Quality strategy
Overcoming The Barriers In Implementing TQM and Sustaining The Success Through Continuous Quality Improvement – Deming’s 14 Points Revisited
Dr. R. Jagadeesh
Abstract
Total Quality Management (TQM) became a popular buzzword during the last three decades and is considered to be the globally accepted success formula across the organizations. A number of success stories have been well documented in literature and widely circulated to spread the spirit and practice of TQM. While many organizations have reported success through TQM implementation as seen by the variety of outcomes and benefits, there are also discordant notes about TQM. These usually include “failure” of TQM which has resulted in abandoning of the TQM projects. This paper examines how TQM can be successfully implemented and further tries to throw light on sustaining the spirit and practice of TQM. It also provides insight as why the TQM practice need to be sustained and reviews the usual practice of quickly moving on to other techniques without clear reasons.
Deming’s 14 points published several decades ago and discussed and debated worldwide are again highlighted in this paper for their capacity to answer the questions about TQM. While these 14 points per se are not originally advocated as part of TQM, they share a common task of quality improvement. A critical analysis and appreciation of Deming’s 14 points can thus have a wonderful impact in understanding and implementing TQM across the organizations. While companies do realize the benefits of various quality improvement techniques, the tendency to jump to new tools and techniques is commonly observed. This leads to a conclusion albeit wrong, that the existing techniques are either incapable or not worth continuing. This kind of a generalization makes it imperative to adopt new techniques rapidly in succession wasting costly resources and ending up with unsatisfactory results. Hence sustaining the spirit of TQM is strongly emphasized in
Dr. R. Jagadeesh
Abstract
Total Quality Management (TQM) became a popular buzzword during the last three decades and is considered to be the globally accepted success formula across the organizations. A number of success stories have been well documented in literature and widely circulated to spread the spirit and practice of TQM. While many organizations have reported success through TQM implementation as seen by the variety of outcomes and benefits, there are also discordant notes about TQM. These usually include “failure” of TQM which has resulted in abandoning of the TQM projects. This paper examines how TQM can be successfully implemented and further tries to throw light on sustaining the spirit and practice of TQM. It also provides insight as why the TQM practice need to be sustained and reviews the usual practice of quickly moving on to other techniques without clear reasons.
Deming’s 14 points published several decades ago and discussed and debated worldwide are again highlighted in this paper for their capacity to answer the questions about TQM. While these 14 points per se are not originally advocated as part of TQM, they share a common task of quality improvement. A critical analysis and appreciation of Deming’s 14 points can thus have a wonderful impact in understanding and implementing TQM across the organizations. While companies do realize the benefits of various quality improvement techniques, the tendency to jump to new tools and techniques is commonly observed. This leads to a conclusion albeit wrong, that the existing techniques are either incapable or not worth continuing. This kind of a generalization makes it imperative to adopt new techniques rapidly in succession wasting costly resources and ending up with unsatisfactory results. Hence sustaining the spirit of TQM is strongly emphasized in
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