Total Quality Management

The previous post looked at the definition of each of the three terms in TQM (Total, Quality, and Management) as separate, individual items.  Today we’ll look at those same three words, but this time looking at them as a single, whole item.

Since the beginning of time, probably every business, almost without exception, has wanted to satisfy its customers because that business realized that in most cases the following equation was true:  Satisfied Customers = Business Profits.  And that equation held true across the line; no matter what the business, no matter what the size of company, from a one-man/woman operation to a humongous international corporation.  (As an aside, did you know that out of the top 100 largest income producing units today, 49 are countries and 51 are corporations?)

So throughout the eons, there have been various attempts to create a system, even a philosophy, that would help to maximize the customer satisfaction, thus leading to a maximized profit.  The TQM approach was created in the 1950’s and starting in the 1980’s has become increasingly popular.

One of the ways of looking at TQM is to state that it’s a management philosophy that seeks to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives by integrating all organizational functions (design, engineering, production, marketing, finance, customer service, etc.).   That has been done before.  Other systems had looked at the idea of continuous improvement of the product and the production process.  But TQM also extends some of these previous systems by adding the inclusion of the ideas that the culture and attitude of a company are also important, and that having happy suppliers is necessary.  And it is a method by which management and employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services.

To the original equation of Satisfied Customers = Business Profits has now become Satisfied Customers + Satisfied Suppliers + Satisfied Employees + Continuous Improvement = Business Profits.

Next time we’ll look at:

• how to satisfy the customer
• how to satisfy the supplier
• how to continuously improve 

Here are a couple more closely related sites: Quality Control, and Qualtity Management Software.

Until then,
Hal Hamer