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Total Quality Management

Notes a custodian of quality. Says IQL’s Basu: “Most companies, when they have set a quality
goal, will sub-contract the monitoring to the quality department. But that’s not what
Deming Prize winners do.” BT offers a guided tour through today’s Deming Prize winner’s
systems for tomorrow’s Deming Prize aspirants.
TQM and Policy

The TQM Corporation ensures that quality is everyone’s job for every moment that they
are on the job. But only the Deming company articulates this ownership as a policy. Nor
is the policy limited to ownership; every activity in the company must conform to the
master-list of guidelines on quality. Sundaram-Clayton’s strategy: it uses its policy to
dovetail the Deming definition of what quality means into the requirement for involving
everyone in it. Explains Srinivasan: “Quality is a multi-faceted body. It has to encompass
the entire organisation.” In fact, Sundaram-Clayton actually has a Quality Policy room,
where the company’s top managers meet once a week for a review.
At Sundaram-Clayton, the Quality Policy exists in the form of an elaborate statement,
which reads: “Sundaram-Clayton will deliver a level of quality that totally meets customer
expectations. This customer satisfaction will be obtained by supplying products of the
right quality, at the right time, and at the right place. Total employee involvement and
continuous improvement in every sphere of activity will be the twin supports on which
Sundaram-Clayton quality will stand.” Thus, policy deployment spreads across the entire
organizational value-chain, including marketing, operations, product development,
finance, and personnel. That is especially crucial in the context of the Deming Prize, which
grades the performance of every department and function separately – including the CEO
himself. Explains Sarita Nagpal, 44, TQM Counsellor, CII: “At Sundaram-Clayton,
transformation is truly everybody’s job – just as Deming wanted it to be.” Adds C.
Narasimhan, 58, President, Sundaram-Clayton: “It is the clarity about the company’s
strategic position in its industry and its long-term goals that has enabled the organization
to align itself with the larger objective of becoming a world-class manufacturer.”
Questions
1. Explain why winning the Deming Prize is considered prestigious for an Indian
organization.
2. Explain the factors that led to winning the Deming Prize by Sundaram Layton.
3. Explain the quality policy of Sundaram Clayton.
4. Explain how Company Wide Quality Control (CWQC) was practiced at Sundaram
Clayton.
Source: http://www.india-today.com/btoday/22111998/cover.html

2.8 Summary

A TQM Guru is an expert thinker who communicates his thoughts through verbal and
written expressions and thus contributes to the field of TQM.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming was awarded his doctorate in mathematical physics in 1928.
Despite success stories of Xerox, Motorola and many other companies that embraced his
teachings, Deming felt he was a prophet without honour in his own country.

After the World War II, Deming was invited by Japan as an Adviser to the Japanese
Census. He became involved with the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE)
after its formation in 1946.

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