Theory Of Total Quality Management

Reid and Sanders in their book Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, opined that "the definition of quality depends on the role of the people defining it. Most consumers they say have a difficult time defining quality, but they know it when they see it." The difficulty in defining quality they emphasized exists regardless of product, and this is true for both manufacturing and service organizations. Imagine how difficult it may be to define quality for products such as airline services, child day-care facilities, college classes, or even OM textbooks; they continued. Further complicating the issue they argued is that the meaning of quality has changed over time. In their opinion, there is no single universal definition of quality.

It stresses continuous improvement of product quality and service delivery.

Similarly, Ezigbo (2007:139) held that TQM is a people focused management system that aims at continual increase in customer satisfaction at continually lower real cost. TQM, she explained "is considered a means to introduce participate management: pushing problem solving and decision making down the line in the organization, allows people who do the work to both measure and take corrective action in order to deliver a product or service that meets the needs of their customers." Thus TQM works horizontally across function and department, involving every employee, top to bottom and extends backwards and forward to include the supply chain and the customer chain. TQM is a total approach to quality and it involves the whole system as an integrated unit. Ezigbo further opines that the success of quality improvement is based on the understanding of every member of the organization concerning the needs of their customers (internal and

In consolidating this view, he went on to explain that TQM adds one more dynamic dimension to management, because quality, too, is always a moving target. From an accounting and financial perspective imbued with a strong desire for waste and cost reduction and control, Nwude (2003:721) postulated that TQM works along the principle of getting it right first time every time. That is, wastages are avoided from point of entry of raw materials to the finished goods stage. Thus the resultant effect of TQM is that the firms cost of production will be reduced and the selling price appreciate