Before the 1980's, U.S. management was broadly



successful. Until then the dominant management model was that of the autocrat.

Management, primly senior management, decided how the business was to operate,

including what the policies and objectives were; how it was organized; what jobs

were established; and how should they be done. It was an unquestioned axiom

that if everyone did what the upper management required, the business would be

successful.

Organizations are composed of the people in them and the managers who

lead them. People respond strongly to leadership expectations and rewards. If

they are given little power in their jobs, they have little interest in

improving them. If leaders exhort the members for better output but reward

(promotions, bonuses, recognition) for mostly higher output, they get the

behavior they reward. Quantity over quality has been a common management

philosophy in the United States.

The first step in implementing TQM requires the an upper-management

change in both philosophy and behavior. Managers must adopt the objectives of

customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. They must implement the

change to achieve these objectives through their personal and continuous

involvement and in the reeducation of everyone in the organization in TQM

principles and practices. The past philosophy of management can work reasonably

well if a company dominates world markets. When markets become complex and

worldwide with more and stronger competitors, a new model is needed. Asian

companies and some in the United States have demonstrated that there is a more

effective way to manage, quite different from the autocratic model: It is

employee involvement in quality improvement. These companies also introduce

high quality at lower cost as a competitive element, thereby changing the

competitive equation for everyone.

TQM is a way to continuously improve performance at every level of

operation, in every functional area of an organization, using all available

human and capital resources. Improvement is addressed toward satisfying board

goals such as cost, quality, market share, schedule, and growth. It demands

commitment and discipline, and an ongoing effort.

The quality management process includes the integration of all employees,

suppliers, and customers, within the corporate environment. It embraces two

underlying tenets:

Quality management is a capability which inherent in your employees.

-Quality management is a controllable process, not an accidental one.

The idea of an integrated, human-orientated systems approach to management was

successfully used by W. Edwards Deming in the 1950's. Deming told the Japanese

that they could become world-class leaders if they followed his advice and they

did. He lectured top Japanese business leaders on statistical quality control.

He proposed a system that would change the approach to management in many ways.

Today, this system is the pillar of TQM philosophy. These components make up

the strategic portion of the quality pyramid (figure. 1). There are mainly

eight functional elements from which other concepts flow. These are:

Organizational vision provides the frame work that guides a firm's

believes and values. The gist of the corporate vision should be a simple, one

sentence guide or motto that every employee knows, and more important, believes.

If well crafted, the vision statement can serve through a torrent of change in

product and service technology. The strategic vision needs to consider both the

external customer and the employees, but should lack a defining or

differentiating phrase between them. For example, General Motors provides all

employees a card with its strategic vision, including a cause-effect diagram

that indicates the importance of team work.