Applications of Total Quality Management
Michael J. Stahl (1995, p. 4) defines Total Quality Management (TQM) as "a systems approach to management that aims to continuously increase value to customers by designing and continuously improving organizational processes and systems." As a systems-oriented mechanism for structuring, motivating, evaluating, and otherwise organizing a business and its productive activities, TQM is more than a style of management or a way of creating relationships between the units within a company. As this report will demonstrate, TQM provides a viable framework for reducing product or service defects that diminish profitability while also creating a system in which leadership and management focus on the goal of zero defects in an empowered work setting.
TQM is considered a management strategy that is meant to imbed awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM is in no way limited in its application. It has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, service industries, and scientific research and development settings (Total Quality Management, 2005).
Integral to TQM is the recognition of the role of management. Management is understood as the creation and continuous improvement of organizational systems that lead to increased value for the customers of the firm's products or services. Like Management by Objectives (MBO), TQM uses a systems approach to link work processes and outcomes to business strategies, goals, and objectives. However, unlike many traditional theories and systems of management, TQM does not refer to managerial behaviors focused primarily on planning, organizing, commanding, or controlling the behavior of others (Stahl, 1995). Rather, TQM managers seek system integration and focus on systematic continuous improvement which can involve empowering highly trained employers to become functional participants of self-managed work tea...