Why Total Quality Management efforts do not succeed ?

 Top down TQM programs often fails to create deep and sustained change in organisation. They become a fad soon replaced by another fad. The most important factor in the success or failure of TQM efforts is the genuineness of the organization’s commitment. Often companies look at TQM as another business change that must be implemented due to market pressure without really changing the values of their organization. Recall that TQM is a complete philosophy that has to be embraced with true belief, not mere lip service. Looking at TQM as a short-term financial investment is a sure recipe for failure.

Another mistake is the view that the responsibility for quality and elimination of waste lies with employees other than top management. It is a “let the workers do it” mentality.

A third common mistake is over or under-reliance on statistical process control (SPC) methods. SPC is not a substitute for continuous improvement, team- work, and a change in the organization’s belief system. However, SPC is a necessary tool for identifying quality problems. Some common causes for TQM failure are

1.     Lack of a genuine quality culture

2.     Lack of top management support and commitment

3.     Over- and under-reliance on statistical process control (SPC) methods

Companies that have attained the benefits of TQM have created a quality culture. These companies have developed processes for identifying customer-defined quality. In addition, they have a systematic method for listening to their customers, collecting and analyzing data pertaining to customer problems, and making changes based on customer feedback. You can see that in these companies there is a systematic process for prioritizing the customer needs that encompass the entire organization.