Some years back Total Quality Management (TQM) was a prevalent management objective. Today it seems to have fallen out of favour and other issues seem to take precedent.
Should we go back to basics and revisit the principles of TQM
What is "Quality"
Quality is physical or non-physical characteristic
that constitutes the basic nature of a thing or is one of its distinguish
features, ‘Webster's New World Dictionary’.
Quality is fitness for use, ‘Juran’.
Quality is conformance to requirements, ‘Crosby’.
Quality should be aimed at the needs of the
customer, present and future, ‘Deming’.
Quality is the loss (from function variation and
harmful effects) a product causes to society after being shipped, other than
any losses caused by its intrinsic functions, ‘Taguchi’.
Quality is the totality of features and
characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs, ‘International Standard Organization’.
Quality can be quantified as follows:
Q = P / E
where, Q = quality, P = performance, E = expectations
If
Q is greater than 1.0, then the customer has a good feeling about the product
or service. Of course, the determination of P and E will most likely be based
on the perception when the organisation determining performance and the
customer determining expectations.
I must say I dealt with a few business lately where the quality of service if not the product has left me feeling less than happy as a customer.
So as I started perhaps its time for some businesses to re-visit these principle particularly those in the tach industry and those that primarily operate online.
