Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy in which the core focus is meeting the customers' needs and ensuring their satisfaction. Quality in all levels of the organization and reduction of waste are the key components. Implementing Total Quality Management must start at the top. Upper level executives must not only embrace the concepts of TQM? but must also be actively involved in promoting the customers' needs first.
Total Quality management is an important subject in modern management? and quality is a crucial prerequisite of survival of any kinds of businesses? it is one of the most important factors to lead a business's success or failure.
A TQM programme promotes "quality" as a strategic imperative. Comprehensive TQM programme requires re-evaluation how organizational members address the quality of their work and production /service processes.
Importance of Total Quality Management (TQM) at Executive Holloware
The quality is extremely important to Executive Holloware Ltd since:
Many of its products were aimed at supplying the top end of the market and commanded high prices.
Executive Holloware Ltd was engaged in producing home-used items? -- cutlery and tableware items? such as silver-plated tea sets? candelabras? and small items of giftware. Customers' flavor? interests and demands of these products tend to be more changeable than of other products? which require the company to be flexible enough so that they can respond to these changes and continuously satisfy customer demands.
The quality problems have caused a profit decrease. The main reason of the poor performance was the production inefficiencies.
Quality problems and underlying causes at Executive Holloware
The profit of Executive Holloware was disappointing compared with the company's profit performance over the previous ten years. Quality problems were causing a serious loss. The underlying causes of the “quality” problems at Executive Holloware were:
The Managing Director and other department's supervisors were not involved in quality management.
Its quality management only focused on the managing of inspection results? the process control was very weak.
There were no internal quality audits planned and preformed.
The company's products were dedicated-made and easily scratched? but there were no procedures controlled for handling? storage? packaging and delivery.
The employees' performance assessment and pay system were not quality-oriented? but quantity-oriented.
According to the situation and the difficult reality of implementing TQM? What Executive Holloware should do are:
Positive attitude towards quality. Managers at all levels and all staff must have a positive attitude towards quality to ensure that there is organization-wide commitment to the TQM philosophy and the tools and techniques of quality improvement.
At Executive Holloware Ltd? a lot of work needs to be done to change the attitude.
Leadership education and training. Managers in a leadership role must receive appropriate education and training in quality management principles and techniques. Without this it is difficult to envisage that managers can provide the vision and leadership necessary to change the culture of the organization.
Create awareness within the organization. Usually? companies start their quality initiative using a ...