Total quality management principles and implementation

Total Quality Management is an integrated organizational attempt that is developed to improve quality at every organizational level. Notably, the description of quality is largely dependent on the role of the individuals who are engaged in defining it. Businesses and firms that don't make quality have high risks of long-term survival because customers in the modern market demand and expect high quality from organizations. In most cases, total quality management is described as the management system for a customer-oriented company that involves all employees in continual development of all organizational aspects.

This management system utilizes strategy, data, and efficient communication to incorporate the principles of quality into all the activities and culture of the organization. Therefore, the core of Total Quality Management is a managerial approach that focuses on long-term success through customer satisfaction. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, the TQM effort ensures that all organizational members are involved in enhancing processes, goods and/or services, and the culture where they work.

History of Total Quality Management:

The history of total quality management can be traced back to the beginning of the 1920s when statistical hypothesis was originally applied to control of product quality ("History of Quality," n.d.). The concept of quality has been in existence for several years despite of the changes in its meaning and evolution over time. As total quality management emerged in the early 20th Century, quality management was basically defined as the process of inspecting products to ensure that they adhered to certain specifications. One of the major developments in this concept occurred in the 1940s when statistical sampling procedures were used to analyze quality and quality control charts used to supervise production processes.

Through the help of several quality gurus, the concept took on a wider meaning in the 1960s and was regarded as something that included the whole organization since it was not limited to the production process only. The other reason for the broader context of the concept was because all functions for the quality of products affected the entire organization. During this period, quality was still viewed as an aspect that needed to be inspected and corrected, a perspective that changed in the late 1970s.

The late 1970s change in the perception of the concept of quality is attributed to the loss of market share by many U.S. industries to foreign competitors. As part of their survival techniques, many companies were forced to make drastic changes to the quality programs resulting in the emergence of a new quality concept. The concept adopted a strategic meaning because companies in every industry started to focus on improvement of quality in order to be more competitive ("Total Quality Management," n.d.). This largely contributed to the development of today's total quality management concept as quality excellence has become a standard for business operations.

Principles of Total Quality Management:

As one of the main concepts in today's business operations, total quality management is based on several important principles including:

Customer Focus:

Being customer focused is the main principle behind total quality management because customers are the key determinants of the level of quality. Despite of the numerous efforts that a company conducts for quality improvement such as training employees, customers are the only stakeholders who determine the efficiency of those efforts. Therefore, customers should be central to any quality improvement initiative by an organization.

Total Employee Improvement and Process Centered:

An organization's efforts for quality improvement should be geared towards the provision of a favorable working environment that promotes employee improvement with an increased focus on process thinking.

Integrated Systems:

Total quality improvement is rooted in the development of an integrated system in which all employees know the vision and mission of the organization. This also requires an efficient communication strategy where timelines and methods are properly defined.

Strategic and Systematic Approach:

Integrate quality as a core component is a major principle in total quality management that requires a strategic plan and systematic approach. In this case, analytical, quality tools, and creative thinking is used to become more effective and for continual improvement ("What is Total Quality Management," n.d.).