Total Quality Management may be defined as “managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer” (Mcgraw –Hill 2005, p. 320). Total Quality Management was developed in the 1950’s but became a national concern in the United States in the 1980’s primarily as a response to Japanese quality superiority in manufacturing automobiles and other durable goods such as room air conditioners. Another way to look at it total quality is a description of the approach, values and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. Total Quality Management has two fundamental operational goals, making sure that the design of the product or service is done correctly and ensuring that the design or service has consistency.
In order to successfully implement TQM, an organization must concentrate on the eight key elements: * Executive Management – Top management should act as the main driver for TQM and create an environment that ensures its success. * Training – Employees should receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality. * Customer Focus – Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction. * Decision Making – Quality decisions should be made based on measurements. * Methodology and Tools – Use of appropriate methodology and tools ensures that non-conformances are identified, measured and responded to consistently. * Continuous Improvement – Companies should continuously work towards improving manufacturing and quality procedures. * Company Culture – The culture of the company should aim at developing employees ability to work together to improve quality. * Employee Involvement – Employees should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related