TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management

Introduction

TQM (Total Quality Management) is a management approach focused on quality and based on the participation of all members of an organization in order to obtain a long-term success through customer satisfaction and benefits that are granted in favor of workers and the society. This describes the culture, attitude and process within an organization that promotes the best quality products and services to customers as they aim to satisfy their desires. This means that there is a requirement of quality in all the areas of operations in the company, with the different process perfectly executed the first time and wastage removed from operations (Arditi & Gunaydin, 1997, pp. 235-243).

Total quality management process actively involves the employees and management for the constant improvement in the production of goods and services. This process combines the management tools and the quality measures that are focused on reduction of losses due to wasteful actions. It integrates all the different functions including design, engineering, production, customer service and finance and looks at the organizational objectives as a whole (Harrington &Wiggin, 2012, p. 352 - 362).

However, it has been argues that the major difficulty that prevents the wide acceptance and implementation of Total Quality management in the sector of construction is the hindrance by conventional practices. For instance, the projects bids are evaluated on traditional basis with intense emphasis on price. It is the traditional practice in construction industry that the clients general opt for the contractors on the basis of lowest price without considering its past experiences, present workload and quality reputation. In this situation the contractors do not have any benefit for adopting TQM. Therefore, it is stated that total quality management is only viable for industries that are less dependent on price. In this paper we will analyze this statement with respect to critical analysis of TQM in construction sectors and other sectors as well (Harrington &Wiggin, 2012, p. 352 - 362).

Discussion

It is important to note that by adopting TQM in a company, results are not always done instantaneously. Instead, it involves the time to set up the environment. This needs an organizational change that would change the culture, priorities, processes and beliefs of an organization. Top management must be able to get involved as well as create a sense of importance of the system among the employees. TQM in construction companies may be long and arduous in a construction company, but still, the TQM can help simplify things (Stoner, 2003, pp. 237-247).

TQM is the process that is implemented in each area of the business, from production to purchasing. This is definitely not a fad but an important tool to improve business quality and increase customer satisfaction. The culture of TQM must be familiarized by its employees so that there is an agreement on this. However, most of the time, the professionals in the construction industry are not particularly aware of the advantages of TQM (Stoner, 2003, pp. 237-247).



Therefore, we can state that Total Quality ...