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Total quality mapping a TQM strategy.

Article Excerpt
[check] This checklist provides guidance on mapping a strategy for total quality management (TQM) for those seeking to introduce TQM to the organisation for the first time. A quality strategy combines the 'hard' edge of quality (its tools and techniques) with its 'soft' side: the cultural changes you will need to achieve success. It is not just another management gimmick: it is a way of life.

The checklist is intended only as an aid to your initial thinking. Introducing TQM is a major strategic change which will require considerable research and planning. You are likely to need external advice or help to implement it.

Definition

TQM is a style of managing which gives everyone in the organisation responsibility for delivering quality to the final customer, quality being described as 'fitness for purpose' or as 'delighting the customer'. TQM views each task in the organisation as fundamentally a process which is in a customer/supplier relationship with the next process. The aim at each stage is to define and meet the customer's requirements in order to maximise the satisfaction of the final consumer at the lowest possible cost.

Advantages of TQM

* It significantly improves the quality of the final product or service.

* There is a major decrease in wasted resources.

* There...

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