Mis-306
[Total Quality Management]
Chapter-01
Introduction
Definition:
Total Quality Management (TQM) is the art of managing the entire organization to achieve excellence by
improving processes, meeting customer needs, and transforming the culture through effective management
actions.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is an enhancement to the traditional way of doing business. Total Quality
Management (TQM) is a way of doing business that helps companies compete globally. It involves changing
how management works to transform the entire organization. TQM is for the most part common sense.
Analyzing the three words, we have:
1. Total—Made up of the whole: This means considering the entire organization, not just individual parts.
2. Quality—Degree of excellence a product or service provides: Quality refers to the level of excellence
that a product or service provides. It's about meeting or exceeding customer expectations.
3. Management—Act, art, or manner of handling, controlling, directing, etc.: Management is the way
things are handled, controlled, and directed in an organization.
So, TQM is about managing the entire organization in a way that achieves excellence. It's like following the
Golden Rule: treating others the way you want to be treated.
TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence. TQM is both a philosophy and a set of guiding
principles that form the basis of an organization's continuous improvement. It involves using quantitative
methods and human resources to improve all processes within the company and meet customer needs now
and in the future. TQM brings together management techniques, improvement efforts, and technical tools in a
structured and disciplined approach.
Basic Approach:
TQM requires six basic concepts:
1. A committed and involved management to provide long-term top-to-bottom organizational support:
Management must actively support the quality program, set goals, and participate in improvement
teams.
2. An unwavering focus on the customer, both internally and externally: The program emphasizes
satisfying both internal and external customers, listening to their needs, and striving for defect
prevention.
3. Effective involvement and utilization of the entire work force: All employees should be trained in
quality improvement skills, involved in project teams, and empowered to make process improvements.
4. Continuous improvement of the business and production process: There should be a constant effort to
improve all business and production processes using techniques like SPC, benchmarking, and ISO
9000.
5. Treating suppliers as partners: Suppliers should be treated as partners, focusing on quality and longterm costs rather than price, with a limited number of suppliers to foster collaboration.
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6. Establish performance measures for the processes: Establish performance measures for the processes
means setting up metrics or indicators to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the
organization's processes. To track and improve quality, it's important to measure metrics like uptime,
nonconforming rate, absenteeism, and customer satisfaction, displaying them openly for everyone to
see, using quantitative data for continuous improvement.
New and Old Cultures:
Quality Element
Definition
Previous State
1. In the previous state, the focus
was on the product.
Priorities
2. In the previous state, quality was
secondary to service and cost.
Decisions
3. The previous state had a shortterm decision-making approach.
Emphasis
4. The previous state focused on
detecting errors.
Errors
Responsibility
5. Operations.
6. In the previous state, quality
control was the responsibility of
specific individuals or
departments.
7. Problems solved by Managers.
Problem
Solving
Procurement
8. In the previous state, price was the
main consideration in
procurement decisions.
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TQM
1. While in TQM, the focus
is on meeting customer
needs.
2. Whereas in TQM,
quality is given equal
importance to service
and cost.
3. While TQM emphasizes
long-term decisionmaking.
4. While TQM emphasizes
preventing errors from
occurring.
5. System.
6. Whereas in TQM,
everyone in the
organization shares the
responsibility for quality.
7. Whereas TQM
encourages collaborative
problem-solving through
teams.
8. Whereas TQM considers
life-cycle costs and
fosters partnerships with
suppliers.
Manager’s
Role
9. In the previous state, managers
primarily planned, assigned,
controlled, and enforced quality.
9. Whereas in TQM,
managers delegate,
coach, facilitate, and
mentor to support quality
improvement efforts.
Gurus of TQM
1. Shewhart: Developed control chart theory and the PDSA cycle for learning and improvement. Emphasized
control limits, causes of variation, and rational subgroups.
2. Fisher: Created a foundation for statistical methods, including design of experiments (DOE) and analysis
of variance (ANOVA). His work became widely known through publications such as "Statistical Methods
for Research Workers."
3. Deming: Taught statistical process control and the importance of quality to Japanese industry. Credited
with providing the foundation for the Japanese quality miracle. Developed the "Deming 14 Points" theory
for management to improve quality, productivity, and competitive position.
4. Juran: Emphasized the commitment of management at all levels to quality. Recommended project
improvements based on return on investment. Introduced the Juran Trilogy of planning, control, and
improvement for managing quality.
5. Feigenbaum: Advocated for total quality control and emphasized customer satisfaction. Proposed
principles such as genuine management involvement, employee involvement, and company-wide quality
control.
6. Ishikawa: Adapted the total quality control concept for the Japanese context. Introduced the cause-andeffect diagram (Ishikawa diagram) and popularized the quality circle concept.
7. Crosby: Argued for the importance of "doing it right the first time" and prevention of nonconformities.
Introduced the concept of "zero defects" as the performance standard for quality management.
8. Taguchi: Developed the loss function concept and the signal-to-noise ratio as a proactive measure.
Emphasized robust design of parameters and tolerances using traditional design of experiments.
Each guru made significant contributions to the field of quality management, introducing theories, methods,
and principles that have shaped modern quality practices.
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