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International Journal of Applied Quality Management

Volume 2 Issue 2 Special Edition

TQM Critical Factors:

The Recipe for Successful Implementation

TQM: Theoretical Insights

Part 1

Dr. A. Al Nofal
Research Associate

Dr. N. Al Omaim
Research Associate

Prof. M. Zairi
European Centre for TQM

ISSN 1742-2647

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International Journal of Applied Quality Management: Volume 2 Issue 2

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to provide on overview of the literature on TQM. The
literature review tries to cover a complete framing for various matters. The focus is
mainly on the fundamentals of TQM with special stress on what are described as the
essentials of TQM. The paper is presented in three parts: firstly, it discusses the
development of TQM, with the ideas of changing definitions; secondly, it looks at
various models of TQM and the quality gurus, stressing the evolution of the concept;
and finally, it concludes by synthesizing the information in the literature into a
coherent framework in an attempt to portray the key principles and components of
TQM. Part 1 specifically presents a theoretical understanding on the origins and
definitions of TQM, the work of the gurus and models proposed by gurus, experts
and consultant.

Key Words: Total Quality Management, Deming, Juran, Crosby, Critical Factors,
Leadership

Development of TQM

The evolution and development of TQM from a historical perspective can be

examined. For example, Martinez-Lorente et al. (1998) have listed all the important
events in the development of TQM from the 1924 to 1987. In the past eight decades,
the concept of TQM has undergone many changes (Nwabueze, 2001). For example,
in 1950, Juran produced the first edition of the produced Quality Control Handbook.
After ten years, Feigenbaum produced the first edition of Total Quality Control in
1961. In the mid-1970s, quality circles began to be widely introduced in the USA.
Crosby’s Quality is free was produced in 1979. Then Deming’s Out of the Crisis
became the bestseller in 1985. The publication of the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award started in 1987. All these give us a clear picture of the development of
TQM. Before we start discussing the contribution of the quality gurus, let’s first
examine the definition of the term TQM (Leitner, 1999) and Table 1 presents details.

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Table 1: Important events in development of TQM

Source: Based on Martinez-Lorente et al. (1998)

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International Journal of Applied Quality Management: Volume 2 Issue 2

Conceptualisation of Quality

The concept of “quality” is subjective, meaning different things to different people.

This leads to different definitions, none of which is universally accepted, despite
considerable attention in the literature. One important point to note is that quality is a
multidimensional concept. The definition of quality depends largely on the orientation
of the individual involved. As Reeves and Bednar, (1994) point out, no single
definition of quality fits every situation with respect to measurement, generalizability,
usefulness to management, and relevance to customers. Garvin (1984, 1987)
describes the multidimensional nature of quality by defining a system of five bases
and eight dimensions. The five bases are: -

1. transcendental,
2. product,
3. user,
4. manufacturing,
5. value.

The eight dimensions are:-

1. performance,
2. features,
3. reliability,
4. conformance,
5. durability,
6. serviceability,
7. aesthetically,
8. perceived quality.

In addition to these manufacturing based dimensions, Parasuraman, et al. (1988)

identified a further set of dimensions as:

1. tangibility,
2. reliability,
3. responsiveness,
4. assurance,
5. empathy.

Some definitions of quality include:

• Something with the positive attribute of conformance to specified standards.

Conformance to requirements (Crosby 1979);
• A predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at a low cost with a
quality suited to the market (Deming 1986);
• Anything which can be improved.
• Avoidance of loss a product causes to society after being shipped other than
any losses caused by its intrinsic function (Taguchi1986);
• Product performance which results in customer satisfaction "fitness for
use"(Juran 1988);
• Total composite product and service characteristics of marketing,
engineering, manufacture and maintenance through which the product in use
will meet the expectation of the customers.

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All these definitions place satisfaction of customers’ needs and wants at the centre of
the concept of quality. Recently, quality has acquired a broader meaning to embrace
the satisfaction of both the internal and external customer (Dean and Bowen 1994).

