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.
Evaluating TQM
Evidence and reports of the success of TQM over the years have been mixed. After the strong uptake in the USA during the second half of the 80's and the early 90's there were signs of discontent and waning of interest. This may have been a result of what was perceived as the poor fit between TQM and the new industrial imperatives of the 1990's. An article in the Economist observes
"The most ardent adherents of quality are finding that TQM does not readily blend with wave after wave of restructuring, downsizing and re-engineering. And the challenge of developing products and bringing them, to market even more swiftly, especially in industries were prices are tumbling, such as computers, adds to the strain on TQM"
The experience of downsizing, business re-engineering undoubtedly created job insecurity and de-motivation amongst employees, thereby undermining the employee involvement essential to any successful TQM programme. The experience of companies such as Xerox and BA who both were regarded as having successful TQM programmes found it difficult to maintain the level of commitment from their staff which is one of the pre-requisites of continuing it's TQM programme.
Many companies found themselves in a position where they believed it necessary to make major structural changes to their organisations in a relatively short space of time. IBM, for example halved their workforce in a period of ten years. The comparison between re-engineering/downsizing/de-layering on the one hand and TQM on the other is an interesting one. Both types of process are aimed at meeting customer requirements in a cost effective manner. Both concentrate on the processes necessary to deliver the outputs to customers. They strongly diverge however in their strategies for change with TQM adopting the continuous improvement route and re-engineering utilising immediate, radical, mega-change.
There have been debates about the success or otherwise of TQM programmes over the years. Studies have been carried out, for example by the by the US General Accounts Office covering American companies and in the UK by The Bradford Management Centre. These have found that companies that had fully adopted Total Quality Management programmes produced significantly better bottom line results than comparable companies who had not taken that approach. A number of studies by academics and consultants also identified that a common cause of failure of Total Quality Management programmes was simply down to either poor management or a lack of commitment to quality. There were, and still are, a large number of company directors who believe that "quality is not their responsibility".
Total Quality Management today
Whilst the number of companies today who are openly practicing major programmes under the banner of Total Quality Management has declined from the late 80's and early 90's, it's philosophy and management tools it utilises are just as evident. To many companies, it has become the way they manage and not "an external programme" which was one of the objectives and measure of it's success. Likewise, companies recognising the need to improve their business performance are customising Total Quality Management principles and practices to suit their own particular needs and circumstances and building their own internal programmes. This has avoided the potential dangers of the "grand programme" and jargon that can alienate the employees. Alongside this is the success of 6 Sigma programmes which bear close similarity in terms of their objectives, people involvement and the tools and techniques used. In fact, some believe 6 Sigma to be a form of Total Quality Management.
The principles of Total Quality Management are as relevant to work process management today as they have ever been, particularly when considered alongside learning's from other techniques such as lean manufacturing. It is essential that programmes are structured to meet the needs and situations of individual companies. Whilst some may benefit from a fully integrated programme, others have realised that there are significant payoffs to be gained from a more modest or tailored approach designed to solve specific problems or achieve defined, targeted improvements. The scope and scale are up to the client company to choose.
