Total quality management (TQM) means different things to different people. An operations management person may associate it with a modern management approach adapted to cope with the recent and acute worldwide quality management problem; a quality management person may emphasize the quality origins of TQM and describe it as the climax of the stepwise evolution of quality-oriented schemes and techniques; and a production person may see it as yet another manifestation of improved productivity. In fact, the reality is that TQM partakes of all these cases.

In the USA, the quality movement developed through three stages, inspection, statistical quality control and quality assurance, the latter leading ultimately to the zero defects movement. Meanwhile in Japan, organizations using the early theories of Deming and Juran began developing the quality organization. At the core of this new philosophy was the concept of continuous improvement (known as kaizen in Japan). This implies not only a set of techniques but also a cultural change within the company; the phrase 'total quality management' implies total commitment on the part of the firm. In particular this requires participation by the human resource function to motivate and train employees, and the information function, to ensure that relevant information is quickly disseminated.

Dissemination of the TQM concept has been very rapid, reaching industry, research, education and healthcare. Managers seeking solutions to organizational problems often adopted TQM as a cure-all or panacea. There have been many successes for organizations using TQM, but there have also been many failures.

Miryam Barad