Definition of TQM

The literature on TQM reveals that while there is general agreement on the
importance of quality management and on the broad basis in which it should be
managed, there is no such consensus on what quality management actually means
(Gehani, 1993; Dobyns and Crawford, 1991). Hill and Wilkinson (1995) argue that
TQM is a ‘notoriously imprecise term’. They indicated a number of reasons for this.
First, the original quality management “gurus” have been long on prescription but
short on analysis, and moreover, have differed amongst themselves. Second, is that
practitioners tend to use the term to describe a very wide range of practices. Third, is
that the intellectual origins and part of the theoretical basis of TQM derived from the
application of statistics to production management, are in contrast to most other
contributions to management theory, which derive from one of the social sciences
and have different applications (Grant et al., 1994).

Hill and Wilkinson (1995) made further important contributions to the debate about
the definition of TQM. One is that quality gurus have been disinclined ‘… to refer to
previous management literature or indeed to reference much outside the quality
management field’. Also, and more importantly, Wilkinson and Willmott (1995) say
that the academic establishment, business schools and academics specialising in
management, have been slow to get to grips with TQM, leaving the leading
advocates of quality management ‘… to enjoy a virtual monopoly over the
discussion’.

The available literature, however, suggests that there is now reasonable agreement
on the basic principles underlying TQM as a generic approach to the management of
organisations and on the range of techniques of implementation. In this regard, and
in an attempt to identify and define the basic elements of TQM, Hill and Wilkinson
(1995) perceive TQM as a way of managing or philosophising management by
drawing from work by Crosby (1979), Deming (1986), Feigenbaum (1993), and
Ishikawa (1985). In their opinion, TQM is now seen as a holistic and organisation-
wide approach based on three fundamental principles. These principles include:-

1. Customer orientation,
2. Process orientation,
3. Continuous improvement.

These three principles, as argued, are implemented in a specific manner and the
mode of implementation is itself a defining feature of TQM. Implementation is by
means of appropriate improvement tools, measurement systems and the processes
of management and organisation. Zairi and Youssef (1995) defined TQM as:

“A positive attempt by the organisation concerned to improve structural,

infrastructure, attitudinal, behavioural and methodological ways of delivering
to the end customer, with emphasis on consistency, improvements in quality,
competitive enhancements, all with the aim of satisfying or delighting the end
customer.”

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Oakland (1993; 2000) define TQM as an approach to improving the effectiveness

and flexibility of business as a whole through planning, organising, and
understanding each activity and involving everyone at each level.

Another way to look at TQM is to analyse the three words: total, quality and
management. According to Kanji (1990), quality means satisfying customers’
requirement continually. Total quality is to achieve quality at low cost. Total quality
management aims to obtain total quality by involving everyone’s daily commitment.

This emphasises that TQM is not just a programme or a group of specific techniques,
rather it is “a management approach” and a “culture”, which implies a shift in an
organisation’s collective thinking and operation (Sashkin and Kiser, 1992). Ross
(1999) regarded TQM as an integrated management philosophy and a set of
practices that emphasises, among other things:

1. Continuous improvement,
2. Meeting customer requirements,
3. Reducing rework,
4. Long-range thinking,
5. Increased employee involvement and teamwork,
6. Process redesign,
7. Competitive benchmarking,
8. Team-based problem-solving,
9. Constant measurement of results,
10. Closer relationships with suppliers.

TQM has evolved as an approach to quality that is now characterised in terms of an

integrated, systematic, organisation-wide strategy for improving product and service
quality (Saylor, 1996). Kruger (1999) referred to TQM as a universal business
strategy that is not culture-bound. It is equally applicable to manufacturing and
service industries, private and public organisations, structures of different sizes, and
to companies of any socio-cultural background.

Quality gurus

The implementation of TQM has been strongly influenced by the writings of Juran
(1993), Crosby (1984), Feigenbaum, (1961) and Ishikawa (1985, 1993), which help
us understand the essence of an effective TQM. Kruger (2001) argues that the early
development of the TQ movement was substantially influenced by these few quality
‘pioneers’.

Dr. Edward Deming

As Martinez-Lorente et al. (1998) point out it is difficult not to ravel the threads of W.
Edwards Deming’s impact on the post-war industrial recovery of Japan and its
transformation from a manufacturer of shabby copies of Western goods to a pre-
eminent producer of high-quality goods. He helped launch a campaign for
institutionalizing ‘quality control’ within the Japanese manufacturing sector, which
adopted a number of the terms and concepts he advocated. He provided a
philosophical basis for the infusion of quality as an intrinsic part of the production
process.

