8 Total Quality Management Principles
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During the global recession of the late ’70s and early ’80s, the United States (and the rest of the world) faced stiff competition from Japan. The Japanese had captured the world automotive and electronics markets because they found a way to produce high-quality goods at lower prices. And as a result, corporations in the U.S. looked more closely at the quality of Japanese goods and services, trying to find ways to improve production and recapture market share.
Their solution was Total Quality Management.
If your organization has just decided to incorporate TQM, or if you want to see whether this process improvement methodology can help you improve production, this blog post will cover Total Quality Management principles and techniques you can start using now.
What is Total Quality Management?
According to the definitive text, Total Quality: A User’s Guide for Implementation, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management technique based on the idea that all “employees continuously improve their ability to provide on-demand products and services that customers will find of particular value.”
The concept of Total Quality Management can be found right in its name: The word “total” implies that all employees in the organization, from development to production to fulfillment, are obligated to improve operations. And “management” insinuates that this methodology should be a focused effort. Leadership should provide funding, training, staffing, and clearly defined goals to actively manage product and service quality on an ongoing basis.
8 principles of Total Quality Management
As with most management methods and techniques, implementation and success will vary from one company to another. While there is not a single agreed upon approach, the most common TQM definition includes the following eight principles.
1. Customer focus
The first of the Total Quality Management principles puts the focus back on the people buying your product or service. Your customers determine the quality of your product. If your product fulfills a need and lasts as long or longer than expected, customers know that they have spent their money on a quality product.
When you understand what your customer wants or needs, you have a better chance of figuring out how to get the right materials, people, and processes in place to meet and exceed their expectations.
To implement this TQM principle:
- Research and understand your customers’ needs and expectations.
- Align your organization’s objectives with customer needs.
- Communicate with customers, measure satisfaction, and use the results to find ways to improve processes.
- Manage customer relationships.
- Find a balance for satisfying customers and other interested parties (such as owners, employees, suppliers, and investors).
The benefits of being customer-focused include:
- More sales, increased revenue, market share, and mindshare.
- Strong customer loyalty leading to repeat business
- Increased possibility that satisfied customers will tell others about your products and services
