Essential components of Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM is a strategy to improve the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of an organization for the benefit of all stakeholders. It is a way to plan, organize and understand each activity and eliminate all wasted effort and energy spent on organizations. This ensures that leaders reinforce a strategic overview of quality and focus on prevention and not on compliance problems. Although everything should be involved with it, it is to start at the top with organizational leaders to be successful. All senior managers should demonstrate their seriousness and dedication to quality, and central managers, as well as the demonstration of their commitment, should make sure they inform the principles, strategies and benefits for those who responsible. Only then is the proper attitude spread throughout the organization. The basic requirement is a sound quality policy, supported by plans and facilities to enforce it.

TQM has four basic components
1. Put customers first
2. Make Continuous Improvement
3. Aim for zero defects
4. Training and development

Put Customers first
A quality product or service meets the needs and expectations of the customer. If a product or service has a high or low quality, determine how the consumer does it and whether the expectations of the consumer are satisfied or exceeded. See quality. If customers do not come first, customers' expectations will be hard to enjoy and therefore can not achieve quality. Customers can come first through various initiatives, including

• Market research exploration to discover the needs of the consumer so that the organization can develop products and services that exceed the needs of their customers.

• Finds all customers, both inside and outside. Internal customers are employees of the organization and are known as customers when they approach each other for a service. External customers are all non-employees (of the organization) who approach the organization in connection with a service or product.

• Effective systems for customer service.

• Ensure that all service standards are met.

• Listening to insights and opinions of customers. Respond to customer images, including resolving customer complaints in a way that meets their expectations. Once complaints from customers have been resolved, they must be studied to prevent future repetition.
Make Continuous Improvement
The Japanese term "kaizen" contributed to this ingredient. Kaizen believes that there are no limitations on continuous improvement. This means that a TQM organization will continue to try to improve their product / service and raise quality standards. A TQM organization will also have a rate change positively, regardless of whether the change involves changes in the process or changes in customer needs and expectations. This is because changes will allow the organization to develop and explore quality.
Aim for Zero Defects
There are several reasons behind the goal of eradicating the defects. Defects are expensive because the customer's trust in the product is reduced. It is also more expensive to correct defects than to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Defects can be reached at zero by a combination of quality assurance and quality control.

Training and Development
An organization should train its employees to make sure that they understand the principles of TQM. An employee of the TQM organization must understand how the TQM must be maintained or maintained and how the employee assures that the organization is under TQM. Unless every employee receives TQM and believes in it, it is difficult for the organization to use TQM.

Effective leadership begins with the development of a mission statement followed by a strategy, which translates into action plans through the organization. These, combined with a TQM strategy, should result in a quality organization with satisfied customers and good business results. The 5 requirements for effective leadership are:

• The development and publication of corporate identities, values ​​and objectives, often as a mission statement.

• Personal participation and acting as a role model for a culture of total quality
 • Developing clear and effective strategies and supporting plans for achieving missions and goals

• Review and improve management system

• Communicating, motivating and supporting people and stimulating effective employee participation

The task of implementing TQM can be daunting. The following is a list of points that leaders should consider; they are a purification of the various beliefs of some of the quality gurus:

• The organization needs a long-term commitment for continuous improvement.

• Bring philosophy of zero error / defect to change culture for the first time

• Train people to understand the relationships between customers and suppliers

• Do not buy products or services for only the price - view the total cost

• Recognize that improving systems need to be managed