Total Quality Management / TQM are an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes.
TQM is based on the premise that the quality of products and processes is the responsibility of everyone involved with the creation or consumption of the products or services which are offered by an organization, requiring the involvement of management, workforce, suppliers, and customers, to meet or exceed customer expectations.Cua, McKone, and Schroeder (2001) identified nine common TQM practices:-
1. cross-functional product design
2. process management
3. supplier quality management
4. customer involvement
5. information and feedback
6. committed leadership
7. strategic planning
8. cross-functional training
9. employee involvement
The TQM concept was developed based on the teachings of American management consultants, including Deming, Joseph, and Armand V. Feigenbaum. Originally, these consultants had short-term success in the United States. Managers in Japan, however, embraced their ideas enthusiastically and even named their premier annual prize for manufacturing excellence after Dr. Deming.
Based on Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques, the Six Sigma management strategy was developed in 1986 to support Motorola’s drive towards reducing defects by minimizing variation in processes.
The main difference between TQM and Six Sigma is the approach. At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through continuous process improvement and customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work.
The methods for implementing this approach come from people such as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa and Joseph M. Juran.
The concept of quality in general and Total Quality Management (TQM) in