Total Quality Management

WHAT IS TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT?

Primary Elements of TQM

TQM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that engages all employees in continual improvement of the organization. It is an integrative system that uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the processes, products, services, and culture of the organization. The methods for implementing this approach are found in the teachings of quality leaders such as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, and Joseph M. Juran. TQM also draws on a knowledge of the principles and practices of:

• The behavioral sciences
• The analysis of quantitative and nonquantitative data
• Economics theories
• Process analysis

While many of the concepts of TQM are present in modern quality management systems, the successor to TQM, the 8 principles of TQM are so essential to its definition that, in some format, they exist as a set of core values and principles on which an organization is to operate:

Customer focused: The primary goal of TQM is to meet or exceed customer expectations. Understanding customer needs and providing products or services that deliver value is a central tenet.

Employee involvement: All employees, regardless of their level or role, should actively participate in quality improvement efforts. Training, empowerment, and fostering a culture of accountability are essential.

Process approach: TQM emphasizes understanding, managing, and improving processes to achieve desired results. It focuses on efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of an organization.

Integrated system: TQM integrates all organizational systems and processes to work toward common quality objectives. Goals are aligned across teams to ensure coherence and collaboration.

Strategic and systematic approach: The quality management system is aligned with the organization’s strategic goals and is consistent with long-term objectives.

Continual improvement: The organization strives for ongoing improvements in processes, products, and services. Incremental enhancements and innovative changes contribute to overall quality.

Fact-based decision making: The organization makes decisions based on accurate data and objective analysis rather than assumptions. Statistical tools and quality management methods can aid in this process.

Communications: Communication is the glue that binds the principles of TQM together, ensuring seamless implementation and promoting a culture of quality throughout the organization. It fosters a shared vison, encourages employee engagement, promotes transparency, and enhances collaboration.

TQM BENEFITS AND COMMON PROBLEMS

Imprints of TQM concepts can be found in modern approaches to quality management, such as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria, ISO 9001, Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. Some of the direct and indirect benefits that may result from implementing TQM principles include:

 

• Strengthened competitive position
• Adaptability to changing or emerging market conditions and to environmental and other government regulations
• Higher productivity
• Enhanced market image
• Elimination of defects and waste
• Reduced costs and better cost management
• Higher profitability
• Improved customer focus and satisfaction
• Increased customer loyalty and retention
• Increased job security
• Improved employee morale
• Enhanced shareholder and stakeholder value
• Improved and innovative processes
• Greater emphasis on and awareness of the value of producing quality products and services

 

Along with the benefits of implementing TQM principles, common difficulties that may arise include:

• Lack of management commitment
• Changing organizational culture
• Lack of workforce preparation (i.e., changes were not communicated effectively)
• Use of accurate, timely, and reliable data
• Lack of strategic direction
• Lack of shared vision, mission, or guiding principles
• Lack of cooperation and teamwork among different workgroups
• Focus on short-term profits rather than on long-term goals
• Failure to focus on customers’ needs and expectations
• Lack of mutual trust and respect among levels of employees
• Insufficient resources or lack of sustained commitment of those resources
• Lack of continual and effective training and education
• Management’s failure to recognize and/or reward achievements

HISTORY OF TQM

The history of TQM began initially as a term coined by the Naval Air Systems Command to describe its Japanese-style management approach to quality improvement. Before the 1950s, approaches to quality were focused on quality control and statistical process control.

1950s

• Deming, invited by JUSE, returned to Japan to teach methods for statistical analysis and control of quality to Japanese engineers and executives, who were hungry for new ideas to help them correct serious and persistent quality problems. This can be considered the origin of TQM.
• Joseph M. Juran taught the concepts of controlling quality and managerial breakthrough.
• Armand V. Feigenbaum’s book Total Quality Control, a forerunner for the present understanding of TQM, was published (1951).
• Philip B. Crosby’s promotion of zero defects paved the way for quality improvement in many companies.

1968

• The Japanese named their approach to total quality "enterprise quality control." It is around this time that the term quality management systems arises.
• Kaoru Ishikawa’s synthesis of the philosophy contributed to Japan’s ascendancy as a quality leader.

1980s

• The Baldrige National Quality Program and Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award were established by the U.S. Congress (1987).
• The ISO 9000 standard was first published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to help businesses ensure their products meet customer expectations and regulatory requirements (1987).
• TQM became a popular framework for improving quality and production processes across industries.
• The compatibility of TQM and Six Sigma was demonstrated by Motorola, who became one of the first MBNQA winners.

Today

• TQM is the name for the philosophy of a broad and systemic approach to managing organizational quality, but the term has fallen out of favor as international standards for quality management have been developed. More modern applications of its principles and processes are found in concepts like:
  
  • Quality management systems
  • Quality standards such as the ISO 9000 series
  • Quality award programs such as the Deming Prize and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

 

ASQE RELATED RESEARCH

In the Insights on Excellence (IoE) research, ASQE explores the trends, emerging priorities, and shifts in performance where quality plays an integral role, including TQM-related concepts like the systemic approach to managing organizational quality.

In the Operations category of the 2024 IoE Benchmarking Highlights Report, subpar internal/operational processes was selected as a challenging yet-to-be resolved quality issue by 42% of 2022-2023 respondents—this is out of 21 options. Quality issues like subpar internal/operational processes hinder an organization’s ability to adapt quickly to change and indicates that the organization likely has opportunities to improve upon some of the principles that are key to TQM, such as having a process approach, an integrated system, a strategic and systematic approach, and a focus on continual improvement.

Similarly, in the Strategy IoE category, many of the 2022-2023 respondents identified that their organization’s quality strategy was lacking in significant ways, with less than half (47%) saying that it promoted or enabled continual improvement of processes, fewer than two-fifths (37%) that it improved corporate systems, and only a quarter (26%) that it aligned all levels of the organization. Quality-driven strategies promote and enable the ability of organizations to advance in continuous improvement or align all levels of their workforce toward a common goal, which are TQM principles. Proper use of TQM (and now, QMS) principles to develop a quality strategy can improve corporate systems and assist complex modern projects like digital transformation or using machine-learning systems to drive new revenue streams.

Additionally, if you have a quality program effectively running, with TQM philosophies embedded into your organization’s culture, it can help you face and overcome challenges holistically. IoE research shows that a significant portion (29%) of the 2022-2023 respondents cited lack of shared learning, information, and knowledge throughout their organizations as a challenge faced by their quality programs. Lack of staff empowerment has also risen as a challenge that leaders must understand and address to avoid impacts to the strength of their quality programs.

Visit the IoE Research page for the collection of published research focused on real-world insights from global companies to continue engaging with the data.