Total Quality Management

William M. Norton
MIS 462 - Systems Design, Implementation and Project Management
October 25, 2005

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION............................................... 3
DEFINING QUALITY........................................... 3
Nine Dimensions of Quality............................ 4
Brief History of Quality.............................. 6
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT................................... 7
What is TQM?.......................................... 7
Vision and Organization-Wide Support.................. 8
The TQM Way........................................... 9
TQM STATISTICAL TOOLS with examples........................ 13
Flow Chart............................................ 13
Scatter Diagram....................................... 14
Histogram............................................. 15
Cause and Effect Diagram.............................. 15
Pareto Diagram........................................ 16
CONCLUSION................................................. 17
REFERENCES................................................. 19

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INTRODUCTION
One may notice the term quality interwoven in just about
every television and print advertisement.

Online and brick and

mortar retail stores use the term to describe virtually every

product sold.

For example, typical advertisements may read:

buy our high-quality HDTVs, top-quality LCS monitors, and

superior-quality car stereo systems.

And the list goes on and

on. But quality is much more than a punch line for sales and
marketing
service

advertisements.
means

satisfaction.

the

Developing

organization

is

quality

committed

product

to

or

customer

Moreover, quality can serve as a measure of

success; determining in part whether an organization can compete

with rivals by offering high quality products and services at a
reasonable price to the consumer.

DEFINING QUALITY
But what is quality? Is it something tangible or is it
something

perceived?

customers

will

give

If

asked

varied

to

answers.

define
Some

what
may

quality
assert

quality is having a great product that meets their needs.

is,
that

While

others may posit that a quality product is one that is more

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expensive but will last a long time. In our society, these are
generally

accepted

definitions

as

to

what

defines

quality.

Dale E. Besterfield (2001) agrees with these assertions.

He

points out that when customers think of quality they usually

think of it in terms of an excellent product or service. He
[Besterfield] further points out that when a product surpasses
our expectations we consider that quality (Besterfield, 2001,
p. 1).

NINE DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY

Besterfield

(2001)

defines

nine

dimensions

of

quality.

They are:

Performance

Reliability

Response

Features

Durability

Aesthetics

Conformance

Service

Reputation

 Performance

refers

characteristics

to

such

as

primary
display

product

resolution,

speed, bandwidth, etc.

 Features

refer

to

secondary

product

characteristics such as remote access, remote

control, extended warranty, etc.

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 Conformance

is

meeting

specifications

from

customers or industry.
 Reliability
(MTBF).

is

mean

time

between

failures

How long will the product last before

it fails?
 Durability
product.

refers

to

the

useful

life

of

For instance, automobiles have wear

and tear durability and after so many useful

miles, an automobile may require repair.
 Service

is

referring

to

the

ease

to

which

something can be repaired or serviced.

 Response

is

interface.

defined

as

the

human-to-human

For example, how friendly a sales

representative is to the customers.

 Aesthetics
looks.

is

referring

to

how

the

product

For instance, the painted finish on a

piece of furniture.
 Reputation is concerned with past performance,
such as being ranked number one in customer
service.

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It is important to understand that these nine dimensions of
quality are independent of each other.

More specifically, a

product or service can excel in one dimension and be average in

another

(Besterfield,

responsibility
organization

to

2001,

determine

should

aim

to

p.

2).

which
excel

It

is

quality
in.

managements

dimensions

For

the

example,

Dell

(www.dell.com, 2005) computer distribution company prides itself

on

provided

high-performance

prices.

Dell

customer

service

performance

also

prides

and

products

computers
itself

support.
coupled

on

Dells

with

at
its

very

standard-setting

offering

top-notch

competitive

of

customer

highservice

creates a competitive advantage which increases the likelihood

that Dell will survive for many years to come.

Brief History of Quality

In the past, the idea of quality was primarily controlled
by the guilds.
controlled
guilds.

by

Besterfield (2001) explains that quality was

the

long

periods

of

training

required

by

the

This long period of guild training instilled pride in

workers for quality of product (Besterfield, 2001, p. 3).

During the Industrial Revolution however, specialization of
labor was introduced and as a result, the worker no longer built
the entire product but only a portion of it.

This fragmented

assembly process decreased product cost but at the same time

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increasing defect rates.
inspect

products

2001, p. 3).
system

that

costs,

and

fulfilled

more

As a result, it became necessary to

closely

after

manufacture

(Besterfield,

The need arose for a system of quality control; a

could

ensure

increase

by

the

product

customer

concepts

quality,

lower

satisfaction.

and

techniques

development

That

offered

need

by

was
Total

Quality Management (TQM) system.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

In every organization today, there must be some form of
quality

control

program

in

program

ensures

high-quality

place.

good

products

produced

quality

control

efficiently

as

possible. One such program is Total Quality Management or TQM.

