Total Quality Management, Quality Management and Productivity

Essay by BIGGDOGGUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, November 2005

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Introduction

Over the last decade, the goal of organizations has been to provide a high level of quality of products and service at the lowest cost in order to reach customers' satisfaction and to be the most competitive. Quality has become crucial in the success or failure of organizations. The increased emphasis on quality has lead many of them to adopt a Total Quality Management Approach.

Definition: Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total: Every person in the organization is involved, including customers and suppliers and other stakeholders. Quality is everyone's responsibility.

Quality: Customer requirements are met exactly (Getting a product with no defects, on time and at a competitive price).

Management: Continuous commitment of the top management team

Total Quality Management (TQM)

"Total = Quality involves everyone and all activities in the company".

"Quality = Conformance to Requirements (Meeting Customer Requirements)".

"Management = Quality can and must be managed".

"TQM = A process for managing quality; it must be a continuous way of life; a philosophy of perpetual improvement in everything we do".

(Dexter A. Hansen)

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management(TQM) is an organisational process that actively involves every function and every employee in satisfying customers needs, both internal and external. "The basic principles for the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy of doing business are to satisfy the customer, satisfy the supplier, and continuously improve the business processes"(Kurtus). TQM works by continuously improving all aspect of work through structured control, improvement and planning activities that are carried out in concern with guiding ideology that focuses on Quality and Customer Satisfaction as the top priorities.

There has been many arguments that TQM succeeds only by incorporating a concern about quality for the customers throughout the organisation. Quality management has become one of the most important factors considered by the...