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The main thesis of Deming is that by improving quality it is possible to increase

productivity, which results in the improved competitiveness of a business enterprise
(Sun, 2000). According to Deming, low quality means high costs, which will lead to a
loss of the competitive position of the business organisation in the market. The
quality improvement of the company’s work processes will result in less reworking
and less waste of manpower and material resources, and the number of errors will be
reduced. The company’s output will be achieved with less effort. The investments in
reworking and defective parts, which are very costly, can be avoided. The lower
costs will thus enable the enterprise to have a stronger competitive market position.
In order to achieve this aim, Deming developed an approach, which is summarised in
his 14-point programme (Deming, 1982) (Table 2.).

Table 2: 14-point quality programme (Deming, 1982)

1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service

2. Adopt new philosophy
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection
4. End practice of awarding business on price tag alone
5. Constantly and forever improve system of production and service
6. Institute modern methods of training on the job
7. Institute modern methods of supervision
8. Drive out fear
9. Break down barriers between staff areas
10. Eliminate numerical goals for workforce
11. Eliminate work standards and numerical quotes
12. Remove barriers that hinder hourly worker
13. Institute vigorous programme of education and training
14. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on above 13
points

There have been criticisms of Deming’s approach. First, the action plan and
methodological principles are too vague, implying that there is no clear Deming
method. Deming failed to actually contextualise in an explicit holistic framework the
implementation process of TQM. Hence, practising managers are faced with the
difficulty of not knowing the “how, when and where” to start implementing his 14
points (Hellsten and Klefsjo, 2000). Secondly, the Deming philosophy is silent about
external interventions in environments that are political and coercive, such as the
NHS. In such an environment where the goalposts are continually shifting due to
constant and concurrent governmental interventions, it is impossible to create a
“constancy of purpose” (McAdam et al. 1998). Thirdly, Juran argues that Deming is
wrong to tell management to drive out fear; “fear” according to Juran, can bring out
the best in people (Kruger, 2001). Fourthly, Deming failed to represent his 14 points
within an implementation framework, thereby creating a vacuum on what the specific
cultural implications of the 14 points are. Such a framework would ensure that the
introduction, sustainability and management of the TQM process take place.

Joseph Juran

Dr. Joseph Moses Juran was the first to broaden the understanding of quality control,
emphasising the importance of the managerial aspect. His work is very detailed and
comprehensive. It has to be pointed out that Juran first published his Quality Control
Handbook as early as 1951 which highlights the importance Juran has achieved for
his contribution towards our understanding of TQM .

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Juran’s main contribution was that quality control must be conducted as an integral
part of the management function. He deplored the fact that with the Industrial
Revolution and the strong growth of business enterprises using mass production
methods, large companies were more and more split into functional departments.
Many industries adopted the separating of planning from execution. As business
enterprises grew further in size, the volume of activity outgrew the capacity of the
company’s management (Yamashina, 2000). It thus became increasingly necessary
for management to delegate. Juran argues that once managing the quality issue was
delegated to the subordinate hierarchy, it was no longer considered to be vital for the
top management of the company to participate personally in managing quality
(Kruger, 2001).

This progressive removal of the company’s management from managing the quality
issue led to negative effects on quality (Nwabueze, 2001), and in the end, nobody in
the company felt responsible for quality. Since the worker, however, orientates
himself towards the supervisor, the supervisor in turn towards the department
manager, and the department manager to the board of directors, the visible
leadership and personal involvement of top management in inspiring quality, as
Juran explains, are a very important signal for every employee in the business
organisation (Leitner, 1999).

Juran’s approach suggests that quality control has to be conducted as an integral

part of the management function, broadened the understanding of quality at the time
(Kruger, 2001). Juran’s (1974) principles of quality control are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: principles of quality control (Juran, 1974)

1. It is the responsibility of management to establish a Quality Control

2. Management should establish a Quality Policy
3. Management has to establish quality goals which should be expressed in numbers
and should include a time frame
4. Once a specific goal has been established by management, it is then the
responsibility of of management to provide the necessary resources needed to achieve
the quality goals.

We can also understand Juran’s contributions expressed in his quality trilogy (Table
4).

