MODULE 5.

Total Quality Management: An Introduction

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

 Explain the Meaning of Total Quality Management

 Discuss the Origin and Evolution of Quality Management
 Explain the Contributions of TQM Gurus

Introduction

Total Quality Management (TQM), a buzzword phrase of the 1980’s, has been killed and resurrected on a
number of occasions. The concept and principles, though simple seem to be creeping back into existence by “bits and
pieces” through the evolution of the ISO9001 Management Quality System standard.

“Total Quality Control” was the key concept of Armand Feigenbaum’s 1951 book, Quality Control: Principles,
Practice, and Administration, in a chapter titled “Total Quality Control”. Feigenbaum grabs on to an idea that sparked
many scholars interest in the following decades that would later be catapulted from Total Quality Control to Total
Quality Management.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all
organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, and service industries,
as well as NASA space and science programs.

Definition of TQM

According to International Organization for Standardization (ISO):

“TQM is a management approach for an organization, centred on quality, based on the participation of all its
members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the
organization and to society.”

One major aim is to reduce variation from every process so that greater consistency of effort is obtained.

TQM is composed of three Paradigms:

 Total: Involving the entire organization, supply chain, and/or product life cycle
 Quality: With its usual Definitions, with all its complexities
 Management: The system of managing with steps like Plan, Organize, Control, Lead, Staff, provisioning
and the likes.

TQM is defined as both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a
continuously improving organization. It is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve all
the processes within an organization and exceed customer needs now and in the future. TQM integrates fundamental
management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools under a disciplined approach.

Origin and Evolution of Quality Management

The roots of Total Quality Management (TQM) can be traced back to early 1920s when statistical theory was first
applied to product quality control. This concept was further developed in Japan in the 40s led by Americans.

Example: Deming, Juran and Feigenbaum.

The focus widened from quality of products to quality of all issues within an organization – the start of TQM.
The following shows the history of Total Quality Management, from inspection to business excellence.

1. Inspection: Inspection involves measuring, examining, and testing products, process and services against
specified requirements to determine conformity.

During the early years of manufacturing, inspection was used to decide whether a worker’s job or a product
met the requirements; therefore, acceptable. It was not done in a systematic way, but worked well when
the volume of production was reasonably low. However, as organizations became larger, the need for more
effective operations became apparent.

In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor helped to satisfy this need. He published ‘The Principles of Scientific
Management’ which provided a framework for the effective use of people in industrial organizations.

Inspection still has an important role in modern quality practices. However, it is no longer seen as the
answer to all quality problems. Rather, it is one tool within a wider array.

2. Statistical Quality Control: Statistical Quality Control focuses on product and the detection and control of
quality problems. It involves testing samples and statistically infers compliance of all products. It is carried
out at stages through the production process; and it relies on trained production personnel and quality
control professionals.

3. Quality in Japan: In the 1940s, Japanese products were perceived as cheap, shoddy imitations. Japanese
industrial leaders recognized this problem and aimed to produce innovative high quality products. They
invited a few quality gurus, such as Deming, Juran, and Feigenbaum to learn how to achieve this aim.

In the 1950s, quality control and management developed quickly and became a main theme of Japanese
management.

A by-product of quality circles was employee motivation. Workers felt that they were involved and heard.
Another by-product was the idea of improving not only quality of the products, but also every aspect of
organizational issues. This probably was the start of the idea, total quality.

4. Total Quality: The term ‘total quality’ was used for the first time in a paper by Feigenbaum at the first
international conference on quality control in Tokyo in 1969. The term referred to wider issues within an
organization.

Ishikawa also discussed ‘total quality control’ in Japan, which is different from the western idea of total
quality. According to his explanation, it means ‘company-wide quality control’ that involves all employees,
from top management to the workers, in quality control.

5. Total Quality Management: In the 1980s to the 1990s, a new phase of quality control and management
began. This became known as Total Quality Management (TQM). Having observed Japan’s success of
employing quality issues, western companies started to introduce their own quality initiatives.

A typical definition of TQM includes phrases such as: customer focus, the involvement of all employees,
continuous improvement and the integration of quality management into the total organization.

6. Quality Awards and Excellence Models: In 1988 a major step forward in quality management was made
with the development of the Malcolm Baldrige Award in the United States. The model, on which the award
was based, represented the first clearly defined and internationally recognized TQM model. It was
 developed by the United States government to encourage companies to adopt the model and improve their
competitiveness.

