Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Total Quality Management - Essay Example Japanese remember him as their hero and the father of their post world war revolution. In fact, much of the industrial boom that Japanese manufacturers witnessed after the Second World War was due to the application of the concepts taught by Sir William Edwards Deming. The Japanese industrial leaders invited Deming to their country and in less than four years, the impact was visible. In the next couple of decades, Japanese products were everywhere in the American markets (Neave, pp. 219-222, 1990). These products were better in terms of quality and much cheaper as compared to their American substitutes. Despite the fact that he remained in the headlines in Japan but in his country of origin, the man was running a slow consultancy business. Managers and CEOs were skeptical of his ideas since they were staunch followers of Taylorism. However, in 1980, NBC made a documentary with the title of â€Å"If Japan can†¦why can’t we?† It became almost impossible for the busin ess world to avoid him anymore. From 1981 to 1993, he gave more than 250 four-day seminars where he explained. When he died at the age of 93, his ideas were still far from gaining the publicity and respect that he deserves. Even today, his ideas are gaining prominence and they remain the basis of many researches, studies, and theories. (Bauer, Duffy & Westcott, pp. 85-89, 2006). This paper is an attempt to explore the ideas of W. E. Deming regarding quality management. The paper would then apply those ideas to a company for their better understanding and application. In the last part, the paper would attempt to present a critical analysis of Deming’s theories in light of the recent developments in the field of quality management. Discussion Deming’s approach to Quality Management Much of Deming’s teachings can be summarized with his classical fourteen points from his book, Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position, which was renamed Out of the Crisis in 19 86. Deming never used the term â€Å"total quality management† within his fourteen points, however, observers and experts agree that with his fourteen points, a new era began in the field of management, which is now known as Total Quality Management. Interestingly, Deming did not put great emphasis on quality but his central focus was on management and management styles. Following are Deming’s fourteen points: 1. â€Å"Create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive, stay in business, and to provide jobs. 2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change. 3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by creating quality into the product in the first place. 4. End the practice of awarding business based on price tag. Instead, min imize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs. 6. Institute training on the job. 7. Institute leadership. The aim of leadership should be to help people, machines, and gadgets to do a better job. Leadership of management is in need of overhaul, as well as leadership of production workers. 8. Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively for the company. 9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force that ask for zero defects and new levels of productivity. 11. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute