Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management system founded on the notion that an organization can achieve sustainable success by having all of its employees, from entry-level workers to the highest-ranking executives, concentrate on improving the quality of their work and, consequently creating the highest level of customer satisfaction.
What Exactly Is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
Quality management (TQM) is the ongoing method of detecting and decreasing or eliminating manufacturing errors, streamlining the management of supply chains, improving customer service, and ensuring that employees are proficient in terms of education.
The goal of total quality management is to hold every person involved in the manufacturing process accountable for the quality of the product or service delivered. TQM was created in the late 1970s by William Deming, a management consultant whose work significantly influenced Japanese manufacturing.
Although TQM has much in common with the Six Sigma improvement process, it’s not the same as Six Sigma. TQM concentrates on ensuring that internal guidelines and process standards eliminate errors, whereas Six Sigma aims to reduce imperfections.
Principles of TQM
TQM provides a set of strategies for companies to implement this approach and the path to continuous improvement centered on using data, systems, and effective communication to embed quality discipline into the company’s culture and procedures. Mainly, TQM highlights the processes companies employ to create their products.
Organizations must identify these processes, continually examine and evaluate their performance and then use this data to make improvements. Additionally, it requires all employees in the various departments within the organization to participate in the process.
TQM aims to eliminate waste and improve efficiency by ensuring the manufacturing process for the company’s service (or services) is correctly executed the first time. Businesses initially utilized the management framework within the manufacturing industry, but over time companies from other industries have adopted it.
Essential prerequisites for effective TQM implementation
The commitment to quality improvement (in every aspect) should be everyone’s task within org an organization. The top management to break the barriers to continual quality improvement and the steps to create a conducive environment for change in attitudes should be made. Support and training for the process need to be increased.
Culture: There must be appropriate training to make the shifts in attitudes and the way of life.
Continuous Improvement: Consider the improvement process as constant and not just the result of a single event.
Customer Focus: Complete services with no flaws and 100% satisfaction to the customer, whether external or internal.
Control: Make sure to check for any deviation from the planned implementation method.
- Plan
- Do
- Check
- Act
It’s also known as “the PDCA cycle.
Plan Phase
Planning is the most critical stage of quality management total. In this phase, employees must identify their concerns and problems that have to be solved. Employees inform management of the various challenges they face in their daily tasks and determine the cause of the issue. They must conduct the required research and gather relevant data to assist them in finding solutions to every problem.
Doing Phase
During this phase, an answer to the identified issues in the planning stage is developed by employees. Strategies are designed and implemented to tackle the problems that employees face. The efficacy and effectiveness of the methods and solutions are being evaluated at this stage.
Checking Phase
During this stage, a comparison between the before and after takes place to determine the processes’ efficacy and outcomes.
Acting Phase
This is the final stage of the cycle, during which employees record their performance and are prepared for other challenges.
What Does Total Quality Management Do?
TQM supervises all aspects and tasks necessary to ensure a certain quality of the business and its operations. This includes the establishment of a quality plan as well as the creation and implementation of quality assurance and planning, as well as quality control and improvements.
Benefits of Total Quality Management
Benefits of quality management in total:
- A resurgence in competitiveness
- Flexibility to emerging or changing market conditions as well as environmental regulations and other laws of the government.
- More productivity
- Improved market image
- Elimination of waste and defects
- Cost reduction and better management
- Greater profit
- Increased customer focus and satisfaction
- Customer loyalty and retention have increased.
- More job security
- Increased morale of employees
- Improved shareholder and stakeholder value
- Improved and ingenious methods
The Importance of TQM
TQM can have a significant and positive effect on the development of employees and organizations. By ensuring that all employees are focused on quality control and continual improvements, organizations can develop and enforce the values of their culture that will bring long-term prosperity for the company and its customers.
Quality management is a critical component of TQM. It can help identify the lack of skills in employees and provides the required education, training, or coaching to address the deficiencies.
Focusing on collaboration, TQM leads to the formation of teams that are cross-functional and share knowledge. The greater coordination and communication between different groups increases the institutional understanding of organizations and allows them greater flexibility when deploying staff.
Total Quality Management Example:
Toyota is one of the most well-known examples of Total Quality Management. Toyota decided to introduce the Kanban System to make its production process more effective, and Toyota decided to have only enough inventory to fill customers’ orders as they were produced.
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Conclusion
An effective TQM implementation requires significant training of the workers that are part of it. Because the training program may distract employees from their daily job, it could negatively impact their work.
Furthermore, as Total Quality Management tends to create a continuous series of minor adjustments, it could result in an adverse reaction from employees who favor the existing method or fear losing their job. Total Quality Management works best in environments with the management’s support and dedication.