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Table 4: Quality trilogy (Juran, 1993)

Quality planning > Quality control > Quality improvement

- Identify the customer - choose control subjects - prove the need

for
- Determine the customers’ - choose units of measurement improvement
needs - establish measurement - identify specific
projects
- develop products features - establish standards of - organize for diagnosis
- establish quality goals performance for discovery of causes
- develop a process - measure actual performance - provide remedies
- prove process capability - interpret the difference - prove
that the remedies
(actual vs standard) are effective under
-take action on the difference operating conditions
provide for control to

Martinez-Lorente et al. (1998) refer to four main limitations of Juran’s approach

include. First, Juran's critics argue that his emphasis on management’s
responsibilities for quality fails to get to grips with the extensive literature on
motivation, leadership and culture change.

Secondly, Juran's methods (quality planning, control and improvement) are mainly
traditional and old-fashioned, failing to deal adequately with the human dimension of
organisations, particularly cultural and political issues

Thirdly, Juran's methodology fails to address the issue of managerial politics involved
in effecting a change in people's attitudes to work, which is the core of any change
programme (Hellsten and Klefsjo, 2000: Sun, 2000).

Fourthly, a failure to effect a drastic change in people's attitudes and behaviours

towards work, whilst implementing TQM, would amount only to a rearrangement of
functional boxes and not to a concerted effort to change the way work gets done.

Philip B. Crosby

Philip Bayard Crosby is known for his concept of ‘zero defects’ and ‘do it right the first
time, which he expects to be the only standard of performance. Any other acceptable
quality levels (AQL) are not good enough.

The start point of Crosby’s (1979) concept is his statement that “Quality is free. It is
not a gift, but it is free. What costs money were the unquality things – all the actions
that involve not doing jobs right the first time”. To be able to understand quality, it is
helpful to deal first with a number of erroneous assumptions held by many managers.
The first erroneous assumption according to Crosby is that quality means luxury or
goodness signifying the relative worth of things. He makes it clear that quality has
only to be defined as ‘conformance to requirements’ (Crosby, 1979).

The customer who talks about quality must define his expectations in specific terms
(McAdam et al., 1998). Then exact measurement can be taken continually to
determine conformance of the product or service to those requirements. In case non-

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conformance is detected, this means absence of quality. Crosby points out that it is
possible to measure quality quantitatively, as the costs of non-conformance are
identical to the costs of quality – the costs of doing things wrong. Another erroneous
assumption is that all quality problems originate with the workers of the company.
Crosby does not, however, believe that the employees are the prime cause for poor
quality (Ip et al., 1999).

Crosby gives four absolutes for quality management (Table 5).

Table 5: Quality management absolutes (Crosby, 1979)

1. DIRFT – do it right first time

2. System of quality is prevention
3. Performance standard is ‘zero defects’
4. Measurement of quality is the price of non-conformance

He argues that management has to lead by example and the employees follow their
example. As he notes, quality inspectors march blindly past the defects of
accounting, engineering, computer programming, and marketing on their way to the
manufacturing ghetto to look for errors (Yamashina, 2000). A fourth erroneous
assumption, according to Crosby, is that quality originates in the quality department.
He argues that, unfortunately, many quality professionals feel that they are
responsible for quality in their business organisation.

These people must learn to call a problem by its real name, namely those who cause
the problems, like marketing, accounting, manufacturing, and design problems.

Crosby points out that quality is the responsibility of every employee in the company.
It is not the quality department which is kept responsible for resolving problems over
which this department has no control or immediate access to. This leads to Crosby’s
idea of the quality vaccine, which can be used by business enterprises to prevent the
problem of non-conformance. He argues that a business organisation can be
vaccinated against non-conformance to quality requirements. He recommends
applying his four absolutes of quality management (Leitner, 1999).

He proposes a 14-point plan which, he says, would facilitate the implementation of

TQM (Table 6).

Table 6: 14-point plan to facilitate TQM implementation (Crosby, 1979)

1. Management commitment
2. Quality improvement team
3. Quality measurement
4. Cost of quality evaluation
5. Quality awareness
6. Corrective action
7. Establish temporary committee for zero defect programme
8. Supervisor training
9. Zero defect day
10. Goal setting
11. Removal task and error causes
12. Recognition
13. Quality councils
14. Do it again

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Crosby’s philosophy has been criticised from a number of quarters (Nwabueze,

2001). For example, Juran and Deming argue that it is pointless, if not hypocritical, to
exhort a line worker to produce perfection (zero defects), since the overwhelming
majority of imperfections are due to poorly designed manufacturing systems beyond
the worker’s control.

