What Is Total Quality Management (tqm)?

1. Introduction

In today's global competition and economic liberalization, quality has become one of the important factors for achieving competitive advantage. A good quality product or service enables an organization to add and retain customers. Poor quality leads to discontented customers, so the costs of poor quality are not just those of immediate waste or rectification but also the loss of future sales. Technological innovations have diffused geographical boundaries resulting in more informed customers. The business environment has become increasingly complex and the marketplace has changed from local to global. Constant pressure is applied on the management to improve competitiveness by lowering operating cost and improving logistic. Customers are becoming increasingly aware of rising standards, having access to wide range of products and services to choose from. There is an ever-increasing demand for quality product and/or services and this global revolution had forced organizations to invest substantial resources in adopting and implementing total quality management strategies.

2. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

Total Quality Management has many definitions. Gurus of the total quality management discipline like Deming, Juran, Crosby, Ishikawa and Feigenbaum defined the concept in different ways but still the essence and spirit remained the same. According to Deming, quality is a continuous quality improvement process towards predictable degree of uniformity and dependability. Deming also identified 14 principles of quality management to improve productivity and performance of the organization Deming (1982). Juran (1989) defined quality as "fitness for use." According to him, every person in the organization must be involved in the effort to make products or services that are fit for use. Crosby (1979) defines quality as conformance to requirements. His focus has been on zero defects and doing it right the first time. Ishikawa (1985) also emphasized importance of total quality control to improve organizational performance. According to him quality does not only mean the quality of product, but also of after sales service, quality of management, the company itself and the human life. Feigenbaum defined total quality as a continuous work processes, starting with customer requirements and ending with customer's satisfaction Feigemjaum (1991).

Definitions of quality have changed with the passage of time with changing customer's needs and requirements. But the essence has more or less been to develop an approach to problem solving, conformation to standards for customer satisfaction. With management functions getting complex, approaches to managing quality in functional areas are becoming difficult. Organizations, which have successfully use TQM principles, have customer and quality embedded in what they do Oakland (2003).

Any organization is a system of interrelated units. For TQM to succeed, all of the components within the organization must be collectively involved. Initially, organizations implemented TQM in the hope that improvement in the shop-floor activities would solve all existing productivity and quality problems. Later, they have realized that TQM is much more than just shop-floor improvements. The definitions of quality incorporate factors like top management commitment,