Interactive Group Exercise

1. Interactive Group Exercise Exploring Total Quality Management 1

2. To discover which companies are using TQM principles and how they are using them. Objectives 2

3. Individually: choose a company and go to its website. Individually: identify TQM principles present in this company (people orientation and improvement orientation). In groups: discuss your companies and TQM principles identified. Look for consistencies. Share these consistent principles with the class. Instructions 3

4. TQM Defined and Four Components of TQM • Total Quality Management (TQM): “a comprehensive approach dedicated to continuous quality improvement, training, and customer satisfaction.” • Four Principles of TQM: • Make continuous improvement a priority. • Get every employee involved. • Listen to and learn from customers and employees. • Use accurate standards to identify and eliminate problems. 4

5. People Orientation • Delivering customer value is most important. • People will focus on quality if given empowerment. • TQM requires training, teamwork, and cross-functional efforts. 5

6. Improvement Orientation • It’s less expensive to do it right the first time. • It’s better to do small improvements all the time. • Accurate standards must be followed to eliminate small variations. • There must be strong commitment from top management. 6