Tiffany A Koszalka (2005) writes that TQM activities should be
implemented

to

increase

productivity

of

the

organization,

quality, effectiveness of all efforts, and efficiency.

So this

brings us to the question: what is Total Quality Management?

What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

Total

Quality

Management

is

way

of

doing

business.

Besterfield (2001) points out that TQM is both a philosophy and

a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a
continuously improving organization.
of

TQM

is

to

provide

quality

The fundamental purpose

product

or

service

to

the

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customer, which will, in turn, provide increased productivity
and

lower

cost

(Besterfield,

2001,

p.

22).

Furthermore,

TQM

forces companies to move towards continuous improvement to match

customer

needs

and

provide

unmatched

customer

value

(Isaac,

2004, p. 309). In order to stay competitive, an organization

must consider adopting newer business concepts. Koszalka (2005)
lists several tenets of TQM that must be adopted in order for
TQM to work.

They are:

There must be a common quality vision.

There

must

be

commitment

to

organizing

for

quality.

There

must

be

dedication

to

continuous

improvement.

Quality

is

everyones

responsibility

not

just

quality control and the CEO.

People who work with the system know more about
the system thus they should be consulted when a
process is being analyzed.

Common Vision and Organization-Wide Support

Implementing a TQM program in any organization requires a
common vision and support from all employees.
Total

Quality

Management

to

be

successful

In order for
within

an

organization, there must first be acceptance from senior-level

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management.

Koszalka (2005) asserts that top management must

establish that total quality [TQM] is a top-priority.

With out

senior-level management support, a TQM program is dead in the

water.

For instance, while I was a test engineering technician

at Allied Signal Aerospace production facility in Cheshire, CT,

middle-management
Leadership/Total

attempted
Quality

to

implement

Management

(TQL/TQM)

first seeking upper-management blessing.

Total

Quality

program

without

Because of this lack

of blessing from upper-management, the program got off to a

very

rocky

start.

Upper-management

consisted

of

mature

businessmen who were mentored during the Industrial Revolutions

our way or the highway mindset.

They [upper-management] had

great confidence in the traditional methods of doing business

and could not and would not entertain the need to change or
adopt newer methods.

The TQM Way

As

stated

earlier

continuous improvement.
be

utilized

for

organization.
formalized
improvement

or

process.

in

forces

companies

to

move

towards

This continuous improvement concept can

every

But

steps

TQM

function
order

phases

to

should

Besterfield

and

process

improve
be

upon

taken

(2001)

to

lists

within
a

an

process,

manage
and

describes each phase within a problem-solving methodology.

the

briefly

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These phases are:

1. Identify the opportunity

2. Analyze the current process.
3. Develop the optimal solution(s).
4. Implement changes.
5. Study the results.
6. Standardize the solution.
7. Plan for the future.

Identifying

the

problem

is

fundamental

where improvement or correction is required.

step

because

negative

if

the

problem

results

may

occur.

is
In

not

to

any

This is a crucial

correctly

other

situation

words,

identified,
incorrectly

identifying the problem may result in providing a good solution

to the wrong problem (Marakas, 2003, p. 37).
Analyzing

the

current

process

or

processes

implies

understanding the process and how it works (Besterfield, 2001,

p. 45).

As stated earlier, one of the tenets of TQM is people

who work with the system know more about the system thus they
should be consulted when a process is being analyzed.

In order

to understand a process or system of processes, management must

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consult with the personnel that work with the system on a daily
basis. Nuts and bolts level employees are a source of valuable
information
process.

and

can

provide

unique

insight

to

improving

Disregarding this potential source of information may

prove to be a mistake.
Developing

the

optimal

solution

involves

selecting

an

effective solution from a set of feasible alternatives (Marakas,

2003, p. 37).

With process improvement, there are three paths

the investigative team can go: (1) create a new process that
supersedes the existing process (2) combine different processes,
or (3) modify the existing process (Besterfield, 2001, p. 47).
Once the solution has been chosen, evaluation of the solution is
the next step.
Implementing
implementation
implementing
48).

the
plan,

the

process

changes
obtaining

entails
approval,

improvements

preparing
and

(Besterfield,

the

actually
2001,

p.

However, implementing a change to a process is not without

uncertainties.

As Marakas (2003) points out uncertainties are

situations that are beyond the control of the decision maker.

So, in order to reduce uncertainties the implementation plan
must fully describe:
1. Why will it [the solution] be done?
2. How will it be done?
3. When will it be done?

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4. Who will do it?
5. Where will it be done?
Studying

the

results

requires

measurements

to

be

taken.

