Total Quality Management (TQM) enables organizations to achieve long-term success by building teams and processes that deliver customer satisfaction. Learn the principles, practices, and methods that TQM uses to build a continuous improvement culture.

There is no manual for introducing TQM that works for every situation. Each organization must develop an approach that fits their needs, taking into account various factors such as the size, business environment, customer requirements, product and services, and resources available. Learn the four typical phases and the common elements that are common to introducing new management systems.

TQM requires the involvement of all members of the organization to build processes capable of delivering value to customers. Although much of this is accomplished through incremental improvements in daily work, Quality Circles, and project teams, leadership plays a key role. Learn the five main areas where leadership contributes to the long-term success of TQM.

The PDCA cycle is a problem-solving and experimentation method used by people and organizations all over the world. The letters PDCA stand for plan, do, check, act and describe four phases or stages of the activity. Learn what happens at each stage of the PDCA cycle and how they contribute to continuous improvement.

TQM takes a process-centric approach to delivering the highest quality goods and services to the customer. This requires defining how the work is done, identifying what it takes to deliver good quality, and maintaining standards. Learn how TQM uses a method called Statistical Process Control to accomplish this.

Quality Circles are the main vehicle TQM uses to engage the workforce in continuous improvement. They are small groups of frontline workers who track and improve their processes, products, or services. Learn how Quality Circles deliver benefits to the organization while building a continuous improvement culture.

Quality Circles may be started as part of a company-wide TQM effort, or on a smaller scale. Learn the pros and cons of these approaches, the main steps to getting started, the role of leaders, and the support that Quality Circles need to succeed.

The QC Story is the name for a specific way of documenting and communicating the results of Quality Circles activities. Each QC Story shows how the circle members addressed a specific problem. Learn about the 10 steps of the QC Story and how teams use it to summarize, communicate, and learn from each other.

The QC Storyboard is a visual tool that Quality Circles use to summarize a problem-solving story. Learn the typical format, content, questions answered by QC Storyboards, and how organizations use these to develop a continuous improvement culture.

Quality Circles allow members of the organization to pursue continuous improvement autonomously in small groups. However, to be successful, Quality Circles require proper setup, support, and monitoring. Learn the five main areas of management support for Quality Circles, and guidelines for each of them.

An important part of the success of TQM is the ongoing evaluation of its various activities and supporting behaviors. The purpose of evaluating TQM activities is to compare TQM practices against expectations or standards, recognize achievement, identify gaps, and take corrective action to improve. Learn how to do this for TQM processes, roles, and results, using a set of evaluation forms on a three-point scale.