In the National Health Service (NHS), for example, (Nwabueze, 2001) has noted that
the Crosby approach is good in detail, but lacking in substance. Furthermore,
managers see Crosby’s model as over-long (14 steps) and a complicated process
designed to achieve relatively simple ends. NHS managers were therefore more
positively drawn to an informal approach introduced through people who were
concerned with improvements (Martinez-Lorente et al., 1998).

Armand V. Feigenbaum

Feigenbaum (1961) was the first author who used the term TQC. In his first book on
TQC (Feigenbaum, 1961) (a revision of the book original published under the title
Quality Control in 1951), he considered that “control must start with the design of the
product and end only when the product has been placed in the hands of a customer
who remains satisfied”. He defined TQC as “an effective system for integrating the
quality-development, quality maintenance, and quality-improvement efforts of the
various groups in an organisation so as to enable production and service at the most
economical levels which allow for full customer satisfaction”.

In this book, Feigenbaum recognised that all departments in a company have some
responsibility for the achievement of quality, as Feigenbaum originally perceived it.
However, TQC did not include many of the elements (e.g. supplier developmental
relationships, people empowerment and teamwork) that are now considered part of
the TQM concept (Martinez-Lorente et al., 1998).

In the 1950s, Feigenbaum worked as quality manager at the General Electric

Company and had intensive contacts with companies such as Toshiba and Hitachi.
From 1958 to 1968, Feigenbaum became the worldwide Director of Manufacturing
Operations at the General Electric Company.

Feigenbaum develops his approach to TQM, dealing with elements like management
of quality, the system for total quality, management strategies and quality,
engineering technology and quality, statistical technology and the application of total
quality in the enterprise (Martinez-Lorente et al., 1998).

Feigenbaum’s contributions can be summarised in two main points (Hellsten and

Klefsjo, 2000) (Table 7).

Table 7: Feigenbaum’s (1993) approach to TQM

1. Quality is the responsibility of everybody in the company ranging from

top management to unskilled workers.
2. Costs of non-quality have to be categorised if they are to be managed.
Costs of control and costs of failure of control have to be minimised by a
quality improvement programme.

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TQM is to provide the fundamental basis of positive commitment to quality for all
employees of the business organisation, from management to assembly workers.
Feigenbaum contributed two new aspects to the discussion about quality. Quality is
the responsibility of everybody in the company ranging from top management to the
unskilled worker. It involves everyone. It is a positive effect of TQM that it should
build up employee responsibility for product quality. Each individual employee should
become interested in product quality. It is the total participation of all employees and
the total integration of all the company's technical and human resources that will lead
to long-term business success (McAdam et al., 1998; Ip et al., 1999). Quality is
produced not only by the production department, but also by marketing, research and
development, finance, purchasing, and any other department.

TQM, so Feigenbaum argued, needs effective ways to integrate the efforts of large
numbers of employees with large numbers of machines and technologies.

The costs of control should be measured, Feigenbaum argues, in two principal areas:
prevention costs (e.g. quality training of employees) should keep defective parts from
occurring, and appraisal costs (e.g. quality audit costs) cover the costs for
maintaining the quality level of the company. The costs of failure of control are also
measured in two areas: internal failure costs (e.g. scrap) and external failure costs
(e.g. customer complaints, reworked material) (Sun, 2000).

Furthermore, Feigenbaum first recognised that costs of non-quality have to be

categorised if they are to be managed. Costs of control and costs of failure of control
have to be minimised by a quality improvement programme (Nwabueze, 2001).
Feigenbaum notes that, “We have been spending our quality dollars the wrong way:
a fortune down the drain because of product failures; another large sum to support a
sort-the-bad-from-the-good appraisal screen to try to keep too many bad products
from going to the customer; comparatively nothing for the true defect-prevention
technology that can do something about reversing the vicious upward cycle of higher
quality costs and less reliable product quality” (Feigenbaum, 1993).

The more defective parts, Feigenbaum argued, the higher the failure costs. The
traditional reaction to higher failure costs has been more inspection. This traditional
post-production inspection syndrome only tries to separate the good parts from the
defective ones, but does not make any allowance for prevention of defective parts
during the production process itself. Feigenbaum’s intention is not so much to create
managerial awareness of quality as to assist a business enterprise to design its own
quality system, which involves every employee (Leitner, 1999). He offers a highly
structured approach to total quality which, however, hardly covers the question of
motivation and commitment of the individual employee to quality.

