Total Quality Management example essay topic

Introduction In the early 1990's, the concept of Quality Service as a differentiating factor came to life in the hospitality industry. Hotel companies and restaurants implemented quality assurance programs and referred to their quality service in their advertising. Significant efforts were made to implement Total Quality Management practices - which at that time had been ubiquitous for years in the manufacturing industry - in order to not only maintain product quality, but more specifically to improve their service quality. And for the first time a hotel company, namely The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, won the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, which is presented to organizations for providing outstanding quality products and services. This paper will review the definition and components of Total Quality Management; explain its history; describe some of TQM related organizations and awards; introduce its most celebrated intellectuals; and illustrate some of ideas, techniques and principles, and how those were implemented in certain restaurant chains.

We will conclude this essay by giving a narrative of how the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company successfully manages for Quality, and thus becoming the benchmark of all luxury hotel chains. What is TQM? Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that originated in the 1950's and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980's. TQM has been one of the most influential methods used in managing business processes over the last 30 years. It has been incorporated as a vital component in the management systems of some of the world's most successful enterprises.

TQM is a method by which management and employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. It is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. It is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations. Some of the companies that have implemented TQM include Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. As mentioned above, TQM is a set of management practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceeds customer requirements.

TQM places strong focus on process measurement and controls as means of continuous improvement. In trying to understand TQM better, is it is well worth considering the relevance and meaning of the three words in its title. Total - The responsibility for achieving Quality rests with everyone in a business no matter what his or her function. It recognizes the necessity to develop processes across the business, that together lead to the reliable delivery of exact, agreed customer requirements. This will achieve the most competitive cost position and a higher return on investment.

Quality - The prime task of any business is to understand the needs of the customer, then deliver the product or service at the agreed time, place and price, on every occasion. This will retain current customers, assist in acquiring new ones and lead to a subsequent increase in market share. Management - Top management lead the drive to achieve quality for customers, by communicating the business vision and values to all employees; ensuring the right business processes are in place; introducing and maintaining a continuous improvement culture. History of TQM Many of the TQM concepts originated with the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the American statistician, who guided the Japanese industry's recovery after World War II and who formed many of his ideas during World War II when he taught American industries how to use statistical methods to improve the quality of military products.

Japan was a defeated nation with few natural resources and an inability to feed a population of 90 million, by itself. Japan realized the need for radical change and it also realized that in order to accomplish this, it needed to dismiss ideas and ways of the old management and their systems, replacing them with younger men capable of making the changes needed to develop their economy. Japan, burdened with a reputation for poor quality, invited Dr. Deming to teach them his methods. Deming addressed the top business leaders in Japan, including managers from companies that are now household names such as Sony, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Deming urged them to find out what their customers wanted, then study and improve the design and production processes until the quality of their product was unsurpassed. He urged a new style of management that shifts the focus from profits to quality. He reasoned that employees could learn how to monitor, control and continually improve their work processes and systems with the application of a scientific approach. He had what he called "Fourteen Points to Quality" that he believed were essential for all businesses to have in order to effectively implement TQM. He described the philosophy of TQM as the following five-step chain reaction: 1. Improved quality means lower costs because of less rework, fewer mistakes, fewer delays and better use of time and materials.

2. Thus, productivity increases. 3. Better quality leads to higher market share, which allows the company to raise prices. 4. Thus, profits increase.

5. Thus, the company creates more jobs. Some of the most basic principles include an unwillingness to accept any defects or mistakes, an environment that fosters continuous improvement in all processes and a focus on customer feedback as a primary gauge for quality. TQM programs also require the implementation of some sort of statistical process software to find, correct and virtually eliminate the defects in company processes.

While the Japanese listened to Deming, American industry did not. The American industry went back to the old established ways of trying to meet consumer market opportunities. Deming predicted the Japanese adoption of these methods would put their products in demand throughout the world in five years. He was wrong; within four years the Japanese had gained large shares of some markets. However, in order to compete and survive, the rest of the world was very soon forced to take his ideas seriously, adopting 'Japanese methods's uch as TQM.