21.3 Principles and building-blocks of TQM

While the TQM design and process will be different in different companies and circumstances, there are some common basic principles and building-blocks of the system.

Principles

Principle 1: Focus on customer satisfaction and delight.

This principle drives the entire TQM process. Every department and work unit has customers, whether internal or external. Managers and employees have to be customer-focused to meet or exceed customer expectations, creating not only customer satisfaction and loyalty, but delighting them. Emphasis should be placed on improving the practices of frontline personnel, delivery mechanisms and logistics, customer focus and processing of customer requests. Measurement of customer satisfaction through surveys, focus groups, benchmarking and market analysis provides the best evaluation of TQM results.

Principle 2: Quality improvement requires the strong commitment of top management.

The leadership must be committed to TQM and be the driving force behind it. It must create a vision that will take the organization from its current position to where it wants to be. Top management must clearly specify which actions will improve quality; they cannot delegate this responsibility. To demonstrate commitment, involvement and leadership, management must establish and communicate clear corporate values, principles and objectives relevant to quality; channel resources towards these objectives; invest time in learning about quality issues; and monitor the progress of any initiatives.

Principle 3: Quality is a strategic issue.

Quality should be a part of the company’s goals and strategies and integrated in the way the organization conducts business, including product and process