Feigenbaum suggests, in order reducing both failure costs and appraisal costs,
increasing the expenditure for prevention. Prevention of defects will lead to a
reduction of defective parts (Kruger, 2001). This will thus have, Feigenbaum
maintains, a substantial reduction in failure costs. Moreover, an increase in
prevention costs will result in fewer defective parts and, consequently, will lead to a
reduced need for routine post-production inspection and extensive test activities. The
final result is a clear reduction of the company’s overall costs of non-quality and an
improvement of its competitive situation.

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Kaoru Ishikawa

Kaoru Ishikawa substantially influenced the Japanese understanding of quality.

Ishikawa has become known for his work on, in particular, four aspects of TQM:
quality circles, the question of continuous training, the quality tool “Ishikawa
diagram”, and the quality chain. His approach to TQM comes very close to today’s
understanding of TQM. As Ishikawa remarks, Japanese quality control is a thought
revolution in management. It is an approach representing a new way of thinking
about management. To meet this goal, everyone in the company must participate in
and promote quality control, including top executives, all divisions within the
company, and all employees (Ishikawa, 1985). To practice quality control is to
develop, design, produce and service a quality product which is most economical,
most useful, and always satisfactory to the consumer.

Top management has to lead by example and to demonstrate actively that they are
serious about quality. TQM involves everyone within the company; every employee
should contribute his ideas of how to improve the work processes. In this definition,
Ishikawa covers a number of key elements of total quality (Yamashina, 2000).

TQM emphasises a clear customer orientation - internal and external. The needs of
the customer have to be satisfied. TQM is not limited to the quality department but
involves all departments within the business organisation.

Ishikawa (1985) identified 14 areas of difference between Japan and the West.
However, there are 6 points, which deserve our attention (Table 8).

Table 8: 6 points, of difference between Japan and West (Ishikawa, 1985)

1. In USA and Western Europe, great emphasis is placed on professionalism and

specialisation; “QC only for QC specialists”.
2. In USA and Western Europe, great emphasis placed on Taylor system.
3. Pay system in the USA and Western Europe based on merit (to motivate people by
money alone). Japan uses system of seniority and ranking.
4. High turnover rates and layoffs are found in the West; Japan has a lifetime
employment system.
5 Relationships with subcontractors – 70% of product manufacturing costs contributed
by outside suppliers in Japan, and only 50 per cent in the USA. Subcontractors treated
as friends not enemies as is the case in the West.
6. Old-style capitalism versus democratisation of capital: short-term profits versus
long-term profits.

Ishikawa (1985) claims that TQM “begins with education and ends with education”.
Ishikawa considers the implementation of quality circles as an effective way of getting
the shop floor involved in the quality issue. This involvement of all employees in the
company’s problem-solving process requires a continuous education and training of
everyone in the company. He describes the importance not only of meeting the
requirement of the external customer, but also of paying attention to "internal"
customers and internal relationships. He develops a continuous line of internal
supplier-customer relations and invented the term "The next process is your
customer" (Yamashina, 2000).

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Ishikawa stresses the importance that, “QC training and education must also be
carried out without interruption, through good times and bad”.

The Japanese quality expert defines as the aim for a training programme that quality
should be made everybody’s concern. Every employee should understand the new
philosophy of quality. Moreover, everyone should grasp the tools and techniques of
TQM (Martinez-Lorente et al., 1998).

It must be the common goal of each department to fully satisfy this customer.
Therefore it would be helpful if the next work process and the next workstation, which
builds on the added value and work of the previous workstation, were considered as
a customer. Sectionalism must be broken down. Every employee should be able to
talk to other department members freely and frankly. It is necessary to learn to think
from the standpoint of the other party (Hellsten and Klefsjo, 2000; Ip et al., 1999). All
the different departments within the company are living from the very same external
customer. The next work process should be treated like the external customer. We
can agree that Ishikawa has contributed and formed a number of important ideas in
today’s understanding of TQM.

Models of TQM

Various models are offered by TQM experts as well as by Quality Award associations
to help organisations in their drive for TQM implementation.

