Total Quality Management (TQM)

MAKING TQM WORK

In the modern context TQM is thought to require participative management; continuous process improvement; and the utilization of teams. Participative management refers to the intimate involvement of all members of a company in the management process, thus de-emphasizing traditional top-down management methods. In other words, managers set policies and make key decisions only with the input and guidance of the subordinates who will have to implement and adhere to the directives. This technique improves upper management's grasp of operations and, more importantly, is an important motivator for workers who begin to feel like they have control and ownership of the process in which they participate.

Continuous process improvement, the second characteristic, entails the recognition of small, incremental gains toward the goal of total quality. Large gains are accomplished by small, sustainable improvements over a long term. This concept necessitates a long-term approach by managers and the willingness to invest in the present for benefits that manifest themselves in the future. A corollary of continuous improvement is that workers and managers develop an appreciation for, and confidence in, TQM over a period of time.

Teamwork, the third necessary ingredient for TQM, involves the organization of cross-functional teams within the company. This multidisciplinary team approach helps workers to share knowledge, identify problems and opportunities, derive a comprehensive understanding of their role in the overall process, and align their work goals with those of the organization. The modern "team" was once the "quality circle," a type of unit promoted by Deming. Quality circles are discussed elsewhere in this volume.

For best results TQM requires a long-term, cooperative, planned, holistic approach to business, what some have dubbed a "market share" rather than a "profitability" approach. Thus a company strives to control its market by gaining and holding market share through continuous cost and quality improvements—and will shave profits to achieve control. The profitability approach, on the other hand, emphasizes short-term stockholder returns—and the higher the better. TQM thus suits Japanese corporate culture better than American corporate culture. In the corporate environment of the U.S., the short-term is very important; quarterly results are closely watched and impact the value of stocks; for this reason financial incentives are used to achieve short term results and to reward managers at all levels. Managers are therefore much more empowered than employees—despite attempts to change the corporate culture. For these reasons, possibly, TQM has undergone various changes in emphasis so that different implementations of it are sometimes unrecognizable as the same thing. In fact, the quality movement in the U.S. has moved on to other things: the lean corporation (based on just-in-time sourcing), Six Sigma (a quality measure and related programs of achieving it), and other techniques.

PRACTICING TQM

As evident from all of the foregoing, TQM, while emphasizing "quality" in its name, is really a philosophy of management. Quality and price are central in this philosophy because they are seen as effective methods of gaining the customer's attention and holding consumer loyalty. A somewhat discriminating public is thus part of the equation. In an environment where only price matters and consumers meekly put up with the successive removal of services or features in order to get products as cheaply as possible, the strategy will be less successful. Not surprisingly, in the auto sector, where the investment is large and failure can be very costly, the Japanese have made great gains in market share; but trends in other sectors—in retailing, for instance, where labor is imposed on customers through self-service stratagems—a quality orientation seems less obviously rewarding.

For these reasons, the small business looking at an approach to business ideal for its own environment may well adapt TQM if it can see that its clientele will reward this approach. The technique can be applied in service and retail settings as readily as in manufacturing, although measurement of quality will be achieved differently. TQM may, indeed, be a good way for a small business, surrounded by "Big Box" outlets, to reach precisely that small segment of the consuming public that, like the business itself, appreciates a high level of service and high quality products delivered at the most reasonable prices possible.