OPPapers.com

Tqm

Introduction
In today’s globalized market, with interdependent economies of scale and cross-cultural product initiatives, businesses strive to maintain their profit margins and market shares by providing the best possible products and services to their customers. “Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people” (Blanchard, 2007, p. 4). According to John Stark Associates, total quality management (TQM) is a management strategy used today in business, manufacturing, education, government, and the service industries to maximize efficiencies in all organizational processes (John Stark Associates, 1998). Although organizations differ in their operational definitions of TQM, common threads exist which span the breadth of business and private enterprise. Ponzi and Koenig describe total quality as the culture, attitude, and organization of a company that aims to provide, and continue to provide, its customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. In their definition, the organizational culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with things done right first time, and defects and waste eradicated from operations (Ponzi & Koenig, 2002).
Studies during 1990-2007 have reported positive and negative relationships between TQM and organizational performance and others reveal that, the introduction of TQM does not improve performance. Scholars including Robert Galvin, Lewis Platt, and Ron Heidke have argued that TQM is not a failure (Romano, 1995). But in contrast, Dr. Oren Harari, professor of management at the University of San and author of the article, ‘Ten reasons TQM does not work’, proposes several reasons for TQM failures (Harari, 1997). Then there are scholars who believe that TQM is temporary, a concept that won’t stick around, such as Goeke & Offodile (2005) who claims, TQM has been labeled by many as a management fad. After a view the TQM...