Models offered by quality experts and consultants

There are many experts and consultants who identified success factors for TQM
implementation. There is no-one-size-fits-all model. However, the various models
offered by experts can help firms in the implementation process.

Some of the models that are adopted by UK companies are those of Kanji et al.
(1997, 1998) and Oakland (1993, 1989, 2000). The model proposed by Oakland
(1993, 2000) at Bradford’s European Centre for TQM, which is adopted by the DTI,
has as its core theme the identification and management of processes within the
organisation.

The processes are seen as chains of internal and external customer-supplier

relationships that must be managed effectively and efficiently. Surrounding the
processes are the ‘soft’ outcomes of TQM – culture, communication and
commitment, and ‘hard’ management necessities of TQM – the use of teams (ranging
from high-powered quality councils to work-area quality circles), quality tools (for
systematic data collection and analysis) and systems (based on recognised
international standards).

Kanji (et al. 1993) use a 4-sided ‘pyramid’ model to show the structure of TQM (Table
10). It encompasses a set of four general governing principles, represented by the
four sides. Each of the principles is translated into practice by using two core
concepts.

1. ‘Leadership’ sits at the base of the pyramid, aptly emphasising the critical role of
leadership to make TQM happen.

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Table 10: Pyramid model structure of TQM, (Kanji et al., 1993)

Principles Concepts
Delight the customers customer satisfaction internal customers are
real
Management-by-fact all work is a process measurement
People-based management teamwork people make quality
Continuous improvement continuous improvement prevention
cycle

Kanji’s (1995,1998) modified pyramid model is based on the proposition that to

achieve customer satisfaction level (delight the customer), the organisation has to
improve continuously all aspects of its operations (continuous improvement); this can
be achieved through leadership by making decisions on objective evidence of what
actually was happening (management-by-fact), and by involving all employees in
quality improvement activities (people-based management), leading ultimately to
business excellence. His modified pyramid model, together with the four-stage
process of implementing TQM, represents an attractive and practical implementation
framework for companies to follow (Yusof and Aspinwall, 2000).

The four stages are identification and preparation, management understanding and
commitment, scheme of understanding, and critical analysis. Kanji (1995) points out
that the need to identify and collect information where improvement will have the
most impact. This requires management information of a data collection system of a
fact-based approach.

2. Oakland (1993, 2000) proposes a model for TQM implementation where the
customer-supplier chains form the core, which is surrounded by the hard
management necessities of a good quality system, tools and teamwork. He proposes
seven steps for senior management to begin the task of process alignment to a self-
reinforcing cycle of commitment, communication and cultural change. The first three
steps are:

• Gain commitment to charge

• Develop shared vision and mission for business or desired charge
• Develop critical success factors.

The remaining four steps comprise: defining the core processes and gaining
ownership; breaking down the core processes into sub-processes, activities and
tasks; and ensuring process and people alignment through a policy deployment or
goal translation process.

3. Dale et al. (1990) identified 21 points which organisations should consider

important in the process of TQM implementation (Table 11).

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Table 11: 21 points important in TQM implementation (Dale et al., 1990)

1. Top management commitment and support vital for credibility,

2. continuity and longevity of process.
3. Establishment of multidisciplinary quality-improvement steering
4. committee chaired by Chief Executive Officer is essential.
5. Quality control activity separated from quality improvement process.
6. Set goals for improvement and develop quality objectives and
strategies.
7. In development of TQM, use of management tools, techniques and
package required at different stages in different organisations.
8. Success of process depends on timing of introduction of particular tool,
technique or package.
9. Senior Management team must identify and tackle main quality
problems.
10. Integration of quality improvement process with other organisational
improvement initiatives is vital to success.
11. Efforts to ensure that all potential non-conformances are identified and
eliminated at design stage.
12. Dedication to remove basic causes of errors.
13. Teamwork vital to success of TQM. People should be involved.
14. Develop them by providing quality education and training to bring about
15. changes in their behaviour and attitudes.
16. Quality assurance system well documented and also provide direction
and feedback.
17. Mistake-proving operations to be investigated and remedied.
18. Customer and supplier relationships to be developed and improved.
19. No ideal way recommended for assuring the quality of organisation’s
product or service. In order to sustain process, results must be cost-
effective.
20. Establish measures of customer satisfaction and quality indicators for all
internal functions/departments and encourage attitude that ‘the next
process/person is the customer’.
21. Internal and external customer must be able to complain, and customer
complaints are analysed and feedback ensured into organisation.
22. Develop system by which all staff can raise problems faced by them in
conducting error-free performance.
23. Statistical methods used to support the analysis.
24. Effective internal audit procedure of quality assurance system
developed and in place.
25. With patience and tenacity, always develop future plans for at least ten
years.

