Total quality management (TQM) is the constant procedure of detecting and decreasing or reducing errors in manufacturing, streamlining supply chain management, improving the client experience, and confirming that employees are up to speed with training. Total quality management aims to hold all parties involved in the production procedure accountable for the overall quality of the final product or service.

Total Quality Management can be set up separately for an organization as well as for a set of standards that must be followed- for example the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the ISO 9000 series. Total Quality Management uses strategy, data and communication channels to integrate the necessary quality principles into the organization’s activities and culture.

Total quality management confirms that every single employee is working towards the development of work culture, procedures, services, systems and so on to confirm long term success.

TQM views an organization as a collection of procedures. It maintains that organizations must strive to constantly increase these procedures by incorporating the knowledge and experiences of workers. The simple objective of TQM is “Do the right things, right the first time, every time.” TQM is infinitely variable and flexible. Although originally applied to manufacturing operations, and for a number of years only used in that area, TQM is now becoming acknowledged as a generic management tool, just as applicable in service and public sector organizations. There are a number of evolutionary strands, with different sectors creating their own versions from the common ancestor. TQM is the foundation for activities, which include:

• Decreasing increase cycle times
• Just in time/demand flow manufacturing
• Commitment by senior management and all employees
• Focus on procedures / development plans
• Development teams
• Decreasing product and service costs
• Systems to facilitate development
• Meeting client necessities
• Precise incorporation in strategic planning
• Employee participation and empowerment
• Acknowledgement and celebration
• Challenging quantified goals and benchmarking
• Line management ownership