Let’s Talk Quality -1by suitcase@sympatico.ca

Total Quality Management (TQM) or just “Quality” is in my view the most ex-ploited business phrase or word in commerce today. If you ask anyone if they are for quality you can expect a positive answer, everyone is for quality.

Remember all the hullaballoo on TQM when it was first introduced? Created by management gurus such as Dr. Edward Demming, Dr. Joseph Juran, Philip Crosby, etc, claims where made and proven that manufacturing organizations could remove waste of 25% of their operating cost, and waste in service organizations was higher at 40% of their total revenue! No matter the size company TQM added 25% to 40% more to the bottom line. Yikes! Everyone wanted in the game! Then why has the fever cooled or seemingly totally dissipated?

The reason is, that history shows that the majority of companies on the quality quest achieved little if anything of the published goals, they became disheartened and soon gave up, (But most engraved the word “Quality” somewhere on their business card.) and sadly their products and service did not change and in a lot of cases wors-ened. When asked about their quality experience the answer given was usually some-thing like, “We tried it, but the cost and the management changes necessary were much more than we expected and just making the effort turned out to be more than it was worth.” Hence to most, achieving the quality grail became only a myth. So the answer to, “Why the cooling of the fever.” is that the proportion of failures contin-ually outpaced the successes. Why? Because “It’s really hard work and it all hinges on one poor soul, the person where the buck stops you know, the CEO, the Prez, the owner, the head nut, if that person is not the company’s, “Quality Champion” it fails. Simple, eh!” It does not matter who else in the company supports quality (Even if it’s a family mem-ber.) it is destined for failure if the top dog isn’t the one beating the drum. No consultant will ever turn your organization into a quality company. Sorry, you must do that all your-self. You can be shown the way, but you have to go down the path all alone and at the start it’s a brutal trip with your compatriots kicking and screaming to go back to the old ways. Once you make the decision to go for it, never ever, ever give up, because failure means irreparable harm to your company by lowering moral and even the confidence of your leadership. I have been witness to this and can attest that products and services have worsened plus the added insult of the nay sayers singing in unison, “We told you so!”

But by striving forward and fending off all the demons you will savour and experi-ence the benefits of blowing the competition away and becoming the best in class of your industry.

Interested in learning the sure way to obtain the quality grail? Next time we’ll dis-cuss the one of the four rules you must follow.

Yours for continuous improvement, G Smith