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Unit 24: Total Quality Management

24.2 Principles of Total Quality Management Notes

The one factor that is the most influential in the success or failure of a TQM implementation effort
is universal endorsement, in particular at the top. If management is not completely sold on TQM,
it is unlikely that an implementation effort will be successful. Endorsing TQM represents a
fundamental change in the way one does business. Less than full support by anyone in the chain of
authority essentially condemns the effort to failure.
In our case at the Air Force Academy, we had the support of everyone above us in the chain of
command, from our department head, through the dean, all the way to the Secretary of Defense.
That is not to say that there were no opponents on the faculty. Faculty members are a very independent
group of people, and consensus on any issue is unlikely. Because those who opposed TQM
implementation were not in our chain of command, they did not prevent us from implementing
TQM; however, if one of the opponents happened to be in our chain of command, we would have
had a much more difficult time.

It was also very important to get the endorsement of the students as well as those up the chain. To
earn the student’s endorsement, we had to make them part of the solution. TQM is a participative
management philosophy, and the students had to participate throughout the effort. We therefore
had to teach them about TQM and then show them how we were changing things in the course.
Without that education process, we would not have had the support of the students that we enjoyed.
Once the commitment is made to implement TQM one of the first steps is to identify the ‘customers’
or stakeholders. To do this, you must treat the educational process as a system; all elements and the
interactions between those elements must be addressed. Process improvement should begin and
end with the customer.
A systems approach to industrial process improvement is relatively common now. In an Industrial
application, the customers will include the purchaser of the product or service, suppliers,
subcontractors, etc. A careful identification of the customers in the university setting needs to be
accomplished. It can rightly be argued that there are many customers of the university including the
students, the employers of the school’s graduates, the parents of the students, the taxpayers, the
whole of society, the Board of Regents, the State Legislature, etc. We have found that by identifying
our students and the employers of our graduates (the Air Force) as our primary customers, we
would end up satisfying all of the other customers. On the other hand, by focusing on a customer
that is too far removed from the operation, it is very easy to overlook the needs of the more immediate
customers.
It is not uncommon for universities to address the needs of industry in curriculum development;
however, students are usually treated more as a product than a customer. It is likely that many of
the problems that plague some universities stem from an effort to make a remote body happy while
inadvertently ignoring the students. This is a classic case of improperly defining the system. All
relevant participants must be included in the educational system. Once all participants are identified,
the relative importance of each participant can be established. Taking a systems approach to education
can be a very useful endeavor.
If the student is identified as one of your customers, you must try to satisfy that customer, but you
must be very sure you know what that customer really wants. An Air Force general may say he
wants a fighter that can turn inside a football field at four times the speed of sound, but he really
does not want that—even if it was technologically possible, he couldn’t afford it, Customers must
make an informed decision in deciding what they want, taking into account costs, performance
needed, legal issues, etc. Students may say they want an easy ‘A’ in every class, but what they really
want is an education. If high grades were passed out with no learning taking place, prospective
employers would quickly learn to avoid hiring the graduates of that university. The perspective we
should take is that the students are, at least in principle, paying for the services we provide. We
must be sure that we are satisfying their real long-term needs, not simply short-term desires.

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