8
PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
C
The 8 core principles of Total Quality Management
A
strategic Fact-
Custome and
systemati based
r Adhere to decision
c
focus processes approach making
Total Promote Continual Communi
employee an improveme cations
commitm nt
ent
integrated
system
Principle 1: Customer focus
When you understand your customers’ wants and needs, you can now work out which
materials, people, and processes you must implement to meet and exceed their
expectations.
To implement this principle, you must research and understand your customers’ needs
and expectations, align your organization’s objectives with those needs, measure
customer satisfaction and ask for customer feedback that you can use to drive improved
processes.
Principle 2: Total employee commitment
Your employees need to understand your company’s vision and goals. More than that, you must ensure
they are trained and given the resources they need to complete tasks and retain their motivation.
To achieve this principle, you must clearly communicate your goals, encourage each team and individual to
accept ownership and responsibility for problems and self-evaluate performance against personal goals and
objectives. Celebrating successes and improvements is important, as this helps build employee confidence
and commitment.
If you set out clear responsibilities and provide the necessary training, you can also then create an
environment where employees can openly discuss problems and suggest ways to solve them.
Principle 3: Adhere to processes
It’s essential to ensure that everyone in the organization takes the proper steps at the right time to ensure
consistency and speed up production. Implementing this principle means you need to measure and analyze
your current processes to look for potential improvements or bottlenecks to remove. You also need to
evaluate the impact your processes could have on all your stakeholders, from customers to suppliers to
employees.
Principle 4: Promote an integrated
system
This means you must break down whatever silos are in your business. In a truly
integrated system, every individual in every department should understand all relevant
policies, standards, objectives, and processes. This helps more effective collaboration
and the drive toward continual improvement.
Principle 5: A strategic and systematic approach
This is another critical part of TQM and helps to achieve an
organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called
strategic planning or strategic management, includes formulating a
strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.
Principle 6: Continual improvement
Continuous improvement is about improving processes and adapting
products and services to reflect shifting customer needs. To implement this
principle, you should implement policies to establish product, process, and
system improvements as measurable goals at the individual, team, and
department levels. You also need to recognize and encourage innovative
solutions to problems, partly by encouraging employees to upskill themselves
and take on enhanced responsibilities.
Principle 7: Fact-based decision making
To know how well an organization is performing, it needs to collect
and analyse data on its performance. TQM requires an organization
to continually improve decision-making accuracy and achieve
consensus.
Principle 8: Communications
Everyone in your organization must be clear on your goals and the
plans, strategies, and methods you are implementing to achieve
them. Ensure that everyone in your organization understands their
roles and how they fit in with the rest of the company. Involve
employees in decision-making where you can, and communicate all
your updates, policy changes, and news as often as possible.
DISADVANTAGES OF
TOTAL QUALITY
C
MANAGEMENT
(TMQ)
Time and Resource Intensive: Implementing TQM requires a significant commitment of time,
effort, and resources, which can strain an organization’s capacity and budget.
Resistance to Change: Employees and stakeholders may resist the changes associated with TQM,
making it challenging to achieve full buy-in and successful implementation.
Potential Employee Burnout: The relentless focus on continuous improvement and rigorous data-
driven processes can create high-pressure work environments, leading to employee burnout and
reduced morale.
Misinterpretation and Misapplication: Misunderstanding TQM principles or misusing its
techniques can lead to ineffective implementation and failure to achieve desired outcomes.
Narrow Focus: Concentrating solely on TQM may result in neglecting other critical aspects of
business strategy, such as innovation or long-term strategic planning.