1) The document provides an overview of total quality management (TQM), including its history, key concepts, and implementation strategies. It discusses figures like Deming and Juran who helped develop TQM principles. 2) Toyota is used as a case study. The document finds Toyota could improve employee involvement in decision-making and strengthening relationships with suppliers to better ensure quality control. 3) Recommendations include empowering employees through teams, rewards, and expanding some in-house production to strengthen quality oversight of suppliers.

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TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)
A core definition of total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach
to long–term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an
organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they
work. The methods for implementing this approach come from the teachings of such quality
leaders as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa,
and Joseph M. Juran.
HISTORY OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The history of total quality management (TQM) began initially as a term coined by the Naval
Air Systems Command to describe its Japanese-style management approach to quality
improvement. An umbrella methodology for continually improving the quality of all processes, it
draws on a knowledge of the principles and practices of:
 The behavioral sciences
 The analysis of quantitative and non-quantitative data
 Economics theories
 Process analysis
TQM Timeline
1920s
 Some of the first seeds of quality management were planted as the principles of
scientific management swept through U.S. industry.
 Businesses clearly separated the processes of planning and carrying out the
plan, and union opposition arose as workers were deprived of a voice in the
conditions and functions of their work.
 The Hawthorne experiments in the late 1920s showed how worker productivity
could be impacted by participation.

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1930s
 Walter Shewhart developed the methods for statistical analysis and control of
quality.
1950s
 W. Edwards Deming taught methods for statistical analysis and control of quality
to Japanese engineers and executives.
 Joseph M. Juran taught the concepts of controlling quality and managerial
breakthrough.
 Armand V. Feigenbaum’s book Total Quality Control, a forerunner for the present
understanding of TQM, was published.
 Philip B. Crosby’s promotion of zero defects paved the way for quality
improvement in many companies.
1968
 The Japanese named their approach to total quality companywide quality control.
 Kaoru Ishikawa’s synthesis of the philosophy contributed to Japan’s ascendancy
as a quality leader.
Today
 TQM is the name for the philosophy of a broad and systemic approach to
managing organizational quality.
 Quality standards such as the ISO 9000 series and quality award programs such
as the Deming Prize and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award specify
principles and processes that comprise TQM.
THE RESULT OF TOTAL QUALITY
The almost universally goal of total quality are lower costs, higher revenues, empowered
employees and delighted customers.
 LOWER COSTS. Higher quality mean lowering costs by reducing errors, reducing
reworks, and reducing non-value added work.
 HIGHER REVENUES. Higher quality can mean better satisfied customers, increased
market share, improved customer retention, more loyal customers, and even premium
prices.

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 DELIGHTED CUSTOMERS. “Delighted” customers are customers who buy over and over
again, customers who advertise your goods and services for you, customers who check
you first when they are going to buy anything else to see if you also offer those goods or
services.
 EMPOWERED EMPLOYEES. For many years, organizations viewed empowered
employees as a means for achieving lower costs, higher revenues, and delighted
customers.
THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
In the past few years, many leading companies throughout the world have begun to revisit
the fundamental concepts of quality management: customer focus, continuous improvement, and
the value of every individual.
 Customer Focus. That customer focus is a fundamental concept of quality management
perhaps seems obvious. After all, organizations only exist to provide goods and services
to customers.
During the evolutionary progress of almost every industry, the first phase is focus
on quality of the new product in the most basic terms. The goal is to make the product
work. There are no customers in the beginning, only wide-eyed investors trying to make
something no one has ever seen before.
 Continuous Improvement. Many companies use to achieve breakthrough
improvements. Improving for the organizations to survive.
 Value of Every Associate. The value of each associate in an organization is another idea
that sounds simple on the surface. For years companies have published clear statements
about the strength of their organizations being the people who work for them. Sharing
ideas, participation in the quality improvement and planning teams, membership on
business process re-engineering teams, and working as member of self-directing or high
performance work teams are some measure of individual contribution.

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THE CRITICAL PROCESS FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT
These three management processes are not new.
 Quality Planning. It consists of universal sequence of events – a quality planning
roadmap. The quality planning process is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Quality Planning Process
 Quality Control. What the operating forces can do is minimize this waste. Quality control
relies on five basics: a clear definition of quality; a target, a clear goal; a sensor, a way to
measure actual performance and compare with the target; and a way to take action, to
adjust the process if necessary.
 Quality Improvement. But all this activity only keeps quality at the planned level. Taking
deliberate, specific actions if wish to change this level. Juran (1964) describes the quality
improvement process used by individuals and organizations to make “breakthrough”
changes in level of performance. It is directed at long-standing performance levels. It
questions whether this is the best that can be attained.

