Basic Concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total - made up of the whole

Quality - degree of excellence a product or service provides
Management - act, art or manner of planning, controlling, directing,….
Therefore, TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence.
In trying to define TQM is it is well worth considering the relevance and meaning of the three words in it's
title.:
Total - The responsibility for achieving Quality rests with everyone a business no matter what their
function. It recognizes the necessity to develop processes across the business, that together lead to the
reliable delivery of exact, agreed customer requirements. This will achieve the most competitive cost
position and a higher return on investment.
Quality - The prime task of any business is to understand the needs of the customer, then deliver the
product or service at the agreed time, place and price, on every occasion. This will retain current customers,
assist in acquiring new ones and lead to a subsequent increase in market share.
Management - Top management lead the drive to achieve quality for customers, by communicating the
business vision and values to all employees; ensuring the right business processes are in place; introducing
and maintaining a continuous improvement culture.

Quality means different to different people:

1. Customer-Based: Fitness for use, meeting customer expectations.
2. Manufacturing-Based: Conforming to design, specifications, or requirements. Having no defects.
3. Product-Based: The product has something that other similar products do not that adds value.
4. Value-Based: The product is the best combination of price and features.
5. Transcendent: It is not clear what it is, but it is something good...

Quality means different to different people. There are five ways of looking at quality definitions
i. Transcendent Definition: "Quality is neither mind nor matter, but a third entity independent of the
two…even through Quality cannot be defined, you know what it is."
ii. Product-Based Definition: "Quality refers to the amounts of the unpriced attributes contained in
each unit of the priced attribute."
iii. User-Based Definition: "Quality is fitness for use." (J.M. Juran, ed., Quality Control Handbook,
p2).
iv. Manufacturing-Based Definition: "Quality [means] conformance to requirements." "Quality is the
degree to which a specific product conforms to a design or specification."
v. Value-Based Definition: "Quality means best for certain customer conditions. These conditions are
(a) the actual use and (b) the selling price of the product."

What does TQM mean?

 Total Quality Management means that the organization's culture is defined by and
supports the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools,
techniques, and training. This involves the continuous improvement of organizational processes,
resulting in high quality products and services.
 TQM is defined as both philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represents 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 future.
 TQM integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools
under disciplined approach.

Elements for Success

 Management Support  Measurement
 Mission Statement  Empowerment
 Proper Planning  Teamwork/Effective Meetings
 Customer and Bottom Line Focus  Continuous Process Improvement
  Dedicated Resources

Philosophical Leaders of the Quality Movement

1. Philip Crosby 3. Joseph M. Juran
2. W. Edwards Deming
Each has slightly different definitions of what quality is and how to achieve it, but they all had the same
general message:

To achieve outstanding quality requires:

i. quality leadership from senior iii. total involvement of the workforce, and
management, iv. continuous improvement based upon
ii. a customer focus rigorous analysis of processes.

History of Quality Management

Deming’s Concept of “Profound Knowledge”
 Understanding (and appreciation) of Systems
- optimizing sub-systems sub-optimizes the total system
- the majority of defects come from systems, the responsibility of
management (e.g., machines not in good order, defective material, etc.
 Knowledge of Statistics (variation, capability, uncertainty in data, etc.)
- to identify where problems are, and point managers and workers toward solutions
 Knowledge of Psychology (Motivation)
- people are afraid of failing and not being recognized, so they fear how data will be used against
them
 Theory of Knowledge
- understanding that management in any form is a prediction, and is based on assumptions
 Dr. Joseph M. Juran (1991):
o He is most renowned for coining the phrase “fitness for use or purpose”. The importance of
this idea is that a product or service can meet its specification and yet not be fit for its
purpose. The specification may be faulty or it may not accord with what the customer wants.
Meeting specifications may be a necessary condition of quality in most instances but it is not
a sufficient one. Today, the workforce is educated. Workers know what is needed to improve
their jobs, and companies that do not tap into this significant source of knowledge will truly
be at a competitive disadvantage.”
 According to Phil Crosby, Quality is . . .
 An attitude:
- Zero Defects
- Continuous Improvement
 A measurement:
- Price of Conformance, plus
- Price of Nonconformance (defects)

Total Quality Management in Education

According to Deming, a system of quality improvement is helpful to anyone who turns out a product or is
engaged in service, or in research and wishes to improve the output of the organization.
The industrial analogy that compares workers and managers to students and teachers is accurate and
appropriate. In schools, students are the workers and products. Teachers and administrators are managers.
The hierarchy looks like this:
1. Students are the workers and the products. The difference between success and failure of the school
depends on the quality of their work.
2. Teachers are the first level managers. Therefore the teacher will be leader of the
class, emphasizing quality through noncoercive management featuring student
as worker and teacher as coach, provoking the students to learn how to learn and thus to teach
themselves.
 3. Administrators are middle and upper level management. The productivity of any school depends
mostly on the skills of those who directly manage the workers, i.e., the teachers. According to
Deming, their success in turn depends on how well they are managed by the administration above
them. Therefore, any attempt at educational quality are best centered around organizational
improvement efforts.
4. The Board of Education is the board of directors thus responsible directly to the clients, and board
members are overseers of the administration. Management by Result is no longer sufficient to deal
with the problems schools are facing. In order to promote total quality, there is a need to:

1. Quality Characteristics 1 – Change Management Philosophy.

The new management philosophy focuses on achieving quality, which is defined as meeting and exceeding
the needs and expectations of clients.
i. A second focus is on the acceptance and pursuit of continuous improvement as the only useful
standard or goal.
ii. The philosophy holds that example and experience teach little about theory, and that experience is
not always useful knowledge. However, the new philosophy is based on the acquisition and
application of knowledge. This knowledge referred to as profound knowledge

Four Components of Profound Knowledge

In order to provide leadership for total quality, people in leadership must be able to
understand and apply these concepts:
1. Systematic Thinking 3. Theory of Knowledge
2. Theory of Variation 4. Knowledge of Psychology

1. Systematic Thinking –
this is the interdependence of functions with their sub-processes and of the organization with its people. (a
network of interdependent components that work together)
2. Theory of Variation –
this is the understanding of the difference between common and special causes. An understanding of
variation will enable Educational leaders to work toward quality within the framework of individual
differences. The existence of variation is why a state of zero defects does not occur and why numerical goals
are not feasible.
3. Theory of Knowledge –
only through a theory of knowledge can one understand the past and predict the future. A major component
of total quality management is prediction. Only through prediction and long-term perspective can schools
expect to succeed over a long period of time.
4. Knowledge of Psychology –
the new philosophy is based on the understanding of people and their differences, and a commitment to
applying systematic thinking to the people system. School leadership’s aim is to free-up the potential of the
different attributes of the people of the organization.