by Raymond Lim

Created on: June 25, 2008

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a strategic path for competitive products and services realization by organizations. By offering high quality products and services through TQM, several advantages and benefits are reaped by organizations offering those products in the market. These are:

i) Quality products & services ensure customer loyalty with repeat purchase order. Normally customers will look for noted brands with high quality to assured themselves of satisfaction and money for value purchase.

Many manufacturers of popular computer brands use Intel chips for instance to assure customers the reliability and quality of their products.
ii) Quality products & services provide premium price for the items offered for sales compare to lower quality products in the market.
iii) Manufacturers encounter less cost in manufacturing high quality products compare to lower quality products produced. High quality products results in optimum production for the manufacturers.
iv) Quality products can be shipped direct to the market which generates income for the organization.
Low quality products with defects required additional cost in reworking with additional manpower and hours used. This reduces production efficiency and capacity.
v) Low warranty cost is incurred in quality products compared with higher cost in inferior grade products. This is because defective products will be reworked or scrapped depending on the market requirements. Usually low grade or defective items are returned to the manufacturer resulting in additional cost involved in transportation.

Total Quality Management organizations, through the usage of an integrated system of management/quality tools, techniques and training, support the constant attainment of customer satisfaction, which is a cultural commitment of the organizations. This involves continuous improvement of organizational processes resulting in high quality products and services. TQM is one of the most important method an organization can add value to its products & services, to set them apart from those of the competitor. Quality and productivity are now considered an integrated part of manufacturing and not separate parts and diametrically opposed as was the perception at one time.

Approaches to TQM by organizations required five main ideas to provide the engine or linkage to any TQM method comprising:

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1) A system approach which is the functions and activities that work together to fulfill the purpose of the organization. The three main

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