TQM Paper

Essay by 1stladyUniversity, Bachelor'sA, September 2009

download word file, 5 pages 0.0 1 reviews

Introduction"Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations" (Khurran Hashmi, 2009).

This week's assignment is geared to discuss three organizations in three different sectors, and explain the roles of all three organizations within their sectors as it relates to being successful providing customer-driven quality service. Furthermore, I will attempt to include an outline and compare the differences between the different focuses related to quality of customer relations and strategies towards Total Quality Management (TQM).

Service SectorThe first organization of focus is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which will represent the service sector. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Wal-Mart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine's 2009 Most Admired Companies survey.

Wal-Mart was founded in 1962, with the opening of the first Wal-Mart discount store in Rogers, Arkansas. The company incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Oct. 31, 1969 (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2009).

In 1983, the company opened its first Sam's Club membership warehouse, and in 1988 opened the first supercenter -- now the company's dominant format -- featuring a complete grocery in addition to general merchandise. Wal-Mart became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sam's Club near Mexico City. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 7,800 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2009 sales of $401 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2009).

Wal-Mart prides itself on customer satisfaction and providing a high quality of service to their...