Solved: Is TQM an extension of the way in which quality_related practices have progressed?

Total Quality Management(TQM) is a philosophy of integrated quality management which requires every member of the staff to be committed to highest quality standards by invoving in improvement initiatives and practices.

The seven fundementals of Total Quality Management(TQM) include –

Customer centricity – This ensures focus on customers, their requirements and changing needs and standards to which the firm should cater to.

Continuous improvement – This requires the management and employees to continuously work towards improvement of the processes, products, services etc. by reducing the percentage of defects and defectives.

Decision making – The decision making should be fact and metric based. There should be an in-depth analysis to ensure the correct alternative is selected.

Integrated system – TQM requires the systems to be integrated to ensure proper communication and collaboration between systems happen to ensure there are no gaps

Involvement of employees – Employee involvement is critical in taking up strategic initiatives to improve quality. Employees can be a part of TQM by focusing on the improvement of the processes.

Quality as a long-term investment – Quality Management needs to be considered as a long-term investment by being proactive rather than as a short-term fix i.e. being reactive.

Process orientation – Processes are critical to a firm’s success as processes produce products and they need to be effective to avoid any defects in the products.Hence, it is imperative to identify weak business processes and work towards their improvement.