To understand the meaning of “Total Quality Management,” let us first ask a simpler question: what does quality actually mean?
Quality refers to a parameter which decides the superiority or inferiority of a product or service. It is the attribute that differentiates a product from its competitors. Business marketers need to emphasize quality over quantity to survive cut-throat competition — because if a competitor offers the same product, quality is often the only real difference left.
What is Total Quality Management?
Total Quality Management is defined as a continuous effort by the management and employees of an organization to ensure long-term customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. One happy customer brings ten new customers along with them; one disappointed customer spreads word of mouth that costs several more.
Quality can be measured in terms of durability, reliability, usage, and similar attributes. Ensuring superior quality is never the responsibility of a single member — it is a joint effort of management, staff, workforce, and suppliers, all working to meet and exceed customer expectations.
Total Quality Management ensures that every single employee is working towards the improvement of work culture, processes, services, and systems to ensure long-term success. It originated in the manufacturing sector but can be applied to almost any organization.
Where TQM Came From
TQM did not appear all at once — it grew out of the work of several quality thinkers across the twentieth century, each contributing a different piece of what we now recognize as the discipline:
- W. Edwards Deming introduced statistical methods of quality control and the philosophy of continuous improvement, later formalized as the Plan-Do-Check-Act (or Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle.
- Joseph M. Juran emphasized that quality had to be planned and managed at every level of an organization, not simply inspected for at the end of a process.
- Armand V. Feigenbaum coined the term “Total Quality Control” and argued that quality was the responsibility of the whole organization, not one department — the idea that gave “Total” its meaning in TQM.
- Philip B. Crosby popularized the goal of “zero defects” and made the financial case that preventing defects costs less than fixing them.
- Kaoru Ishikawa brought quality tools like the cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram into wide use and helped drive Japan’s rise as a global quality leader after World War II.
Together, their ideas converged into the modern understanding of TQM: an organization-wide, customer-focused, data-driven approach to continuous improvement.
The Continuous Improvement Cycle
At the operational heart of TQM is a repeatable improvement cycle, most commonly known as PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) — also called the Deming Cycle. Employees identify problems, test solutions, measure results, and act on what they learn before starting the next cycle.
This same cycle is sometimes referred to as PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act), replacing “Check” with “Study” to emphasize a deeper analysis step. Since this cycle deserves a full explanation in its own right, see our dedicated article on the PDSA technique for a complete step-by-step breakdown.
The Core Principles Behind TQM
Every successful TQM implementation rests on the same underlying principles, regardless of industry:
- A foundation of ethics, integrity, and trust across the organization
- Ongoing training so employees can contribute meaningfully to quality goals
- Genuine teamwork rather than siloed effort
- Visible leadership that believes in and drives the process
- Open communication flowing upward, downward, and across departments
- Recognition that reinforces and rewards quality-focused behavior
These principles are commonly grouped into a “foundation, bricks, mortar, and roof” model. For the full breakdown of each element and how they fit together, see our article on the elements of Total Quality Management.
Recognized TQM Frameworks and Standards
Organizations rarely build a TQM program from scratch. Most work within an established framework or standard, such as the Deming Application Prize, the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, the European Foundation for Quality Management model, or the ISO 9000 family of quality management standards.
Each framework offers a different structure for the same underlying goal: consistently meeting and exceeding customer expectations. A closer look at each of these models is covered in our article on Total Quality Management models.
How TQM Relates to Six Sigma
TQM is often mentioned alongside Six Sigma, and the two are related but not identical. Both aim to deliver superior quality and customer satisfaction, but they differ in scope, method, and how deeply they rely on statistics.
For a detailed side-by-side comparison, see our article comparing Six Sigma and Total Quality Management.