In response to this, a similar model was developed by the European Foundation of Quality Management in
1992. This EFQM Excellence Model is the framework for the European Quality Award.

7. Business Excellence: TQM models are often called Business Excellence Models. Also, TQM itself is now often
called Business Excellence. This is to distinguish the “new TQM” from the past work on TQM.

Business Excellence is really the same as TQM, but with a more clearly defined approach.

Meaning and Definition of Quality

Quality is a complex phenomenon based on perceptions by individuals with different perspectives on products
and services. These perceptions have been built up through the past experience of individuals and consumption in
various contexts. Consequently, quality encapsulates time and other contextual dimensions that add to the complexity
of what is essentially a subjective evaluation of the quality of good and/or service by the consumer.

There are varied definitions of quality. Few of these are:

 “Quality is conformance to specifications.” —British Defense Industries Quality Assurance Panel

 “Quality is conformance to requirements.” —Philip Crosby
 “Quality is fitness for purpose.” —Dr Juran
 “Quality is synonymous with customer needs and expectations.” —R J Mortiboys
 “Quality is a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability, at low cost and suited to the market.” —Dr
Edward Deming
 “Quality is meeting the (stated) requirements of the customer – now and in the future.” —Mike Robinson
 “Quality is the total composite product and service characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacturing and
maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectations by the customer. “ —
Armand Feigenbaum

Integrating Perspectives on Quality

Eight principal quality dimensions defined by Garvin are:

 Performance: This refers to the primary operating characteristics of the product or service; they are usually
measurable, e.g., miles per gallon, time for 0 to 60 miles for a car; number of rooms, baths, etc. in a house.

 Features: These are additional characteristics that enhance the product/services appeal to the user, e.g.,
deleaded ink used for newspapers, glare reducing coatings on bulbs, etc.

 Reliability: Is the precision with which the product or service meets the specified standards. Approaches such as
using pre-specified tolerance limits, Taguchi’s quality loss function, Motorola’s 6S (six sigma) limits.

 Conformance: Garvin (1988) came up with eight dimensions of quality to link customer requirements to
engineering design.

 Durability: Durability measures the length of a product’s life, e.g., light bulbs, car mufflers. When a product can
be repaired, estimating durability is more complicated.
  Serviceability: Serviceability is the speed with which the product can be put into service when it breaks down, as
well as the competence and behavior of the service person. The speed of service can be measured by response
time and mean time to repair (MTTR).

 Aesthetics: Aesthetics is the subjective dimension indicating the kind of response a user has to a product. It
represents the individual’s personal preference – the ways an individual responds to the look, feel, sound, taste
and smell.

 Perceived Quality: This is also a subjective dimension. It is the quality attributed to a good or service based on
indirect measures, for example, inferring the quality of an airline by the cleanliness of the flip-down tray. Well
maintained tools and an immaculate workplace may indicate a good workman.

Terminologies Related to Quality Management

Quality Control

Quality control refers to all those functions or activities that must be performed to fulfill the company’s objectives.

It is systematic control of all those variables which affects the quality of a product.

It aims at prevention of defects.

Inspection

Inspection is the process of comparing actual quality characteristics of a product with a predetermined or specified set
of standards in order to segregate good products from bad products.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is any action directed toward providing customers with goods and services of appropriate quality.

It relies on comprehensive system of planning, documentation, statistical process control and certification of product.

Total Quality Control (TQC)

TQC can be defined as an effort of continuous quality improvement of all processes, products and services through
universal participation that results in increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and improved business results.

TQM is the foundation for activities, which include:

 Commitment by senior management and all employees

 Meeting customer requirements
 Reducing development cycle times
 Just in Time/Demand Flow Manufacturing
 Improvement teams
 Reducing product and service costs
 Systems to facilitate improvement
 Line Management ownership
 Employee involvement and empowerment
 Recognition and celebration
 Challenging quantified goals and benchmarking
 Focus on processes/improvement plans
 Specific incorporation in strategic planning
This shows that TQM must be practiced in all activities, by all personnel, in Manufacturing, Marketing, Engineering, R&D,
Sales, Purchasing, HR, etc.

It focuses on total satisfaction of customer through continuous improvement.