Total quality management transcends the product quality approach, involves everyone in the organization, and encompasses its every function: administration, communications, distribution, manufacturing, marketing, planning, training, etc. Coined by the US Naval Air Systems Command in early 1980s, this term has now taken on several meanings and includes (1) commitment and direct involvement of highest-level executives in setting quality goals and policies, allocation of resources, and monitoring of results; (2) realization that transforming an organization means fundamental changes in basic beliefs and practices and that this transformation is everyone's job; (3) building quality into products and practices right from the beginning; (4) understanding of the changing needs of the internal and external customers, and stakeholders, and satisfying them in a cost effective manner; (5) instituting leadership in place of mere supervision so that every individual performs in the best possible manner to improve quality and productivity, thereby continually reducing total cost; (6) eliminating barriers between people and departments so that they work as teams to achieve common objectives; and (7) instituting flexible programs for training and education, and providing meaningful measures of performance that guide the self-improvement efforts of everyone involved.
