Meaning of Total Quality Management (TQM) Total quality management (TQM) is defined as “managing the entire organization so that it excels in all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer.” As the definition states, this philosophy concentrates on quality as a primary component of the organization’s drive for competitive advantage. Marketing decision-making is directly effected by such a system because quality is a component of product/service design and can be an important decision-making criterion employed by potential buyers. The TQM model goes beyond product and service quality, however, and suggests that a highly structured system of management that emphasizes mechanisms like control and punitive action which stifles people and ultimately hinders an organization’s attempt to produce quality products and services. Rather, the organization that views all its employees as critical, creative resources will be much better able to pursue quality in every activity and through every Continue reading
Quality Management
Analyzing Toyota’s Recipe for Success – The Toyota Way
The fundamental reason for Toyota’s success in the global marketplace lies in the so called “Toyota way”. The Toyota Way is not only about technology and efficiency, it is about doing the right thing for the company, its employees, the customer and the society as a whole. In other words, the incredible success of the Toyota way is a direct result of operational excellence. Toyota has turned operational excellence into a strategic weapon. This operational excellence is only in part based on tools and quality improvement methods made famous by Toyota in the manufacturing world, such as JIT, Kaizen, and one-piece-flow. Although such techniques helped spawn the “lean manufacturing” revolution, tools and techniques are no secret weapon for transforming a business. Toyota’s continued success at implementing this tools stems from a deeper business philosophy based on its understanding of people and human motivation. Its success is ultimately based on its Continue reading
The Toyota Production System (TPS) – Meaning and Methods
A key success factor that enabled Toyota to become the world’s most successful automobile company is its famous manufacturing method, the so called Toyota Production System (TPS). The evolution of the Toyota production system approach can be traced to the period immediately following the second world war when the economic outlook was uncertain and human, natural and capital resources were in limited supply. Against this background, the most important objective of the Toyota System has been to increase production efficiency by consistently and thoroughly eliminating waste. This concept developed between 1948 and 1975 by Toyota’s former president Toyoda Kiichiro and later by Ohno Taiichi and Eiji Toyoda represents a highly efficient production system that is similar to that of Henry Ford several decades earlier, although Toyota’s approach to both product development and distribution proved to be much more consumer-friendly and market-driven. The main objective of TPS is to produce goods Continue reading
Seven Management and Planning Tools
Competition level within every industry is constantly growing and businesses try to find any possible ways to improve quality of products and services. However, quality is quite a complex concept that can be viewed as a measure of perfection. Quality improvement leads to a perfect product that is meant to satisfy the customer. In the early 1980s, the seven management and planning tools were designed as major tools for effective planning and management of processes, which are above the quality operation. They are as follows: 1. Affinity Diagrams The first of the tools in the list is Affinity diagrams. The affinity diagram is a visual brainstorming instrument that can be used to categorize various facts and data, ideas and opinions by a proximity factor. It is especially useful for the purpose of systematization of big data into groups and categories, according to some forms of affinity. In its own turn, Continue reading
Important Aspects of Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy that supports the process of continuous improvement within an organization and where total emphasis is placed on the customer. In the socioeconomic viewpoint, TQM defines the customer as all members of society and facets of environment that interact with the activities of the company. TQM is also defined as a set of management practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceeds customer requirements. The goal of TQM philosophy is – “Do the right things right the first time, every time.” One of the principal aims of TQM is to limit errors to 1 per 1 million units produced. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a significant advance over traditional Quality Control (QC) programs. Traditional QC concerns itself with the number of final items found defective, replacing them with good items, or else negotiating the predicted failures into a supply Continue reading
Literature Review – Quality Management Systems
According to various authors, quality improvement and management has become a subject of great importance in organisations. Quality Management focuses on the overall process of a system rather than just concentrating on results, it is the determination and implementation of the quality policy with regard to the organisation. Many organisations throughout the world have started to realize the potential it holds for them and have therefore adopted new philosophies focused on quality management rather than just being focused on the end results. Some organisations already implementing the ISO 9001 Quality Management System are wondering is it worth maintaining and what significance does it hold for the company? Empirical studies have shown that Quality Management does indeed have a positive effect on the various business functions (Piskar & Dolinsek, 2006) and therefore calls for a deeper look. The empirical studies were undertaken through questionnaires during 2002 in Slovenia. 212 Companies that Continue reading