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Total Quality Management (TQM) Paper

Total Quality Management (TQM) can be difficult to define because the word quality is difficult to define. Also globalization has improved TQM through greater competition. Microsoft has had success with TQM as well as increased competition from competitors improving their TQM. Below is a definition of TQM, how globalization has influenced TQM, and how TQM has affected Microsoft.
TQM Defined
To define TQM lets break out the individual definition of the words starting with the word total. According to the dictionary, total means “constituting or comprising the whole (Total Dictionary)”. “Comprising of the whole” would mean all encompassing. This would mean that TQM encompasses the entire organization.
The next word in TQM is quality. Quality can be very difficult to define. There are 19 different definitions in the dictionary for quality. The first definition for quality is defined as “an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute (Quality Dictionary)”. What exactly does this mean? Many individuals would give different answers to this question. Here is a list of several definitions of quality given by TQM experts:

“What is quality? What would someone mean by the quality of a shoe? Let us suppose that it is a man's shoe that he is asking about. Does he mean by good quality that it wears a long time? Or that it takes a shine well? That it feels comfortable? That it is waterproof? That the price is right in consideration of whatever he considers quality? Put another way, what quality-characteristics are important to the customer?” (Burrill & Ledolter, 1999, p. 123). - W. Edwards Deming

“An essential requirement of... products is that they meet the needs of those members of society who will actually use them. This concept of fitness for use is universal.... The popular term for fitness for use is quality, and our basic definition becomes quality means fitness for” (Burrill & Ledolter, 1999,...