Total Quality Management - TQM Essay -- SixSigma Essays

I. INTRODUCTION Before you can begin to understand what total quality management is, you must know what quality is. Quality is the ability to satisfy, or even exceed, the needs and expectations of the customers. Total Quality Management is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. The participation of all members of an organization in improving processes, products, services, and the culture they work in is the basis of TQM. Total Quality Management, often called TQM, is a mind set. It is also a set of well-proven processes for achieving the mind set. The mind set is that everyone in your organization understands what their customers' expectations are and they meet those expectations every time. TQM, which has been available for many years, was originally developed in the United States and the Japanese were the first to visualize its benefits and apply it successfully. This paper will discuss the history of Total Quality Management and also its creator Dr. Wi lliam Edwards Deming. Also included is Dr. Deming's 14 Points of Management, which apply anywhere from small organizations to large organizations including everything from the service industries to the manufacturing industries and everything in between. They apply to a division within a company. The final topic discussed will be how TQM is implemented in the organizations. II. HISTORY Total Quality Management (TQM) is a participative management style that stresses total staff commitment to "customer" satisfaction. TQM is the part of management organized for the use of creating and implementing a continuous improvement process that constantly improves on the organization's effectiveness and also their efficiency. The main responsibility lies on not the workers or employees of a corporation, but rather the management. There are many very effective ways that corporations have implemented these strategies of TQM, but most commonly, it is acquired through data collection, flow charts, and diagrams. The development of Total Quality Management is attributed to Frederick W. Taylor, an engineer and the first management consultant. Statisticians, such as Walter A. Shewhart, Joseph M. Juran, Philip B. Cosby and most importantly Dr. W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), were responsible for initiating the Total Quality Management process and share a common role ... ...for success. There are three basis implementations of TQM including concept of management, system of management (in which the Q-S.T.E.P. process is used), and traditional management. A company can decide on their implementation plan based on their personal needs. Dr. William Edwards Deming's philosophy of total quality management has proved effective in many organizations, and if companies are willing to embrace all of its ideas and concepts, it can be successful for them. REFERENCES Aguayo, R. (2010). Dr. Deming The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality. New York: Carol Publishing Group. Gabor, A. (2009). The Man Who Discovered QUALITY. New York: Times Books, a division of Random House Inc. Green, L. TQM FAQ's. [Online]. Retrieved October 11, 2013 from: http://www.skyenet.net/~leg/tqmodel/tqmfaq.htm. Green, L. TQM Total Quality Management Diagnostics. [Online]. Retrieved October 16, 2013 from: http://www.skyenet.net/~leg/tqm.htm. Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S., Slocum, J. (2009). Management 10th Edition Ohio: South-Western College Publishing. Author Unknown. [Online]. Retrieved October 8, 2013 from: http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/1stqm.htm.