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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5-page paper provides an overview of total quality management. Also included are some examples of TQM implementation. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AS43_MTovervtqm.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
(which is why many companies have problems when it comes to implementing quality programs). Stark (1998), for example, defines TQM as an "approach to the art of management" in which
an organization is geared toward ensuring that the companys operations are quality all the way through, with the end result being satisfied customers. Aspects of quality under this definition include
(but arent limited to) top-management leadership, continuous improvement, fast response, employee participation at all levels and zero-defect tolerance (Stark, 1998). Khodier (2010), in the meantime, points out that TQM is
a management system geared toward a customer focus, which involves all employees when it comes to continuous improvement in all facets of a company. Basically, under this definition, total quality
management has the following principles: customer focus; total employee involvement; process centered; integrated system; a strategic approach that has quality as a main component; decisions that are based on fact;
and communication (Khodier, 2010). This latter is extremely important, as the methods need to be crystal clear to all employees, and must be communicated in a timely fashion.
As we can see just from these two definitions, TQM doesnt necessarily have a standard definition. There are a few words that transcend the
many definitions out there, however; such as continuous improvement, customer focus and employee involvement. Most TQM gurus also acknowledge that this concept got its start by Edward Deming through his
Fourteen Points of Management, which he introduced into the United States in the 1950s to a business community that didnt care less, then brought it to Japan, which eagerly lapped
it up. Deming then re-introduced his Fourteen Points in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Some of these points look familiar; such as stopping mass inspections (the process should prevent defects
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