American Society for Quality Certification Practice Test

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive management approach that seeks to enhance quality and performance throughout an organization. It emphasizes the importance of involving all employees in the continuous improvement process. This means that every person in the organization, from top management to floor staff, has a role in maintaining high-quality standards and finding ways to improve how work is done.

The philosophy behind TQM is that everyone contributes to quality, recognizing that quality improvement is not just the responsibility of a specific department or group, but rather a collective effort. This inclusive approach fosters a culture of collaboration, communication, and shared responsibility, leading to better quality products and services.

Involving all employees means encouraging their input, insights, and commitment to quality, which can spark innovative ideas and solutions that might be overlooked in a more hierarchical approach. This continuous improvement mindset forms the core of TQM, making it distinct from approaches that centralize responsibility for quality with upper management or fix policies and practices without engaging the entire workforce.