Tools such as Pareto diagrams and histograms should be employed

to monitor and evaluate the process change, making adjustments
when necessary (Besterfield, 2001, p. 49).
Once the team is satisfied with the results of the process
change, it must be formalized.
place

of

employment

when

For example, at my previous

process

change

was

formalized,

process documents required permanent red lining, operational

level management needed to be made aware of the change, and
operators required training in the new process.

This can be a

daunting task but properly documenting the change coupled with

adequate training is crucial to ensure successful transition to
the new process.
The objective of future planning is to achieve improved
levels of process performance (Besterfield, 2001, p. 49). As
mentioned

previously,

TQM

involves

continuous

improvement.

Continuous improvement means not being satisfied with doing a

good job or process but striving to improve that job or process
(Besterfield, 2001, p. 50).

Management must continue to forge

ahead,

to

seeking

processes.

new

ways

improve

upon

organizational

The ultimate goal of continuous improvement is the

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attainment

of

near

perfection

thus

ensuring

long-term

survivability.

TQM STATISTICAL TOOLS

TQM relies heavily on statistical tools and techniques to
improve

processes

within

an

organization.

As

discussed

in

preceding paragraphs, analyzing the results of a process change

requires taking measurements.

Some of the more popular tools

for capturing and analyzing measurements data are flow charts,

scatter

diagrams,

histograms,

Pareto analysis diagrams.

application,

so

cause

and

effect

diagrams,

and

Each of these tools has a different

understanding

the

type

of

information

each

provides is crucial.

Flow Chart
A

flow

interaction

chart
with

is

people

diagram
that

that

work

shows

involves.

the
A

travel
flow

and

chart

documents the process, shows who is responsible for each step,

and who the internal/external customer is (Winston, 1997, p.
106). Please see figure 1 below for an example of a flow chart.

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Figure 1. System Flowchart.

Scatter Diagrams
Scatter

diagrams

helps

us

recognize

relationships (Winston, 1997, p. 106).

this

simplest

way

to

determine

&

understand

causal

Scatter diagrams are

if

cause-and-effect

relationship exists between two variables (Besterfield, 2001,

p. 82).

Please refer to figure 2 for an example of a scatter

diagram.

Figure 2. Scatter Diagram

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Histograms
A histogram is a chart showing the number of occurrences
in

rank

order

(Winston,

1997,

p.

110).

The

purpose

of

histogram is to provide information describing variation in a

process, and suggests the shape of the population indicating
whether there are gaps in the data (Besterfield, 2001, p. 86).
Please refer to figure 3 for an example of a histogram.

Figure 3. Histogram.

Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
Cause and effect diagrams are graphic outlines of probable
causes

of

Besterfield

problems
(2001),

(Winston,

1997,

cause-and-effect

p.

111).

diagrams

According
are

used

to
to

investigate either a bad effect and to take action to correct

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the

causes

responsible.

or

good

effect

and

to

learn

those

causes

Please see figure 4 for an example of a cause-and-

effect diagram.

Figure 4. C & E diagram.

Pareto Diagrams
Lastly,

Pareto

diagrams

are

used

to

rank

data

classifications in descending order from left to right.

They

are used primarily as a means to identify the most important

problems (Besterfield, 2001, p. 74).
for an example of a Pareto diagram.

Please refer to figure 5

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Figure 5. Pareto Diagram.

CONCLUSION
In todays world of ever-increasing consumer demand, dense
competition, and globalization, companies need to ensure that an
effective quality program is in place.

Consumers are demanding

more and more that products meet high-levels of performance and

reliability

but

at

the

same

time

remain

cost-effective.

In

order for companies to meet these demands, a continuous process

improvement mentality must be adopted.
(TQM)

provides

for

continuous

methodological steps.
factual
process.

data

to

Total Quality Management

improvement

through

formalized,

TQM utilizes statistical tools to analyze

reveal

truths

as

to

the

effectiveness

of

In order for TQM to work however, organizational-wide

adoption must take place.

This adoption should start at the

executive-level of the company and trickle down to the front-

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pine employee.

Through training, patience and determination TQM

can transform a mediocre company into a world class enterprise.

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References

Besterfield,

D.

(2001).

Quality

control.

6th

ed.

Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Isaac,

G.,

Rajendran,

C.,

&

Anantheraman

R.

(2004).

conceptual framework for total quality management in software

organizations. Total Quality Management, 15(3), 307-344.
Marakas, G. (2003). Decision support systems, in the 21st
century. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Koszalka, T. A. (n.d.). Tqm. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2005, from
http://soeweb.syr.edu/Faculty/takoszal/TQM.html.
Winston, B. (1997). Total quality management, a heartfelt
approach to doing things right. 1997 ed.: Regent University,
School of Business.