TQM or Total Quality Management is part of the business practices that believes in making a business highly professional. In addition to being professional highly standardised & well-structured & according to certain QA procedures. Why we should go for a TQM program is an interesting question. A question that holds a very simple & easy answer? When properly planned and TQM fully implemented, it will provide substantive financial benefits to the business. Hence, at the end of the day it’s about benefits that needs to be substantial. Furthermore, the investments that needs to payback within the desired time frame.
TQM holds many things together that are mandatory for the smooth running of a company. These includes employee empowerment, employee ownership, managing people & managing financial resources. Apart from this, customer satisfaction, customer expectations and finally involves leadership issues. TQM as it says Total Quality Management, can have its impact on the overall image of the company. On top of this, how the organisation can compete with other companies in terms of quality aspects. Importantly, we are talking about companies of similar stature & nature. Don’t forget customer satisfaction being a necessary part of the TQM procedures. Hence, as you can’t ignore customer feedback if your company is part of the services industry. Apart from customer satisfaction is how you manage corporate organisational behaviour in your company, in light of some mandatory TQM policies. HR practices in this regards are very significant. Vitally, as they set the rules of the game. Finally, how to stick with the basics.
EFFECTIVE USE OF TQM FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
As we have been discussing earlier regarding Total Quality Management and its relationship with customer satisfaction. It’s important to note that the relationship is getting stronger with general dependencies of customer values. Especially, towards success with Total Quality Management practices. The primary focus of TQM and most Quality Management Systems is improving customer satisfaction. More professionally with the help of a larger customer focus. At the same time meeting with customer expectations on a far more regular basis. Most of the time the customers are satisfied when their expectations are being met on a regular basis. TQM always believes in solid customer relationship. Obviously, as satisfied customers become repeated customers. Especially, through the application of word-of-mouth marketing. A marketing norm and practice that is linked up just with customer satisfaction and their loyalty aspects. Some of the key Total Quality Management procedures and components that works effectively towards customer satisfaction are as follows;
1. Your business understands well the customer expectations. More importantly, regards to a field, industry or the product line.
2. It always makes sure that your business has got the expertise as well as the resources.
3. It always makes emphasis for the need of your business to communicate to the customers exactly what you shall be delivering. Avoid all sort of misunderstandings.
HOW TQM IMPROVES BUSINESS EFFICIENCY & EFFECTIVENESS?
When we are dealing with the corporate world. Obviously, we mustn’t ignore the dynamic importance attached with business efficiency and business effectiveness. Although, there are many links to business efficiency. However, the most critical one is profitability. Apart from being profitable. How TQM can make business a much more profitable one. Especially, speaking in terms of monetary values? As they say in the business world ‘Let the money do the talking’. Simply means be profitable & be effective. The efficiency part in TQM comes from managing your business internal operations. Importantly, understanding all key operations with a dynamic vision.
The way TQM places a focus on the internal practices includes;
• How processes align to produce the desired outcomes for better customer satisfaction values.
• The consistency through which the processes delivers the desired outcomes (effectiveness)
• The productivity of a process as compared to the resources used (efficiency).
TQM & ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH LONG TERM COMPETITIVENESS:
Being competitive in the business world demands excellence. Furthermore, working on certain frameworks that are based on TQM values. Apart from customer satisfaction that is truly a recipe for financial success and stability. There are some other key values attached. These are values that plays its part in long term competitiveness of a company. One of the major ones is consistency. Finally, having a disciplined approach towards the key business practices. Yes, we are talking about key business operations that demands excellence. Especially, to achieve long term competitiveness.
TQM, as the acronym clearly makes you understand is not just about a single product or a service meeting its standards. It’s about the whole organisation working on the patterns set for TQM. Customer expectations and customer satisfaction are the two mandatory ones apart from the rest.
IT’S NOT EASY TO IMPLEMENT TQM FULLY:
It’s not practically easy to implement TQM fully with respect to all the Quality Assurance Standards. However, whatever it takes, it doesn’t makes things easy for the practitioners. It is highly important to understand how TQM takes full commitment. Especially, from the management side. Simply tossing the concept down to the employees and asking them to ‘perform this’. Hence, ironically just adds an extra burden on the workers without much benefit from their efforts.