Total Quality Management

Total quality management or TQM is defined as a form of management that ensures that every element of the business is contributing to the overall total effort of a business of achieving the highest quality levels in the delivery of its products and services. This type of management's goal is to assure that everything that is produced has meet very high standards. In this paper I will discuss the history of Total Quality Management, the philosophy of Total Quality Management (Fourteen Points), and the advantages and disadvantages of using Total Quality Management.

Dr. W. Edward Deming first developed Total Quality Management in the mid 1930's. While working at an automobile plant as a consultant, Dr. Deming trained groups of workers, supervisors, and engineers about his quality control methods. During the 1940's Dr. Deming took a new assignment with government, he was to use his quality control methods to problems that focused on industrial production for the war.

When Dr. Deming returned for working in the government he noticed that American companies were not using his quality control methods. So he decided to work at the Japanese Census, whole working their Dr. Deming was invited to do a lecture at the Japanese Union of Scientist and Engineers on his statistical quality techniques. A professor from the department of Business Administration of the University of Japan attended the lecture and thought that what Dr. Deming was saying was true and that it could change the future of Japan. After attending Dr. Deming's lecture the professor told his students that if they wanted to change Japan's economy in the next five years that they should attend Dr. Deming's lecture on using statistics to achieve quality at a reduced cost. After Dr. Deming's lecture in Japan many manufacturing companies adopted his theories and were able to produce quality products at reduced costs.

Dr. Deming created the Fourteen Points of Total Quality Management upon three principles. The first being customer orientation, the second continuous improvement, and the third principle was to recognize that quality determined by the system, which is the inputs and the manner in which the previous aspects are processed (Talley 21). Along with these three categories is where Deming's Fourteen Points of Total Quality Management are the based on. The Fourteen Points are a guide for the complete Total Quality Management process.

The first point of Total Quality Management is to create consistency of purpose for improvement of product and service (Talley 29). Deming in this point is stressing that there is a need for long-lasting quality on products instead of profit being made on products. He also believes that businesses should be on top of production, aim to become more competitive among businesses and should focus mainly on what the customers want rather than assume what is wanted (Collins 3). The second point is that a business should adapt to a new philosophy. For this point a business should take the time to notice and prevent further production of defective products. Deming stresses that only management is in position to do something about the vast majority of errors and it is management's task to remove the obstacles that prevent workers from doing the job correctly. The third point is that a business cannot cease dependence on mass inspection (Kiser 29). What Deming is stating here is that quality of products cannot be added on to the product, they should be developed from the beginning.

The fourth point is to end the practice of choosing suppliers based solely upon price (Collins). Deming is stating that businesses should not buy materials at cheap prices. Many of the problems that arise from the production poor quality of products and low productivity are due to the poor quality of incoming materials and the low quality of tools and machines. The fifth point is to improve constantly and forever the system of production and service (Kiser 30). A business should improve every process concerning planning, production, and service it will provide better products for the consumer and higher profits for a business. The sixth point is that a business should institute training. Deming urges that every employee throughout the different levels of the business should be trained for their specific task.

The seventh point is that leadership should be established through out a business. The importance of supervisors/leadership will help employees to do a better job; it will also improve quality of a product and will automatically improve productivity. The eighth point is to drive fear out of a business. A business should encourage effective two-way communication and other mechanisms that can enable everyone to be part of change.

The ninth point is to break down barriers between staff. Employees from every level of the business must work well together in order for the business to be at is best. The tenth point is a business should eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force (Kiser 32). Business should not hang company goals on posters, they should be spoken out