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This article covers the 8 principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and how this systematic approach to quality improvement can benefit organizations.
Published 27 Jul 2023
TQM or Total Quality Management is an approach to management that aims to enhance the process of an organization continuously so that products created and services provided are of high quality, satisfying or exceeding customer expectations. Developed over several decades, this philosophy consists of 8 principles that emphasize the full collaboration among stakeholders—including business leaders, individual suppliers, and even clients—in the pursuit of quality.
As aforementioned, this approach underwent years of fine-tuning, with numerous experts introducing new concepts to build on the basics. Here is a brief review of its history:
The concept of Total Quality Management has greatly evolved over the years, incorporating the ideas of the different management thinkers discussed above. These eight principles will help organizations better understand and implement TQM:
The end goal of TQM is to meet or, better yet, surpass the expectations of clients. Understanding their needs and expectations is the key to making changes or improvements in the processes and their goods or solutions.
Best Practices:
TQM is all about striving for continual growth. Organizations should be committed to improving every single aspect of their operations, identifying areas that require this, implementing the necessary changes, and evaluating their impacts.
As noted above, every member of the organization is vital to the success of TQM implementation. Employee engagement means being encouraged to contribute ideas, participate in decision-making, and take ownership of the result of their hard work.
Focusing on the process and ensuring its efficiency and effectiveness are crucial in achieving better overall quality outcomes.
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Business leaders are vital not only because they set the vision. Top management is also responsible for providing the necessary resources and constant support for quality improvement initiatives. Promoting a culture of quality throughout the organization requires a strong commitment from them.
Organizations should recognize the importance of building good rapport and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers. Close collaboration with partners ensures the quality of incoming materials and services and, consequently, the achievement of their end goals.
Accurate data is a must-have in measuring quality performance, tracking trends, and making informed decisions. Statistical process control techniques and quality tools should be employed when monitoring and analyzing these.
Total quality management and the organization’s current strategies, processes, and practices should be unified. Aligning these, admittedly, is quite challenging especially when systems are already put in place. But creating a cohesive and coordinated approach is achievable when quality is integrated into all aspects of the operations.
Trying to incorporate quality in every single aspect of the organization is not easy. But optimizing processes, ensuring quality products and services, and increasing customer satisfaction will be easier with data digitization and workflow automation. SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) can help you achieve all these goals by allowing you to:
Eunice Arcilla Caburao
Eunice is a content contributor for SafetyCulture. A registered nurse, theater stage manager, Ultimate Frisbee athlete, and mother, Eunice has written a multitude of topics for over a decade now.
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