SOM
1. Define the most significant concept of Total Quality Management and critically evaluate the strategic advantages of Total Quality Management.
- TQM is a management approach centred on quality, based on the participation of an organisation's people and aiming at long term success. Achieved through customer satisfaction.
- Total Quality Management is a management technique used by managers in the production chain and who deal with the tactical and operational decisions. The TQM is organised from senior management and implemented by supervisors and employees in the production area. TQM is a process whereby the need to get everything right the first time and to continually improve the business production is required. Getting things right first time is important to ensure that the business focuses on the customer.
- The advantages of total quality management is that the company benefits by having a dedicated workforce who strive and achieve in improving the production line. The raw materials would have to be inspected by workers and line managers to ensure that the goods are free from defects which eliminates and reduces wastage. This in turn reduces costs. The TQM method also has the advantage by having a more productive and successful workforce strategy also has better motivation. The TQM also works by having quality circles of team members and management where their ideas in improving the decision making process is also accomplished. The focus is on the customer in meeting their needs first. Where goods are ordered and distributed the TQM works by coordinating deliveries of supplies to times when the business needs it most. This process the goods being over ordered or having shortages of stock and therefore the costs of holding excess or holding too much stock is reduced.