TQM stands for "Total Quality Management" and infers that a Total Quality Strategy will improve business by proactively improving customer service and job quality. However, it is not true to say that all businesses manage to implement such a strategy fully - many only achieve what is referred to as PQM (Partial Quality Management). In fact, the Canadian Conference Board's completed a number of global studies which highlighted the fact that 70 percent of companies in North America do not manage to reach this ultimate goal, although it is true to say that many companies are yet to consider this method of running their business.
Lou Holtz, a football coach for Notre Dame has observed that people often say and promise more than they will actually accomplish. Catchy slogans, impassioned speeches, and clever advertising will not compensate for a lack of true quality and service.
How can your company become more action than talk and make the jump from PQM to TQM? It's very difficult. Here are a few helpful pointers:
Cohesion and communication in business are important. Businesses are often divided into different levels-senior management, middle-level managers, and the workers. Communication often comes from the top down through the different levels. Recently, senior management at Finning, Ltd in Vancouver decided to shake things up. The CEO, Jim Shepard and his team decided to take employee training programs first and then they took it upon themselves to train the rest of the staff. This makes communications easier-managers can relay their goals directly and get feedback from the rest of the staff. Also, interacting together can help staff feel like they are part of a team.
Teams for Support and Focus - Large organizations may have work groups, departmental, branch, process improvement or progress teams at their center. Sometimes there are more teams then an organization really needs especially in their first few years. At times the new managers and old managers are at odds with each other. The old managers, meaning those who have been around for awhile, may feel threatened by new methods, processes and techniques. The newer supervisors or managers may feel as if they have reached a brick wall as their suggestions are not well tolerated.
Reporting and Planning - The rigor and discipline of business planning can be applied to the improvement of quality and service. This planning must focus on the effective allocation of funding improvements if effective changes in quality and service are desired. It is magical thinking to suggest that simply spending more money will result in the desired improvements. Instead, businesses should invest time and effort to create a strategic quality plan which effectively coordinates between stakeholders of the company. Likewise, businesses should apply the same discipline to the measurement of quality and service as they do to preparing financial statements.
Balanced and Broad Approach - One sure indication of PQM is excessive reliance on just a few improvement techniques and tools. Good implementation uses many techniques from fine examples of customer service: quality improvement, as well as an increased and understood perception of value - the improvement of processes from all levels by gathering, monitoring and analyzing data that is critical to performance (known at Xerox as "management based on fact"), and development of the organization, which can be accomplished by developing leadership and company culture.
Building Skills as well as Knowledge - You can watch hours of videos and slides, read your weight in manuals and books, listen to a lecturer who has the motivational skills of a TV evangelist, but none of that will teach you how to conduct a successful meeting or resolve conflict. When you are beginning a fitness program, you understand the ideas of common sense to be applied but how to apply them is the key to a great program. So it is with training programs for learning new technology. Watch out for programs that will leave you excited and enlightened but no more competent than when you started.
A total commitment and implementation of the Total Quality Management program is phenomenal as well as highly rewarding. To chance from PQM to Total Quality Management is not a band-aid, quick fix operation; it requires strict discipline, a change in habits and consistency. It has been compared to endlessly dieting and changing your life style. Great success requires thoughtful change.
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