TQM stands for Total Quality Management, which is a management approach aimed at continuously improving and delivering the highest quality of an organisation's products, services, and processes to maximise customer satisfaction and meet regulatory standards.
The "total" indicates the involvement of all employees, from low-level workers to top executives, in the pursuit of quality and customer satisfaction.
TQM does not have a widely agreed-upon approach as such. It does, however, employ well-known tools and techniques found in other methodologies.
Where everything started…
The origins of TQM can be traced to Walter A. Shewhart (in the early 1900s), an engineer at Western Electric and Bell Telephone Laboratories, who introduced modern methods for statistical analysis and quality control and then published Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product in 1931.
Decades later, W. Edwards Deming further developed Shewart's work and introduced it in post-Second World War Japan. His teachings of methods for statistical analysis, quality control and the Deming Wheel can be considered the origin of TQM.
Other prominent figures in TQM history are Joseph M. Juran, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Philip B. Crosby and Kaoru Ishikawa. All of them had a significant impact and shaped today's quality control and TQM.
The term TQM itself has been formulated by the Naval Air System Command to describe its Japanese-style management approach to quality.
8 PRINCIPLES OF TQM
1. CUSTOMER FOCUSED
The most important principle of any Quality Management System - satisfying customers' needs and expectations. This involves:
- identifying the customer (both internal and external)
- understanding the customer's requirements/needs
- measuring satisfaction with the products or services provided
- continuously improving those products/services (to meet those requirements)
Whatever an organisation does to improve quality—training employees, incorporating quality into the process or upgrading software—the customer determines the level of quality needed and whether the efforts were worthwhile, and the customer sets the direction for the improvement process.
Depending on the type of business, the organisation's customer can be the end consumer, wholesaler, supplier, or even an internal customer, such as a local branch or a different department.
To help to identify customer needs and measure satisfaction, various tools could be used (i.e. specialised research, surveys or analysis of complaints and returns). Bear in mind that researching customer needs and satisfaction should be continuous. The organisation must take into account changing needs and be able to respond to them very quickly.
2. TOTAL EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
TQM encourages all employees to participate in the improvement process in order to ensure that complete quality control is provided at all levels of the business (we do not focus on one department only because the goal is to provide a great experience from the entire organisation). This means that employees are empowered to identify and solve problems and suggest process improvements.
3. PROCESS-CENTERED / PROCESS APPROACH
TQM is a process-oriented (process thinking) approach to management, focusing on improving processes rather than simply correcting problems. This involves analysing processes to identify areas for improvement and putting changes in place to increase efficiency and quality. In this context, a process is defined as a set of related actions (often involving the use of specific resources) that allow the transformation of an input into an output.
This approach employs a variety of process mapping tools, including diagrams, visual action plans, and documented workflows. The goal is to achieve predetermined goals or results that can be tracked and improved.
4. INTEGRATED SYSTEM
The integrated system in TQM emphasizes the importance of connecting all the functional specialities within an organisation through horizontal processes rather than just focusing on vertical departmental structures. The objective is to develop an integrated business system that promotes a quality culture, links business improvement elements, and continuously improves and surpasses stakeholders' expectations, including customers, employees, and others. This can be achieved by incorporating TQM processes into the larger business processes and leveraging every asset available to the company through system integrations. The Baldrige Award criteria and ISO 9000 standards can serve as models for this integrated system. Still, it is ultimately up to each organisation to foster a unique work culture that allows for collaboration and continuous improvement.
5. STRATEGIC & SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
TQM emphasizes a systematic approach to quality improvement, where the focus is on prevention rather than the detection of problems. This involves incorporating quality as a core component of a company's strategic plan (to ensure that quality standards are met consistently) and aligning all processes and procedures with the organisation's vision, mission, and long-term strategy.
6. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The 6th principle emphasizes that an organisation should continually look for ways to improve its operations processes, products, and services. The goal of TQM is to achieve customer satisfaction, which is an ongoing process that should never end. It is essential for an organisation to adapt to changing markets and strive for incremental improvements to maintain a competitive advantage.
Continuous improvement is not a one-time event, and perfection is impossible, so it must always be pursued to get the organisation as close as possible to it and should include all elements of the organisation (including processes, procedures, and all actions). It should also be done continuously, according to Deming Cycle, which involves planning, doing, checking, and acting (PDCA Cycle).
7. FACT-BASED DECISION MAKING
The 7th principle of TQM is fact-based decision-making, which requires that decisions should be made based on data and analysis rather than intuition or guesswork. This principle emphasizes the importance of collecting, documenting, and analysing data to improve decision-making accuracy and predict future trends.
The data collected should be accurate and without prejudice, and statistical methods and other tools should be used to analyse the data. This principle ensures that decisions are based on quantifiable facts rather than assumptions or emotions. Organisations should use both internal and external data to make informed decisions.
Internal data includes financial data, process measurements, quality checkpoints, employee evaluations, and customer feedback, while external data include customer satisfaction surveys, market research, and macroeconomic indicators. All data should be analysed according to a predefined methodology and using appropriate tools to ensure the accuracy of the analysis. By applying this principle, organisations can make informed decisions based on reliable data, leading to continuous improvement and increased customer satisfaction.
8. COMMUNICATION
Effective communication is an essential aspect of TQM, as it is necessary for maintaining morale, motivating employees, and coordinating operations. It involves strategies, methods, and timeliness and ensures that every department is aware of its responsibilities and those of others to achieve a common goal. This includes communication between teams, as well as with suppliers and other business partners. Suppliers play a critical role in TQM, and it is essential to select them based on specific criteria, such as the quality of their products, delivery conditions, and pricing. The communication strategy with suppliers should be standardised and clear to ensure mutual understanding, especially when dealing with global supply chains and cultural differences.
PROS & CONS
Properly implemented TQM will have beneficial effects on the entire organisation. By focusing on quality and continuous improvement, all employees can contribute to long-term success. By emphasising quality, the organisation will be able to produce products at a lower cost, minimise waste, and provide a better product that yields stronger customer loyalty.
Since TQM involves all departments and emphasises teamwork, the organisation can build true cross-functional teams that share their knowledge. Improved communication and coordination allow for greater flexibility, enabling the organisation to respond quicker to changes.
However, introducing TQM is not easy. To achieve success in implementing TQM, company-wide buy-in with total commitment to change is necessary, which can face resistance and require a substantial financial investment. The actual implementation of TQM itself can also take a long time.
SUMMARY
It seems like TQM has long passed its peak. Despite numerous publications by distinguished individuals such as Deming, Shewart, or Juran, many organisations have chosen only certain elements of TQM or modified them to suit their needs.
Moreover, as time passed and factors like quality, efficiency, and productivity became more crucial, TQM started to be replaced by other, more modern philosophies like Lean or Six Sigma (built upon the foundation laid by TQM).
In an era when customer demands are ever-increasing, achieving a very high level of quality is considered as a basic requirement (rather than a mere customer delighter), competition grows tighter, and the risk of falling behind becomes greater than ever, perhaps it is worth returning to the roots and teachings of TQM?
By reembracing the principles of TQM, organisations can strive for excellence in quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. TQM provides a comprehensive framework for managing quality across all aspects of an organisation, fostering a culture of employee engagement, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Combining the best practices from TQM and other modern philosophies can create a powerful approach to quality management, helping organisations meet and exceed customer expectations in an increasingly competitive environment.
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