Quality Management

AuthorRoger Luft
Pages629-632

Page 629

Quality management (QM), also called total quality management (TQM), evolved from many different management practices and improvement processes. QM is not specific to managing people, but rather is related to improving the quality of goods and services that are produced in order to satisfy customer demands. QM permeates the entire organization as it is being implemented.

TQM has its roots in the quality movement that has made Japan such a strong force in the world economy. The Japanese philosophy of quality initially emphasized product and performance and only later shifted concern to customer satisfaction.

The quality improvement movement began in both the United States and Japan before World War II (1939–1945). Throughout the war, Americans continued to improve concepts related to manufacturing productivity. After the war, the Japanese pursued the idea of quality improvement. It was W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993), an American, who helped the Japanese focus on their fixation with quality.

Rather than trying to inspect the quality of products and services after they have been completed, TQM instills a philosophy of doing the job correctly the first time. It all sounds simple, but implementing the process requires an organizational culture and climate that are often alien and intimidating. Changes that must occur in the organization are so significant that it takes time and patience to complete the process. Just as the process does not occur overnight, the results may not be seen for a long time.

Some experts say that it takes up to ten years to fully realize the results of implementing QM.

THE PROCESS

Several steps must be taken in the process of shifting to QM in an organization:

Provide a QM environment

A QM environment is one in which the management-driven culture disappears and a participative culture takes its place. The basic tenets of QM are that employees must be involved and that there must be teamwork. Managers must be willing to involve workers in the decision-making process. Workers who function as a team have much more to offer collectively than do individual workers. Pooled resources are more valuable than just one person's contribution.

Modify reward systems

Reward systems need to be overhauled so as to recognize and encourage teamwork and innovation. The team, not the individual, is the foundation for TQM companies. If a company continues to use traditional compensation plans that create competition between workers, the team concept cannot be implemented. Traditional pay plans are often based on seniority, not on quality and performance. With QM, pay systems focus on team incentives. Each person is paid based on the team's performance. If one person on the team does not perform at the level expected, the team members will normally handle the situation. In

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W. Edwards Deming...

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