Total quality management is a broad approach that focuses on continually improving all aspects of an organization that impact quality, including people, processes, products, and environments. It aims to achieve organizational excellence through superior value - providing superior quality, cost, and service compared to competitors. Key elements of total quality management include meeting or exceeding customer expectations, applying quality principles to both products and internal processes, and viewing quality as a dynamic, evolving state. Pioneers who developed total quality management concepts include Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Philip Crosby.