Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach brought to inception by the Japanese management system, eventually migrating across the Pacific, implementing itself in the American management system. TQM aims for long-term success by focusing on customer satisfaction.(www.mariosalexandrou.com) TQM takes the team approach by involving the participation of all employees of the organization, encouraging their feedback and participation in order to improve processes, products, services, customer satisfaction and the environment in which they work.

Globalization

Globalization has set in motion a process of far-reaching change that has had lasting effects on many countries. New technology, supported by more open policies, has created a world more interconnected than ever before. This spans not only growing interdependence in economic relations, trade, investment, finance and the organization of production globally, but also social and political interaction among organizations and individuals across the world.

The potential for outstanding quality is immense. The global market economy has demonstrated great productive capacity. Wisely managed, it can deliver unprecedented material progress, generating more productivity and better quality products.

The impact of globalization on quality began after the end of WWII, when most of Europe and Asia's' manufacturing capabilities were in ruins. The American manufacturing sector which was less impacted by the war was now able to focus on customer demand. This gave organizations the ability to sell basically anything they produced at huge profits. Quality was the least of their worries. (http://www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg/docs.pdf)

After Europe and Asia's rebuilding in the 1950's it was apparent that the American oversight in quality became the opportunity for manufactures in Europe and Asia to capitalize on market share for their products. This worldwide open market systems, as well as, innovation led the way to the global market and competition we have today.

In the 1960's the focus of manufacturing shifted from the production floor to the total process. American manufacturing began to grasp this concept thanks in part to quality pioneers, Joseph Juran and W. Edwards Deming. Juran and Deming had different philosophies and worked for competing companies, but both strove for total process focus and acknowledgement of management as the leader of quality efforts. (Burrill C.; Ledolter J.,1999)

In the 1980's and early 1990's, many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in America. They began to suffer from a competitive environment that caused people to think that American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. The Japanese companies needed to find a way to address this perception, which forced them to seek manufacturing methods to produce goods with a very high level of quality so they could penetrate the American market.

"TQM was not invented in Japan, it was invented in the U.S., but it was used by the Japanese

very effectively in the 1980's and the term has subsequently become associated with Japanese

management principles. North American companies in the late 1980's and early 1990's got the marketing

equivalent of a kick in the face from Japanese companies bringing in consumer products that were low prices AND high quality. U.S. companies sought to learn how Japanese did the TQM stuff - which is funny, because the Japanese learned it from an American, Edwards Demming! " (Richardson, T. 2005)

Traditional vs. Quality-Focused Management

Every organization is comprised of values which drives their employees to operate their business. This can also be referred to as culture, because organizational values will mold the organization's overall culture. Culture is also the ideas, interests, values, and attitudes shared by the employee group.

As with anything, organizations learn greatly from their past experiences. Basically stated, organizational culture is past expressed in the present. Culture shapes management style, operating philosophies, and practices. Culture establishes norms and unwritten rules that guide