Quality Management (QM)

The application of a quality management system in managing a process to achieve maximum customer satisfaction at the lowest overall cost to the organization while continuing to improve the process. OR The management processes that overarch and tie together quality control and quality assurance activities.

The term Quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition (but rather to ensure that an organisation or product is consistent), can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not only on product/service quality, but also the means to achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.

Quality management adopts a number of management principles that can be used by top management to guide their organizations towards improved performance. The principles include:

Customer focus

Since the organizations depend on their customers, therefore they should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and try to exceed the expectations of customers. An organization attains customer focus when all people in the organization know both the internal and external customers and also what customer requirements must be met to ensure that both the internal and external customers are satisfied.

Leadership

Leaders of an organization establish unity of purpose and direction of it. They should go for creation and maintenance of such an internal environment, in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's quality objective.

Involvement of people

People at all levels of an organization are the essence of it. Their complete involvement enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organization.

Process approach

The desired result can be achieved when activities and related resources are managed in an organization as process.

System approach to management

An organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its quality objectives are contributed by identifying, understanding and managing all interrelated processes as a system.

Continual improvement

One of the permanent quality objectives of an organization should be the continual improvement of its overall performance.

Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are always based on the data analysis and information.

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Since an organization and its suppliers are interdependent, therefore a mutually beneficial relationship between them increases the ability of both to add value.