Background and Rationale

Background and rationale:
The basic concepts of TQM are : customers-orientation (both internal and external), never-
ending improvement, statistical control of business processes
i
, upstream preventative
maintenance, participative management, ongoing preventive action, cross functional
management and committed leadership and commitment
ii
. A model management framework
for total quality is prepared by excellent organization on the basis of the following aspects:-
Defining and communicating mission, vision, value and objectives.
Collection of external intelligence about markets, customers need and attitudes,
competitors and business environment.
Measuring internal business environment.
Measuring internal business performance.
Identification of improvement opportunities.
Implementation of culture and structural changes by using teams and
Steering and coordination the total quality programme
iii
.

The initiation of these changes is an evolutionary involving steps, management consensus
and finally launching TQM for attaining excellence
iv
.
Putting Quality Together
Japanese companies such as Nippon Denso, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, JVC, Matsushita etc. the
UC Companies such as- Motorola, Florida Power and light, Texas instruments, Harley-
Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Federal express, IBM, Corning, Cadillac, AT & T Etc.
European companies like- jaguar, brutish airways, Mars, Corning glass, Dow Chemicals,
colewort laboratory etc. and Indian companies like- Reliance, Philips, Larsen & Turbo,
Maruti Udyog, Hero Honda, TVS, TISCO< Grasim, BHEL, EIL, OIL,HPCL, SAIL,
Kirloskar, Bajaj Auto, Sundaram fastners,BHEL,Escorts, Ashok Leyland, Hindustan Lever,
Infosys, ITC are some of the excellent organizations of the world
v
.

Many of these companies have won several national and international awards for their
excellent performance. The prestigious prizes won by some of these companies include:
Malcon Balridge National Quality award of the USA, Deming prize of Japan, The European
Quality award, and Golden Peacock National Quality award of India
vi
.
Features of Excellence and TQM:-
Strategy and culture are foundations for excellence in companies/ organizations.
For building excellent organizational culture, six new age skills, viz., creative insight,
sensitivity, vision, versatility, focus and patience are needed to be developed among
managers and executives.
Creativity and innovation are the other essential features of excellent organizations.
Excellent Organizations fare adaptive to innovative changes.
Customer-orientation, employee-orientation, learn staff and processes, simple
organizational structures, flexible policies, value-driven, action-orientation, and
entrepreneurship-driven are the some other characteristics of excellent organization.
Recognition and reward systems are people-oriented in these organizations.
Teamwork and group activities are encouraged and employees are empowered.
Leadership in such organizations is transformation-oriented not transaction-oriented.
Leaders believe in managing by wandering around (NBWA) with employees and
customers. Leaders lead and inspire change.
Excellent organizations believe in quality. They have discipline, have unleashed
tremendous energy and are result oriented. These organizations make quality pay in
lieu of their untiring efforts.
Finally, Excellent organizations are total management (TQM)-oriented.

All the features of excellent organizations discussed above support total quality. Once the
excellent organization attains the world class standards of performance
vii
, they enter in quality
maturity phase and have accelerated improvement. Indian organizations must learn from their
Japanese, US and European counterparts to acquire features of excellence and hence
increment TQM for becoming world class
viii
.

i
Black, S. and Porter, L.J. (1995), An empirical model for total quality management, Total Quality Management, Vol. 6
No. 2, pp. 149-64.

ii
Claver, E., Tar, J.J. and Molina, J.F. (2003), Critical factors and results of quality management: an empirical study,
Total Quality Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 91-118.

iii
James, P. (1996), Total Quality Management: An Introductory Text, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

iv
Sitkin, S.B., Sutcliffe, K.M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994), Distinguishing control from learning in total quality
management, a contingency perspective, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 537-64.

v
Wilkinson, A., Redman, T., Snape, E. and Marchington, M. (1998), Managing with Total Quality Management:
Theory and Practice, Macmillan, London.

vi
Zhang, Z. (2000), Developing a model of quality management methods and evidence their effects on business
performance, Total Quality Management, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 129-37.

vii
Berthon, P., Hulbert, J.M. and Pitt, L.F. (1999), To serve or create? Strategic orientations toward customers and
innovation, California Management Review, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 37-58.

viii
Bolwijn, P.T. and Kumpe, T. (1990), Manufacturing in the 1990s: productivity, flexibility, and innovation, Long
Range Planning, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 44-57.

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