Making Total Quality Work: Aligning Organizational Processes, Performance Measures, and Stakeholders

Total quality (TQ) is increasingly used by companies as an organization-wide system to achieve fully satisfied customers through the delivery of the highest quality in products and services. The goals of total quality can be achieved only if organizations entirely reform their cultures. Traditional management, operations, finance and accounting systems are reviewed against changes that are needed in organizational processes, measurement systems, and the values and behaviors of key stakeholders to overpower the status quo and shift to a total quality culture that permeates every facet of the organization. Total quality must reflect a systemwide commitment to the goal of serving the strategic needs of the organization's customer bases, through internal and external measurement systems, information and authority sharing, and committed leadership.