Total Quality Management (TQM) -History and Objectives

TQM is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society. 

History of TQM

The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) was developed by an American, W. Edwards Deming, after World war II for improving the production quality of goods and services.  The concept was not taken seriously by Americans until the Japanese, who adopted it in 1950 to resurrect their postwar business and industry, used it to dominate the world market by 1980. By then most U.S manufacturers had finally accepted that the nineteenth-century assembly line factory model was outdated for the modern global economic markets.

Objectives of TQM

1. Meeting the customer requirements
2. Quality Improvements at every level
3. TQM aims at prevention of defects rather than rectifying them once they have occurred

Difference Between Quality Management and Total Quality Management

Conventional Quality Management approach focuses on ensuring that the customers get a defect-free product or service. Based on the product specifications and customer needs, the approach is product-oriented taken care of by management through "Quality control" and "Quality Assurance" activities. For this purpose, management sets up a Quality Control and Quality Assurance Department to ensure that the specifications are met. This approach often leads to a situation where the quality Control department becomes overburdened with the sole responsibility for product quality and attending to customer complaints in a company; Production, marketing or other service agencies of the company are thus able to avoid the responsibility for any deficiency.

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The TQM focuses on the quality of processes that are carried out in the organization producing and delivering the goods or services to the customer satisfaction. Here, the emphasis is on customer satisfaction achieved by making all employees involved in those. Everyone in the organization is made responsible for meeting the customer's needs. TQM approach is customer-oriented whereas Conventional " Quality Management" is product oriented.

In a global economy, there is high importance for quality in products and services. This led to the concept of TQM. TQM is an effective system targeted for delighting the customers by meeting their expectations by the improvement all the process in the organization.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM Implementation

1. The company reviews the needs of its customers
2. The company plans the activities needed ( both day to day and long term activities) to meet these customers needs
3. The company establishes and stabilizes the processes required to deliver the products and services needed by the customer.
4. The company implements systems to further improve its processes, products, and services
5. Steps 1-4 above constitute a cycle and maybe iterated indefinitely for continuous improvement

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