Total Quality Management

TQM Paper

Quality products and services are not always easy to come by in today's businesses because of lack of quality management. Total quality management is something many companies strive to attain. In this essay I will be defining total quality management, describing its impact the globalization quality, as well as comparing and contrasting traditional management styles with quality focused management styles.

Defining Total Quality Management

What is total quality management? "In 1990, SEMATECH (semiconductor manufacturing technology), a consortium dedicated to keeping the U.S. semiconductor industry viable and competitive in the global marketplace, published this definition:

Total Quality Management is a [holistic] business management methodology that aligns the activities of all employees in an organization with the common focus of customer satisfaction [to be achieved] through continuous improvement in the quality of all activities [processes], goods and services"(Burrill, Claude W. & Ledolter, Johannes, 1999).

Total quality management's definition clearly explains that it is a way to run a business and be successful through total continued and maintained quality in all things.

Quality and Globalization

Globalization, which is business dealings of many different countries, like business in general cannot be built on trust that the two parties have the same standards and ideas of quality because that is more often not the case. In general when conducting even a small business deal both parties have expectations and their expectations may not always be the same. The expectations or standards of one country may also be very different from that another country. The solution to this dilemma is made by requiring standards be placed on products and quality be ensured, such as the International Standards Organization. "The ISO 9000 Series of standards was developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in 1987 in order to provide quality assurance requirements and guidelines for suppliers" (Burrill, Claude W. & Ledolter, Johannes, 1999). The ISO was created to build confidence around the products that are supplied to consumers around the world. The ISO is similar to the total quality management in that it uses management to control and regulate the quality of the products being created and dispersed.

Total Quality Management vs. Traditional Management

The major differences between total quality management and traditional management can be defined by the beliefs and views regarding their organizational culture and customers (Maas, 2006). In terms of customers, a total quality management company will only define their product as a quality product if it meets the needs of their customers, rather then a traditional management company, who would determine