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FIVE STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP TQM PROCESS
Strategy 1: The TQM element approach
The TQM element approach takes key business processes and/or organizational units
and uses the tools of TQM to foster improvements. This method was widely used in the early
1980s as companies tried to implement parts of TQM as they learned them.
Examples of this approach include quality circles, statistical process control, Taguchi methods,
and quality function deployment.
Strategy 2: The guru approach
The guru approach uses the teachings and writings of one or more of the leading quality
thinkers as a guide against which to determine where the organization has deficiencies. Then,
the organization makes appropriate changes to remedy those deficiencies.
For example, managers might study Deming’s 14 points or attend the Crosby College. They
would then work on implementing the approach learned.
Strategy 3: The organization model approach
In this approach, individuals or teams visit organizations that have taken a leadership role
in TQM and determine their processes and reasons for success. They then integrate these
ideas with their own ideas to develop an organizational model adapted for their specific
organization.
This method was used widely in the late 1980s and is exemplified by the initial recipients of
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Strategy 4: The Japanese total quality approach
Organizations using the Japanese total quality approach examine the detailed
implementation techniques and strategies employed by Deming Prize–winning companies and
use this experience to develop a long-range master plan for in-house use.
This approach was used by Florida Power and Light—among others—to implement TQM and
to compete for and win the Deming Prize.
Strategy 5: The award criteria approach

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When using this model, an organization uses the criteria of a quality award, for example,
the Deming Prize, the European Quality Award, or the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award, to identify areas for improvement. Under this approach, TQM implementation focuses
on meeting specific award criteria.
Although some argue that this is not an appropriate use of award criteria, some organizations
do use this approach and it can result in improvement.
IMPLEMENTING A TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
When planning and implementing a total quality management system there is no one
solution to every situation.
Each organization is unique in terms of the culture, management practices, and the
processes used to create and deliver its products and services. The TQM strategy will then vary
from organization to organization; however, a set of primary elements should be present in some
format.
GENERIC MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTING TQM
1. Top management learns about and decides to commit to TQM. TQM is identified as one
of the organization’s strategies.
2. The organization assesses current culture, customer satisfaction, and quality management
systems.
3. Top management identifies core values and principles to be used, and communicates
them.
4. A TQM master plan is developed on the basis of steps 1, 2, and 3.
5. The organization identifies and prioritizes customer demands and aligns products and
services to meet those demands.
6. Management maps the critical processes through which the organization meets its
customers’ needs.
7. Management oversees the formation of teams for process improvement efforts.
8. The momentum of the TQM effort is managed by the steering committee.

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9. Managers contribute individually to the effort through hoshin planning, training, coaching,
or other methods.
10. Daily process management and standardization take place.
11. Progress is evaluated and the plan is revised as needed.
12. Constant employee awareness and feedback on status are provided and a
reward/recognition process is established.
DEMING’S 14 POINTS ON TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Deming’s 14 Points on Quality Management, a core concept on implementing total quality
management, is a set of management practices to help companies increase their quality and
productivity.
1. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total cost by
working with a single supplier.
5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and service.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Adopt and institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between staff areas.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating
or merit system.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone.
14. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the transformation.

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TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT --- A CASE STUDY OF TOYOTA
Background
Toyota Motor Corporation is a famous global automaker headquartered in Japan, which
commonly known as Toyota (Liker, 2004). As a leader in the global car market, Toyota Motor is
famous of manufacturing quality cars with low price. Toyota’s world-leading quality and the
management system are remarkable. In 2003, the annual profit of Toyota was larger than the
combined earnings of GM, Chrysler, and Ford. Also, Toyota’s market share increased 24% over
2002, so a number of analysts estimated that Toyota’s market share would pass GM in few
years and become the largest automaker in the world (Liker, 2004).
PROBLEMS
Employee Involvement
Employee relation is considered as an important critical factor of total quality management
implementation. Implementing employee involvement and quality circles can do a great job
when applying total quality management. This includes employee participation in quality
decisions, responsibility of employees for quality, employee recognition for superior quality
performance, effectiveness of supervision in handling quality issues and on-going quality
awareness of all employees. (Saraph, Benson & Schroeder, 1989)
However, Toyota Company did not do well in this part so far. In the TQM approach used by
Toyota, the assembly line teams are responsibility for the steps related to their own work. It is no
doubt that, in order to apply TQM approach, workers are cross-trained and when there is a
problem occurring in their work areas, they can stop the assembly line processes in some cases.
Although they are responsibility for continuous improvement processes, they must achieve
management approval before they can make changes in their work. (Edward, 1994; p68-76)
Managerial behavior and leadership are playing important roles in both TQM and employee
relations, but Toyota seems a little bit weak in these areas. Whenever emergencies take places,
the Toyota team may waste too much time passing the information through stratums. The top
level in this company cannot make decision quickly enough to handle problems. Decision making
and executing may be delayed due to the poor communication between leaders and workforce.
During the passing procedure, the condition of occurring problems may be misunderstood, errors
may occur meanwhile. Such situations may even lead to deadly result which could be avoided if
concerned.

