Thomas Haug
Work Improvement Method
School of Professional Studies
GBA603 – Organizational Theory
Dr. Steven Englehart
May 30, 2015

The origins of total quality management are uncertain, however, research has traced the theory of quality control back to the early 1920s when statistical analysis was used in conjunction with quality control. Walter A. Shewhart developed a statistical control chart in 1923 while working at Bell Telephone; although it wasn’t implemented until three years later at plant for Western Electric (Total Quality Management). The actual method of total quality management as a management approach was introduced in the 1950s. Originally the process of TQM utilized the concept specifically dealing with product inspection and production but today it has transformed into a method that can be applied to analyze all of the operations within an organization.
The process of total quality management was first established after WWII when Japanese manufacturers started to make civilian goods instead of military equipment (Total Quality). Having a reputation as the country with the most inferior exports, Japan welcomed outside help from American quality experts, specifically W. Edwards Deming. Instead of focusing on the process of product inspection, Japanese manufacturers focused on improving all of the procedures through their workers. The Japanese were able to transform their negative reputation by increasing the quality and decreasing their prices.
American manufacturers eventually became increasingly aware of the Japanese’s presence in the American economy. “Manufacturers began losing market share, organizations began shipping jobs overseas, and the economy suffered unfavorable trade balances” (Total Quality, para. 5). It did however, take the United States until the end of the 1970s to actually look at their quality of their products rather