Total Quality Management: Importance, Components, Pros & Cons

Quality is defined as conformance to requirements, not as ‘goodness’ or ‘elegance’.

- Crosby’s Principle

 

Quality is an essential term for all products and services. Total Quality Management abbreviated as TQM is the set of principles that is responsible for balancing the link between the customers and employees. In this blog, we will read a detailed note related to total quality management and its importance for the customers.

 

 

What is Total Quality Management?

 

The word TQM comprises three terms Total, Quality and Management. Let us expand each term separately,

 

Total: Total means including all.

 

Quality: Quality refers to excellence.

 

Management: Management is the art of maintaining and completing the task.

 

In simple words, total quality management or TQM is defined as a management approach to deliver long term product success and success satisfaction. In TQM all members of the organization work together to improve the processes, products, services and the culture of their workplace.

 

Thus, in scientific terms Total Quality Management is defined as a customer-oriented process. Total quality management aims at the regular enhancement of the business. TQM ensures that all components of the industry work together with a united goal to improve the quality of its services and products. 

 

Total quality management usually focuses on enhancing the production process and process of rendering of services. The whole process focuses on the performance to govern the progress of the organization.

 

Also Read | Statistical Quality Control

 

 

History of Total Quality Management

 

The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) was first given by W. Edwards Deming, A.V. Feigenbaum, and Joseph Juran. It was developed for the manufacturing section only, but nowadays, TQM is utilized by all the sectors of the industry, including its employees too. TQM is beneficial for both the organization as well as the customers.

 

Though, even when the term TQM was officially coined and its foundations were set. TQM has been utilized in the different stages of an organization. The process of TQM in organization can be identified by different processes such as Inspection, Quality Control, and Quality Assurance.

 

 

Philosophy of TQM

 

Different quality leaders have defined total quality management in different ways. The common points between the two are as follows:

 

1. Policing or inspection is never the right answer to quality improvement.

 

2. Quality always comes before the schedules.

 

3. For the commitment of quality, it is essential to involve the top management team and quality leaders.

 

4. A quality program requires organization-wide efforts and long-term commitment along with proper investment.

 

5. Quality management is always a cheaper thing to implement on the very first instance.

 

6. Performance measurement is measured in the cost of quality.

 

7. Quality is considered as an inherent characteristic of a product and not an added extra.

 

8. The performance standard while implementing quality management should be zero defects.

 

9. Prevention is always better than cure.

 

10. A good leader will always implement better quality standards.

 

Also Read | Stages of Product Life Cycle

 

Characteristics of Total Quality Management

 

The process of total quality management is characterized by some rigid features. The key identity elements of Total Quality Management are as follows:

 

1. Total quality management focuses on customer satisfaction and needs. Customers are the first priority for the TQM process.

 

2. An ideal TQM process involves 100% employee focus and dedication towards the organization.

 

3. An ideal TQM is a never-ending process.

 

4. TQM continuously works for the improvement of performance, speed, and features of the intermediate process of organization.

 

Principles of Total Quality Management

 

The Total Quality Process is a rigid and disciplined process. A minute error in organization can lead to a huge loss to the organization. The key principles of TQM are as follows:

 

1. Commitment from the partners.

 

2. Continuous improvement.

 

3. Employee empowerment.

 

4. Customer Focus.

 

 

Importance of Total Quality Management

 

As the name total quality management itself suggests that TQM is essential for implementing quality products and processes within the organization. Here are the other functions of TQM except quality delivery.

 

1. It establishes the product quality specifications and detailed specification of products.

 

2. It makes the written obligations and necessities of an intermediate process available for the employees, easing the entire process for them.

 

3. The principles of TQM help in characterizing the material quality designs and approval guidelines.

 

4. TQM also helps in infrastructure design and construction. It also helps in the selection of efficient equipment.

 

5. TQM also provides proper training to the employees ensuring them to discharge their duty in a proper manner.

 

6. TQM principles also control the shipping and handling of products using inventory control systems.

 

7. Quality assurance and quality control are the prime functions of total quality management.

 

8. TQM allows the organization to approve the services only after assessing and being assured that the entire process has been completed in a satisfactory manner.

 

9. TQM balances a healthy environment between the employees and the organization.

 

10. TQM serves the sensitive needs of customers and makes the industries respond to the complaints and needs of the customers.

 

Also Read | Product Management Process

 

 

Primary Components of Total Quality Management

 

Total quality management is summarized as a customer-oriented management system. A system that employs strategies, data, discipline, and effective communication just to improve the growth of an organization in a continual approach.

 

The key components of Total Quality Management are as follows:

---

Primary components of TQM

---

1. Customer Focused

 

It is ultimately the customer who defines the worth of an organization. The benchmark of a brand is ultimately set up by the customers. All the efforts of the employee and organization are governed and validated by the customers only. Hence, it is important for the organization to identify its variety of customers and their needs.

