Total quality management (TQM) is a set of managerial practices and strategies aimed at establishing a culture of continuous improvement. TQM involves all members of the organization in a unified effort to improve the quality of their product and the efficiency of organizational processes within the company. According to the TQ framework, quality is determined by the customers’ needs and expectations. Thus, customer satisfaction is the main parameter used to evaluate the company’s performance.
In order for TQM to be successful, it must be implemented at all levels of the organization, which can be achieved by ensuring the commitment of employees. Thus, it requires the existence of a fair and empowering working environment. In addition, the complete integration with all major aspects of business relies on a horizontal hierarchy. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the company’s strategic goals, vision, guiding principles, and quality policies are expected from all involves stakeholders. Consequently, all parties are expected to be held accountable for the quality of the final product.
TQM was initially developed for use with manufacturing systems. However, its flexibility and generalizability allowed applying it in a wide array of industries, including healthcare, public administration, finance, and banking, among others. In the case of a food processing and packaging company, TQM would be implemented across the operations department as well as in a range of other organizational domains, such as employee training, human resources, marketing, and administration. It is worth mentioning that the flexibility of TQM has led to a situation where different parties employ different definitions of the concept that reflect the aspects that are the most relevant in a given setting. Some organizations emphasize customer satisfaction as the main criterion whereas others capitalize on its potential for managerial practices.