Re: where can I find the definition of TQM ?

[Myron Tribus <mtribus@home.com>]

Joanna Weaver asked "Where can I find a definition of TQM?"
The short answer is: "You cannot.  No one has a good definition"
The long answer is:
TQM is a shorthand way of saying "Quality matters".  However, in my 
experience, what is done under the label is different from place to 
place and, within an organization, from time to time. In the early 
days of the quality movement in the USA there was a tendency to adopt 
and attempt to adapt lessons learned from Japan. There the labels 
shifted from TQC (Total Quality Control, a phrase from Armand 
Feigenbaum's book of the same title), to CWQC (Company Wide Quality 
Control) to emphasize that the focus was beyond just manufacturing, 
to TQM (Total Quality Management) meaning the same as CWQC.
The problem with all these labels is that we are really attempting to 
define good management, not just one aspect of management.
Brian Joiner recognized this when he introduced his book, "Fourth 
Generation Management".  Recently Lee, Shiba and Wood published 
"Integrated Management Systems" which decries TQM (without actually 
defining it).  One of the authors, Shiba, had previously published "A 
New American TQM" (Shoji Shiba, Alan Granham, David Walden).
My conclusion: Don't bother to try to define it.  Whatever definition 
you come up with will not be in agreement with anyone else's 
definition.
Don't you just love chaos?
Myron Tribus,  350 Britto Terrace,  Fremont, CA 94539
Ph:510 651 3641  Fax: 510 656 9875   e-mail: mtribus@home.com
There is no such thing as an immaculate perception.  What you see 
depends upon what you thought before you looked.
============================================================================