: 

1. Identification of your target audience
2. Assessment of customer needs
3. Competition analysis
4. Market analysis
5. Brainstorming ideas  
6. Productivity changes 

Benefits of Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management aims to optimize the performance of an organization via continual improvement in the products and services provided, the operation of the internal and external processes, equipment, utilities and most of all the people involved in an organization.

The net result is a relentless positive improvement in all aspects of an organization’s performance, for example, product reliability improvements, greater employee motivation, improved operational efficiency, waste reduction achievements, fewer safety incidents and overall organizational profit increases (where profit is an objective of the organization).

Total Quality Management Techniques

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an integrative management philosophy for continuous improvement of the quality of an organization's products and processes in order to meet or exceed customer expectations. There are several TMQ strategies used to improve business management systems. Considering the practices of TQM as discussed in six empirical studies, Cua, McKone, and Schroeder (2001) identified the nine most common TQM practices as:

1. Cross-functional product design
2. Process management
3. Supplier quality management
4. Customer involvement
5. Information and feedback
6. Committed leadership
7. Strategic planning
8. Cross-functional training
9. Employee involvement

TQM and Strategic Planning

Total Quality Management and strategic planning provide an organization with the tools to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Total Quality Management focuses the organization's goals on a system of quality and meeting the needs of the customer. Strategic planning is a tool that helps to prioritize the efforts of the organization in the implementation of a Total Quality Management approach.

TQM Implementation

Successful organizations have figured out that customer satisfaction has a direct impact on the bottom line. Creating an environment which supports a quality culture requires a structured, systematic process. Following are steps to implementing a quality management system that will help to bring the process full circle.

Let’s begin by defining the word quality.

Quality Defined:“A subjective term for which each person has his or her own definition. In technical usage, quality can have two meanings: (1) the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs and (2) a product or service free of deficiencies.” American Society for Quality (ASQ)

A Quality Management System is “The organizational structure, processes, procedures and resources needed to implement, maintain and continually improve the management of quality.” American Society for Quality (ASQ)

Principles of Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach focusing on the improvement of quality and performance in all functions, departments, and processes across the company to provide quality services which exceed customer expectations. TQM expands the scope of quality of every department from top management to lower level employees. It enables management to adopt a strategic approach to quality and put more effort on prevention rather than on inspection. Through TQM, all employees are trained in a professional manner and encouraged to make decisions on their own to improve the overall quality and attain higher standards. This is key to achieving the TQM results desired, because without your employees on board and feeling empowered, you might as well be swimming upstream.

Through TQM, companies increase customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and foster team work. Companies can also gain higher returns on sales and investment. The ability to provide quality services allow for higher prices to be charged. Total quality means better access to global markets, greater customer loyalty, wider recognition as a quality brand, etc.  

What is Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an enhancement to the traditional way of doing business.

Total - Made up of the whole
Quality - Degree of Excellence a Product or Service provides.
Management - Art of handling, controlling, directing etc.

TQM is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve all the processes within an organization and exceed CUSTOMER NEEDS now and in the future.


Defining Quality: Quality can be quantified as follows:

Q = P / E

where,
Q = Quality
P = Performance


Dimensions of Quality:

• Performance: Primary product characteristics, such as the brightness of the picture
• Features: Secondary characteristics, added features, such as remote control
• Conformance Reliability: Meeting specifications or industry standards, workmanship, Consistency of performance over time, average time of the unit to fail
• Durability: Useful life, includes repair
• Service: Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of repair
• Response: Human – to – human interface, such as the courtesy of the dealer
• Aesthetics: Sensory characteristics, such as exterior finish
• Reputation: Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first