 

2. Total Employee Involvement

 

For any successful company’s growth, it is essential for employees to be faithful and dedicated towards the company’s and its name. all employees of the organization should work with a common approach and goal. 

 

Total employee commitment and dedication can be obtained only when an organization provides them with a proper culture and healthy work environment.

 

3. Process-Centered

 

Total quality management is a process centered process. It involves technical thinking. A TQM process is a series of steps. It takes inputs from suppliers and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to its customers. 

 

A TQM process needs to be well-defined. The performance measures of the process need to be continuously monitored to avoid unexpected variation.

 

4. Integrated System

 

TQM is an integrated work approach. An organization consists of different departments and functional units. These units are usually horizontally connected to each other. 

 

Total quality management executes the role in an integrated way. It combines up all the small and large processes. Integrated system helps the organization to achieve excellence in its products.

 

5. Strategic and systematic approach

 

Systemic approach is a critical part of the management quality. A strategic and systematic approach helps the organization to achieve excellence and deliver its target.  Strategic development helps in achieving the vision, missions, and goals of the industry. It helps in developing quality as the core component of the process.

 

6. Continuous Improvement

 

Continuous improvement is the core element of total quality management. Quality is a never-ending process. It builds the organization in both analytics and strategic management. Continuous improvement brings competitiveness in the market and helps in meeting expectations of the stakeholders and customers.

 

7. Fact-based Decision Making

 

Total quality management helps the organization to participate in logical and technical decision making. Logical decision making further assists the organization to take accurate performance measures against the data and process. It helps in improving the accuracy and precision in targets.

 

8. Lag-free Communications

 

To facilitate total quality management, lag-free communication between the different components and departments of industry is essential. Communication plays a large role in maintaining effective communication, bringing timeliness in the project delivery and motivating employees at all levels.

 

Also Read | Production Management

 

Working and Example of Total Quality Management

 

In a pharmaceutical industry the principle of total quality management is implemented at different level in following ways:

 

1. Handling of containers: The container should be opened carefully in an approved manner. And, highly sensitive material should be handled in separate production areas. For example, penicillin and cephalosporins. 

 

The manufacturing region of API should be sterilized and isolated from the other area. Handling of all containers takes place in such a way to avoid contamination.

 

2. Storage of material: The storage material should be revised at regular intervals. Storage facilities should be designed in such a way that it doesn’t compromise the quality of the pharmaceutical products. 

 

It should be clean, tidy and pest free. Different drugs require different criteria of storage, and it is essential to follow it to preserve the quality.

 

3. Packaging of containers: Organization should ensure the correct packaging material for packing purpose. The packaging material should not react with the raw material or API used in the product, else it will destroy the quality of products and will make it vulnerable for the customers too. 

 

The packing label should be durable and provide sufficient information for the identification and usage of the product.

 

4. Facilities and equipment: The location and construction should be well-defined. It should be free from contamination and population. The surface of apparatus and equipment should be in such a way that it doesn’t react with the API decreasing its therapeutic effect and actions.

 

5. Sterile area: The entire campus of a pharmaceutical industry should be a sterile area with no or zero contamination. The personnel suffering from an infection disease like lesions should be distanced from the production area to avoid quality compromise. 

 

Activities like smoking, drinking, eating or chewing are strictly avoided in production and packing regions to keep the quality check under control.

 

6. Labeling of containers: Each pharmaceutical label is filled with the name of the chemical used, batch code, expiry, manufacturing and other important details. This makes the understanding of the product essential for both the customers and producers.

 

7. Computerized systems: Employment of computerized systems in the pharmaceutical industry helps in maintaining the data integrity and data ethics within the organization. 

 

Computer system of the industries should be designed and formulated in such a way that it operates in an efficient way and prevents unauthorized entries or changes to the program. There should always be a second level check to verify the data details. The system also possesses some back-up systems.

 

Also Read | Inventory Management

 

 

Pros and Cons of Total Quality Management (TQM)

 

The merits and demerits of TQM are summed up as:

 

Advantages of Total Quality Management

 

1. Minimize the possibility of errors.

 

2. Improves the reputation faults.

 

3. Spot and solve the problems at a quicker speed.

 

4. Higher employee morale workers.

 

5. Motivate the extra responsibility, team work, and decision-making within the organization.

 

6. Cost and time optimization.

 

7. Satisfied customers and quality.

 

 

Disadvantages of Total Quality Management

 

 

1. Implementation of total quality management is higher.

 

2. Workers are not ready to bring the change.

 

3. It takes more than a few years to see the changes in the organization.

 

Also Read | Business Process Mapping

 

Overall, implementing quality management is an essential thing for all kinds of organizations despite its size and level as it will return the industry more profits, high reach, versatile audience and satisfied customers.