BNET Business Dictionary
Business Definition for: Total Quality Management
- a philosophy and style of management that gives everyone in an organization responsibility for delivering quality to the customer. Total quality management views each task in the organization as a process that is in a customer/supplier relationship with the next process. The objective at each stage is to define and meet the customer's requirements in order to maximize the satisfaction of the final consumer at the lowest possible cost. Total quality management constitutes a challenge to organizations that have to manage the conflict between cost-cutting and the commitment of employees to continuous improvement. Achievement of quality can be assessed by quality awards and quality standards.
- an integrated and comprehensive system of planning and controlling all business functions so that products or services are produced which meet or exceed customer expectations. TQM is a philosophy of business behavior, embracing principles such as employee involvement, continuous improvement at all levels, and customer focus, as well as being a collection of related techniques aimed at improving quality, such as full documentation of activities, clear goal-setting, and performance measurement from the customer perspective.
Additional Resources
- Premises of Total Quality Management
- TQM is an innovative approach to ensuring that work is done in an effective manner to meet the ever increasing demands that new technologies and work practices require. The five premises of total quality management are customer focus ? the customer is always right, total involvement ? think about all...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Organizational Effectiveness; Total Quality Management Total Performance Efficiency
- Quality is the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer expectations. The different dimensions of quality include safety, durability, and safety. The quality perspective is very important from the point of view of modern-day organizations. It is the fundamental aspect, which determines the meeting or...
- Presentations 2002-03-04
- Guideline on Total Quality Management
- Every member of the construction team can benefit from the implementation of Total Quality Management TQM within their companies. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of TQM and to assist construction company executives in their understanding of the benefits of implementing TQM in their companies....
- White papers 2003-11-20
- Assuring Quality through Total Quality Management
- This article is about current quality assurance practices which mainly emphasizes on the assessment or measurement of quality, assuming that this interest and attention will work some magic to make quality happen. Unforunately, quality doesn't just happen! Production processes have to be carefully planned, monitored, and managed to assure quality...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Quality: The Small Business And Total Quality Management
- In many businesses, top-class quality is actually becoming the only road. If you're supplying giants (for example, in cars) they may well insist on quality certifications like BS5750. Getting these can be expensive and burdensome; they don't require plunging into Total Quality Management TQM - but if you're going to...
- White papers 2006-07-08
- Assuring Quality through Total Quality Management 2
- The articles talks about adopting a framework for Total Quality Management with reference to laboratories. The framework involves quality laboratory processes, quality control, quality assessment, quality improvement, quality planning, and quality goals.. There is a need to make quality planning quick and easy. The time to be saved is often...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Total Quality Management
- Quality of a product or service is measured by its reliability among the target audience and its conformance to performance standards. Total Quality Management TQM is an approach towards maintaining quality of processes and systems in an organization. TQM calls for checking quality at every stage of product development rather...
- Presentations 2003-01-01
- Total Quality Management in Software Development Process
- This paper discusses the essences of total quality management TQM concept and identifies the principles of successful TQM implementation. It contrasts the Quality Seven (Q7) and the Management Seven (M7) tools commonly used in the TQM process. It also describes the Deming's quality management concept and his fourteen-point management method....
- White papers 2000-01-01
- The Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on Financial Performance : Evidence from Quality Award Winners
- Total Quality Management : TQM is periodically lambasted by management gurus and the business media for its supposedly lackluster impact on financial performance. This paper presents objective evidence on whether this criticism is indeed justified. The evidence is based on a study of nearly 600 quality award winners. Three critical...
- White papers 2000-03-01
- Total Quality Management (TQM)
- Total Quality Management TQM is an evolving system of practices, tools, and training methods for managing companies to provide customer satisfaction in a rapidly changing world. Total Quality Management improves the performance of companies in several areas: eliminating product defects, enhancing attractiveness of product design, speeding service delivery, and reducing...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- What went wrong with Total Quality Management(TQM)?
- "The concept of Total Quality Management TQM is fantastic which involves the people, examine their work flow and develop ways to improve the output, thus eliminating waste. By including staff and gathering input from everyone involved in a procedure, we are able to collectively examine the function purpose and...
- White papers 1996-12-01
- Total Quality Management
- From the executive summary: ‘Companies can improve the bottom line through better quality in several ways viz. lower costs through consistent quality, higher prices (through high-performance design), and greater market share through both consistent quality and high performance design.' The best way to maintain quality standards is to nip the...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Total Quality Management As A Cultural Phenomenon
- From the executive summary: ‘Total Quality Management TQM is defined as complete implementation of quality management principles and practices. As there is no such thing as a perfect implementation, the research results pertaining to TQM cannot be empirically validated nor do they directly provide any normative guidelines. The point, however,...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- The Philosophy Of Total Quality Management (TQM)
- From the executive summary: ‘The importance of quality to successfully compete in the marketplace is axiomatic. The question facing organizations is not whether to seek ever-higher quality, but how to most efficiently achieve it. Unfortunately, the answer rarely lies in a specific set of techniques or management practices. Organizations, in...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- The Need for Marketing and Total Quality Management Strategies in Libraries in Ghana
- The importance of marketing and total quality management in libraries is stressed in this paper. The paper views that the conditions which challenged libraries in developed countries to adopt marketing and total quality management strategies are very much prevalent in Ghana at present. It is not; however, clear if library...
- White papers 2002-04-14
- Total Quality Management - The Time Has Come for Metallurgical Plants
- The principles of quality management are well developed and, from a practical standpoint, thoroughly implemented in the process industries of Japan. Although these principles are now applied to the U.S. manufacturing industry, and as a result, the steel industry, they have been largely ignored in the non-ferrous and precious metals...
- White papers 2004-07-01
- Why Six Sigma Will Outlast Total Quality Management
- Six Sigma is not just a new term for Total Quality Management TQM. They have many similarities and are compatible in many business environments. TQM has brought great improvements and value to many companies. Six Sigma can do more. TQM is the development, deployment, and maintenance of systems related to...
- White papers
- Total Quality Management Master Plan: An Implementation Strategy
- Total Quality Management TQM is a structured system for meeting and exceeding customer needs and expectations by creating organization-wide participation in the planning and implementation of breakthrough and continuous improvement processes. It integrates with the business plan of the organization and can positively influence customer satisfaction and market share growth....
- White papers 2005-11-03
- Delaware ABC chapter establishes TQM program. (Associated Builders and Contractors, total quality management)
- The Delaware Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors worked with Anthony Costonis, a consultant with Corporate Development Services Inc of Lynnfield, MA, to create a total quality management TQM certification program. Large corporations in the arThe Delaware Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors worked with Anthony Costonis, a consultant with...
- Research articles 1994-03-28
- Why Corning breathes TQM. (total quality management)(interview with Corning Senior VP and Treasurer Sandra Helton)(Interview)
- Corning Sr. VP and Treas. Sandra Helton explains that total quality management TQM has long been a staple at her company and its finance department. When it was introduced to the department in 1983, the staff received it positively because she served onCorning Sr. VP and Treas. Sandra Helton explains...
- Research articles 1996-11-01