d is a good or a service. Return on investment has been found to be more a function of product quality than of price, regardless of the type of activity manufacturing, service, construction, and so forth (Miller and Camp, 1985, p. 88). Quality control refers "to a system . . ., by which assurance is sought that the output produced conforms to specific parameters that define product or service quality" (Lester, Enrick, and Mottley, 1991, p. 1). An effective quality control program enhances the ability of an organization to both reduce costs and improve productivity (Lester, Enrick, and Mottley, 1991, p. 2). As a consequence, effective quality control has a positive impact on an organization's profitability.Quality control, in order to be effective, must be integrated throughout the production process, whether the output of that process is a good or a service. Thus, a quality control system must be developed or adopted, and that system must be incorporated into the organizational structure (Lester, Enrick, and Mottley, 1991, p. 34). Control procedures must be established at every stage of the production process.
TQM is a logical outgrowth of the quality control strategy promoted for years by American Edwards Deming. Deming's quality control strategy was developed with manufacturing processes in mind. TQM, however, may be applied in the production of services as well as goods. The superior quality control procedures of modern Japanese industry were originally developed, in large part, under the guidance and tutelage of Edwards Deming (Halberstam, 1986, p. 140). American industry chose, to their regret, to ignore Deming's approach to quality. Ironically, the Deming Prize for quality excellence in industry is a Japanese award, not an American award.
Deming insisted that true quality control began with a real commitment from top management. The reason that many quality improvement programs fail in American companies is ...