The Evolution of TQM (A Snapshot)

Craftsman
Prior to the twentieth century, managing for quality was based on some ancient principles:

• Product inspection by consumers - which is still widely used in today's village market places
• The craftsman concept, in which buyers rely on the skill and reputation of trained, experienced craftsmen.  Some craftsmen develop reputations that extend a beyond their village boundaries - they are viewed as living national treasures.

Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, which originated in Europe, created the factory system.  The craftsmen become factory workers and their masters became factory foremen.  Quality was managed as before, through the skills of the craftsmen, supplemented by departmental inspection or supervisory audits.  The Industrial Revolution also accelerated the growth of additional strategies, including:

• Written specifications for materials, processes, finished goods, and tests
• Measurement, and associated measuring instruments and test laboratories
• Standardization in many forms.

The Taylor System
Late in the nineteenth century, the US broke sharply with European tradition by adopting the Taylor system of "scientific management".  Central to the Taylor system was the concept of separating planning from execution.  This separation made possible a considerable rise in productivity.  It also dealt a crippling blow to the concept of craftsmanship.  In addition, the new emphasis on productivity had a negative effect on quality.

The Japanese Quality Revolution
Following World War II, the Japanese embarked on a course of reaching national goals by trade rather than by military means.  A major obstacle to selling Japanese products in international markets was a national reputation for shoddy goods.

To solve their quality problems the Japanese undertook to learn how other countries managed for quality.  To this end, Japanese sent teams to visit foreign companies and study their approach.  They also invited Prof Edwards Deming and Dr J M Juran to come to Japan and conduct training courses for manages.

During the 1960's and 1970's numerous Japanese manufacturers greatly increased their share of the American market.  A major reason was superior quality.  Numerous industries were affected, for example, consumer electronics, automobiles, steel and machine tools.

The American companies failed to notice the trends.  They adhered to the belief that Japanese competition was primarily price competition rather than quality competition.  They were mistaken.

Malcolm Baldrige Quality Criteria
In an effort to contain Japanese economic aggression, the US Secretary of Commerce, Malcolm Baldrige consulted with a few thinkers, including Dr J M Juran, to develop a strategy for survival.  This strategy was formally articulated as the Malcolm Baldrige criteria and is now considered a model for Total Quality Management.  The seven categories of this criteria are:

• Leadership
• Information and Analysis
• Strategic Quality Planning
• Human Resource Development and Management
• Management of Process Quality
• Quality and Operational Results
• Customer Focus and Satisfaction.

Adoption of these criteria has transformed several companies to world class players, in both, manufacturing and service industries - Motorola, Xerox, Federal Express, Ritz Carlton and so on.