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Supplier Relationship
Supplier relationship is an important critical factor in the total quality system of auto industry like
Toyota. The vehicle recalls exposed the defects between the company and its suppliers in the
matching system. In traditional Japanese industrial circles, the corporate relationship between the
producer and its suppliers is established based on the Japanese credit system which is called the
keiretsu system. (Banerji, Sambharya, 1996:89) Generally speaking, the members in the system
are almost Japanese companies. Besides business relationships between each other, these
companies usually talk about marketing targets and the prospects of the industry together some
time during a year. However, the Toyota’s new cost-saving strategy CCC21 (Construction of Cost
Competitiveness in the 21st Century) which aims to achieve large-scale cost reductions for about
170 components that account for 90% of the total component purchasing costs has put the
cooperative partners of Toyota under great pressure. In other word, if these suppliers want to
continue their cooperative relationship with Toyota, they have no choice but accept the new order
quotations given by Toyota. Otherwise, they won’t get cooperation contracts from Toyota. For
Toyota, in order to get cheap auto-spare parts, the company sought for oversea supplies
extensively. This action has actually damaged the traditional keiretsu system. To be more specific,
it led to two defects. Firstly, it is hard to assure the overall quality of Toyota’s products and manage
the supply chain if the company pursuit for a lower costs blindly. Secondly, Toyota outsourced its
manufacture of auto-spare parts to overseas suppliers, which increased the difficulties of quality
control. Compressing costs excessively brings great negative impacts on its product quality.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Employee Involvement
Employee involvement groups have been found to positively impact employee commitment to
quality”. (Ahire, Golhar & Waller, 1996) Toyota organization, however, do not satisfied the
workforce currently. In order to create an active working group, Toyota Company should move
power to individuals that are lower in the organization. According to Edward’s saying,
improvements can be best down by natural work team when team members are given authority,
information and knowledge to improve processes and are responsibility for the major portion of
the production or service process. (Edward, 1994; p68-76) Recommendation from this theory can
be conclude that Toyota Company should strengthen the relationship between each level within
the whole organization and try to achieve equilibrium in team members’ authorities. Company
culture need to be created and accepted by everyone in the company. If team members have

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totally different ideas when making decisions, the efficiency and effectiveness in decision making
would be decreased. The total quality will then be affected. The firm has to concern that TQM and
employee involvements are close related to each other.
Recent researches have proved that the development of encouragement and tracking systems
can push employee involvement. Toyota Company can make use of cross-functional quality
improvement teams and quality circles plus a framework of evaluation and reward systems to
improve quality. Effect will be significant. (Ahire, Golhar & Waller, 1996) One possible solution is
to offer profit-sharing and dividends. Such rewards can satisfy employees and motivated them a
lot.
Supplier Relationship
The recommendations given to Toyota in the aspect of supplier involve two aspects. On the
one hand, Toyota can expand its manufacturing depth and range to some degree. According to
Smith and Greenwood, Toyota adopted a very close co-operative partnerships relationship with
its suppliers for the reason that the company can only manufacture a bit of self-made spare parts.
The company is just responsible for its products’ overall quality and design and almost all of the
spare parts that needed to produce the car come from the suppliers. A high degree of component
commonality was promoted in the process of production. Using the same spare parts that from
one supplier to product different types of cars to lead to a scale effect. However, if there is only
one mistake in the production process or the spare parts the supplier offered, the negative effect
will be circulative. Toyota needs to strength its ability in the manufacture of auto-spare parts like
Volkswagen and Audi has already done nowadays. For these two companies, they have a deeper
manufacturing range than Toyota; some spare parts of their cars come from the company
themselves. As a result, the company has a better control of the quality of their products for the
reason that they reduce the reliability to the suppliers. Though, this method can’t bring benefits to
reduce the costs. However, quality should be the most important factor that a company should
take into fully consideration than the cost. On the other hand, to specifically talk about the method
to manage the suppliers, it can be classified as three aspects: verify, standardized and evaluate.
Firstly, verifying the suppliers lists to ensure the quality of the suppliers. Secondly, standardize
the producing process of the suppliers to reduce the possibility of making mistakes. Thirdly,
evaluating the products the suppliers offered. For Toyota, the company needs to strengthen the
responsibility of its quality control department.

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REFERENCES
 Juran’s Quality Handbook 5th
Edition. Joseph M. Juran
 Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, pages 303-304.
 http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/overview.html
 http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/tqm-history.html
 http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/implementing-
tqm.html
 http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/deming-points.html
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_quality_management
 www.wiley.com/college/sc/reid/chap5.pdf
 www.icaew.com/~/media/files/technical/.../toyota-case-study.ashx