Total Quality Management

This topic describes the history and basic tenets of Total Quality Managemen, explores the way it operates and some of its advantages and disadvantages, and concludes with a comparison of TQM and the authoritative management style. Dojang owners may find some of the principles of TQM useful in dojang management. 

What is TQM?

Total Quality Management is a management style based upon producing quality service as defined by the customer. TQM is defined as a quality-centered, customer-focused, fact-based, team-driven, senior-management-led process to achieve an organization’s strategic imperative through continuous process improvement. TQM principles are also known as total quality improvement, world-class quality, continuous quality improvement, total service quality, and total quality leadership.

The word "total" in Total Quality Management means that everyone in the organization must be involved in the continuous improvement effort, the word "quality" shows a concern for customer satisfaction, and the word "management" refers to the people and processes needed to achieve the quality.

Total Quality Management is not a program; it is a systematic, integrated, and organizational way-of-life directed at the continuous improvement of an organization. It is not a management fad; it is a proven management style used successfully for decades in organizations around the world. TQM is not an end in itself; it is a means to an organizational end. Total Quality Management must not be the primary focus of an organization; it should merely be the means to achieve organizational goals.