Tqm Paper

Total Quality Management

TQM was first a concept of a man named Feignbaum in the early 1970’s. However, the methods in which TQM was implicated were not developed until later. The Japanese studied these methods and perfected them calling it Total Quality Control. Japan received world wide recognition for their success in quality control. Meanwhile quality professionals in the United Sates were still not seeing their version of TQM defined in terms of concepts, as well as the Japanese.

TQM is a means of continuous improvement of a product or service through consistent and accurate evaluation. It is a set of management practices inside an organization that are targeted on ensuring that customer needs are continuously met and constantly improving.

A definition of TQM given by a dedicated consortium in 1990 states that “Total Quality Management is a [holistic] business management methodology that aligns the activity of all employees in an organizations with the common focus on customer satisfaction [to be achieved] through continuous improvement in the quality of activities [processes] , goods and services” (SEMATECH, 1990, p.35).

Globalization has progressively changed the quality of products and services. Existing large companies have expanded, while new small businesses have been established. The internet has opened up markets to the globe. The more the competition, the better the quality needed to succeed, develop and expand. Companies and corporations cannot maintain a profit if they are not flexible enough to move with the demands and trends existing in the world today.

There are several quality leaders who have developed strategies and methods for implementing TQM into the workforce. A basic concept in implementing TQM is W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points. These points are a set of management practices that help companies increase their quality and productivity:

1. Create consistency of purpose for improving products and services.

2. Adopt the new philosophy.

3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.

4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total

cost by working with a single supplier.

5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and

service.

6. Institute training on the job.

7. Adopt and institute leadership.

8. Drive out fear.

9. Break down barriers between staff areas.

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce.

11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for the

management.

12.