What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
Total quality management (TQM) is a continuous management process to improve an organization's processes to give customers the best service. Continuously, TQM detects and reduces errors in manufacturing. Today, customers are astute and aware of how to behave with modern technologies. They always expect organizations to provide their best quality product and services to them. The ultimate target of TQM is customer satisfaction and giving such benefits to organizational members.
All members of the organization represent the total quality management process to build long-term success by focusing on improvements in quality. Organization approaches to streamline supply chain management to identify and minimize errors. There are a few important aspects of TQM, such as communication, collaboration and continuous learning within an organization.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a collaborative process among the various sections within an organization, which plays different roles including design, engineering, marketing, and more. In TQM, management gives all facilities and manages the right person in the right place providing comprehensive training, and setting clear, achievable objectives.
History of TQM
In the 1920s, the principles of scientific management swept the U.S. industry and the initialization of quality management in an industrial setting by applying the science of statistics. Also, the process of planning and executing the plan was separated by the business, and the organization used the Hawthorne experiments in the late 1920s to show the impact of participation on worker productivity.
Walter A. Shewhart created a statistical control chart and developed methods for statistical analysis and control of quality in the 1930s.Furthermore, in the 1950s, W. Edwards Deming developed Shewhart’s ideas, and he taught quality control and statistical analysis to Japanese engineers and executives, it can be identified as the origin of TQM. Also, Joseph M. Juran taught quality control methods and published his book, Juran’s Quality Control Handbook. Armand V. Feigenbaum has published his book regarding Total Quality control. Philip B. Crosby promoted zero defects quality improvements for companies at the same time. Therefore, the TQM concept was initiated during the 1950s and 1960s.
Total quality management exhibited its success to organizations worldwide and U.S. companies adopted TQM to increase productivity. Japanese named their approach to enhancing total quality companywide quality control in 1968.
Currently, TQM is the systematic approach to improve customer satisfaction and many businesses apply TQM to give better service to customers. Today organizations follow quality standards and quality management systems.
The 8 fundamental principles of TQM explored
Organizations follow the eight principles of TQM to enhance quality. Those principles are the straight points of TQM to have continuous improvement.
Customer focus: -
The customer is the key person for the business and customer feedback is very important to understand customer needs. Therefore, the company needs good customer care service to respond to customer's feedback.
Employee involvement: -
Employee involvement is the key parameter to the success of the TQM. Because All employees should attend to this program with proper training. For that, organizations should increase the training programs and give facilities to enhance their knowledge.
Focus on process: -
Every worker should attend to the TQM process with proper education and knowledge. TQM is a continuous improvement process which analyzed frequently to identify its weaknesses.
Integrated business systems: -
Organizations must integrate all TQM processes to convey important information among the employees to give a better understanding of the process.
Systematic approach: -
TQM activities must be planned and managed well to get better results.
Continual improvement: -
TQM is the continuous improvement process. This improves the quality of the products or services to achieve competitive advantages according to market changes.
Fact-based decision-making: -
The company should analyze the data to accuracy of the decision-making. Also, the collected data should be documented for future reference.
Communication: -
Communication is the way to identify issues and weaknesses of the process. Also, communication improves the relationship between employees and employees feel better when they know the strategies, and methodologies of the process.
Not only that, better communication with customers gives more opportunity to increase the quality. This leads to retaining customers long time.
Importance of TQM
TQM is the systematic process that can lead to organizational success. TQM directly impact customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, employee morale, and the reputation of the organization.
As discussed earlier, customer satisfaction is the most important parameter to the success of the business. The customer is the key person who plays a crucial role in the Centre of the activities. TQM always focus on improving the quality of product or service to meet or surpass customer expectation. TQM is involved in manufacturing, marketing, or customer service to deliver better customer service. Therefore, it leads to a stronger relationship with customers, loyalty and the reputation of the business. TQM enhances customer satisfaction.
The special thing of TQM is the continuous improvement of the process. In this case, the company regularly evaluate their process to identify the weak areas and TQM encourages it to make the necessary changes. These improvements lead the company to a competitive market. Therefore, TQM drives for continuous improvement.
TQM is the process which is carried out by all employees in the organization. All employees are valuable persons for this process and all have a major responsibility to the success of this program. Given such things, employees feel comfortable and satisfied with their roles. Also, they have been given proper training and guides. Therefore, TQM is important to enhance the employee's morale.
In addition to that, TQM helps to build the company's reputation by giving high-quality service and products to customers. Organizations can directly enter into competitive markets with reputed and branded products and services. Also, TQM manages better resource utilization and high efficiency. Therefore, businesses can achieve higher profits with existing resources.
How to implement TQM
1. It takes time to plan, develop, and implement TQM, and the amount of time required varies depending on the organization.
Benefits of TQM
Enhance Customer Satisfaction:
Purpose of the TQM is to increase product or service quality. Good quality products mean higher customer satisfaction, because TQM identifies customer needs through customer's feedback. Therefore, organization can improve product quality continuously.
Improve efficiency:
Fewer cost:
High quality product and service means less defects, less customer return. Therefore, organization can reduce the rework, scrap cost, service cost. This leads to saving more money and increases profit as well.
Enhance employee's morale:
All employees involve for TQM process. They are always updated about process news and provided more training and facilities. Employees feel the ownership and they work hardly to achieve the goal. This collaborative culture enhances the employee's morale.
Disadvantages of TQM
Time-Consuming:
TQM is the process that is implemented with continuous training, changing organizational culture. Therefore, it takes a significant time to implement TQM.
Resistance to Change:
Employee resistant to major organization culture change. They feel their jobs insecurity. Therefore, it slows the process and employees should be informed clearly to avoid this.
High Planning and resources time:
Time consuming is significantly higher to planning and resource.
Added costs for implementation:
TQM needs training and infrastructure. Therefore, it adds the significant cost
Dependance on employees:
TQM is the process to involve all employees in organization. Therefore, success of the process depends on the commitment and participation of the employees.
Examples of TQM
Toyota:
Toyota adapt to TQM and Kaizen to achieve higher product and work quality. In 1994, Toyota established the "Toyota Group Executive TQM Training Course" to providing TQM training for new executives.
Amazon:
Amazon implemented TQM to improve the quality of their service because it is customer-centric business e-commerce model. They applied to improve the order processing, website interface and customer care services.
TATA Steel:
TATA steel applied TQM in the 1980s also it was awarded the Deming Application Prize in 2008. TATA steel follows the TQM to identify the customer variation and their requirements. TATA Steel formed the committee " Performance Improvement Committee" to improve continuously.
Apple:
Apple is the biggest high quality electronic items manufacturing company. I phone, I pad, Mac book are the main products of the Apple company. Apple follows TQM process to design, testing, response to customer feedback. They continuously improve the their products to gain the market share and improve the customer satisfaction.
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