4. Kano (1993) showed the structure of TQM using ‘The House of TQM’ concepts.
The theory of quality and theory of management form the first pillars of the house.
These concepts are promoted by the practice of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle that
ensures customer satisfaction. The concepts from the second pillar (techniques) for
collection and analysing data are the basis of actual practices.

Of these techniques, seven quality control tools and statistical methods are typical. At
some stage of the TQM initiative, it becomes necessary to effectively and efficiently
promote these two pillars within an organisation for which the third pillar called the

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International Journal of Applied Quality Management: Volume 2 Issue 2

‘vehicles’ is engaged, which comprises management policy for continuous

improvement and training as well as employee involvement.

5. Evans and Lindsay (2001) suggest that TQM is a philosophy or an approach

grounded on three core principles:

• Customer focus
• Teamwork and participation
• Continuous improvement

These above three principles are suggested to be supported and implemented by:

• Integrated organisational infrastructure

• Variety of management practices
• Wide range of tools and techniques

Leadership, strategic planning, data/information management, process management

and resource management must also form as part of the TQM architecture of which
the major components are organisational infrastructure, management practices and
tools/techniques.

6. Brocka and Brocka (1992) recommended seven principles to achieve TQM

implementation success (Table 12).

Table 12: Seven principles to achieve TQM implementation success (Brocka and
Brocka, 1992)

1. Top leadership commitment and participation

2. Develop and sustain culture committed to continuous improvement

3. Dedicated focus on satisfying customer needs and expectations

4. Involve and help every individual to achieve improvement in his/her work

5. Develop constructive working relationships and create teamwork

6. Value people as most important resource

7. Best available management practices, techniques and tools are

employed.

7. Hunt and Al-Tuwaijri (1996) supports the view that the essence of quality
management is the concepts of TQM. The essence of quality management is the
ultimate customer satisfaction that can be brought about by the employees by
involving and empowering them improve the quality of services and goods. This level
of performance can be reached only when the workforce are able to identify the
customer and their needs/expectations, as well as a clear knowledge of how the
organisation plans to achieve the goal of meeting customer needs/expectations. He
also suggests the following quality concepts.

• Top management leadership

• Strategic planning

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• Customer focus
• Employee team work and empowerment
• Continuous process improvement

8. According to Stamtis (1997), the following five assumptions shown in Table 13 are
essentially required for TQM implementation.

Table 13: Five assumptions essential for TQM implementation (Stamtis, 1997)

1 Customer Focus Customer needs must be identified and

(both internal and external) understood
2 Total Involvement Commitment and leadership must be
(Commitment) demonstrated by management through
providing opportunities for employees to
improve quality. Set up multidisciplinary,
cross-functional and self-directed teams
for employees to be part and also
empower
employees to improve their work
environment.
3 Measurement Management must establish appropriate
measures of process and results and also
establish measure with customers as
focus.
4 Systematic Support Managing quality process is the
responsibility of management and there
the quality infrastructure be tied up to the
internal management structure, thereby
linking the quality to existing management
systems.
5 Continuous Improvement All work must be viewed as a process.
Management’s responsibility to anticipate
or expect changes in the needs, wants and
expectations of customers, employees
and society.

Figure 1 shows that the management through leadership is the basis for QTM. It is
asserted by Stamtis (1997) that once the leadership has been defined, thereafter a
policy, resources and general management together will guide the TQM process
which transforms the input into results in satisfying society, customers, and
organisation.

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Figure 1: Five Assumptions Required to Implement TQM (Stamtis’s, 1997)

LEADERSHIP

Management of Management of Creating Policy

• People • Structure and
• Machine • Process Developing Strategy
• Method • Outcome
• Material
• Measurement
• Environment

PROCESS

Impact to Society Impact to Customer Impact to Organisation

OUTCOME

Source: Stamtis (1997)

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