Santa Cruz Guitar Company
Total Quality (TQ) or as it is most often referred to now as Total Quality Management (TQM) is a methodology that looks to improve an organization’s quality and performance which will in turn meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. This can be accomplished by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company. TQM looks at the overall quality measures used by a company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality assurance. TQM basically takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and generally involving all company employees. TQM can be defined as the management of initiatives and procedures that are aimed at achieving the delivery of quality products and services. The principles associated with defining TQM include: 1. Executive Management – Top management should act as the main driver for TQM and create an environment that ensures its success. 2. Training – Employees should receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality. 3. Customer Focus – Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction. 4. Decision Making – Quality decisions should be made based on measurements. 5. Methodology and Tools – Use of appropriate methodology and tools ensures that non-conformances are identified, measured and responded to consistently. 6. Continuous Improvement – Companies should continuously work towards improving manufacturing and quality procedures. 7. Company Culture – The culture of the company should aim at developing employees ability to work together to improve quality. 8. Employee Involvement – Employees should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related problems. The operations and quality practices of The Santa Cruz Guitar Company (SCGC) reflect several of the aforementioned principles of TQ in the following ways: 1. The Executive Management at
References: Evans, J. R. (2011, 2008). Quality and Performance Excellence. Ohio: Cengage Learning.