CATEGORY: PUBLIC EDUCATION
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By Ms. S. Gordon


"Commitment is simply deciding that you will do something, whereas leadership is about doing it."


Total quality management can be defined as an approach, which entails managing all aspects of a business for quality. It is a systematic way of guaranteeing that organized activities occur in the way they are planned, by preventing problems from occurring through the creation of attitudes and controls. Poor quality can be expensive, thus the goal of a total quality management programme is to reduce defects and rework to zero.

Commitment is simply deciding that you will do something whereas leadership is about doing it. Commitment cannot be faked; you either are committed or not committed. Commitment can be described as an emotional state, which is deeply rooted in the beliefs and conscience of people. Unfortunately, commitment to issues and people is often vague and half-hearted which often results in compromise. It is important to note that this will not do for an effective total quality management process.

The commitment of management to TQM cannot be delegated. One has to show their commitment by his/her actions. If you are a profitable organization and commits to TQM, the boss may see it as enough to commit resources to TQM and delegate the rest. This will turn out to be a waste of money, because it will not work.

Emphasis on total quality management must be the responsibility of all personnel not just those in the quality control department therefore quality control must start with the production department. It begins by getting everyone involved and concerned about quality however little or nothing will happen until management gets involved. The people will automatically look for evidence that management is committed to the process of improvement.

The following are some pointers that would indicate management’s commitment to TQM:

1. Management has developed a vision for the future of the organization
2. The necessary resources being committed in the form of time and money. In
most cases, people do not demand much money, particularly in the early stages. The
greatest barrier however is the availability of time
3. The prompt implementation of solutions to problems
4. The formation of problem solving teams allotting sufficient time and resources to deal
with the problems
5. Dismantling of barriers between departments and listening to suggestions from anyone
who cares to make them and
6. Quality process goes through various phases. After phases 1 and 2, the process usually stalls. When this occurs, evidence of management commitment is that the people
see management revitalizing the process.

Total Quality management demands that an organizations move away from ‘management by control’ to ‘management by commitment’. You don’t have to be the immediate supervisor or boss of people to get things done. Effectively organized companies have their managers who get their own way when they are right, and don’t when they are not, irrespective of whether the people they are asking to make change work directly for them.

An effective total quality management programme contributes greatly to customers’ satisfaction and the company’s well being through customer feedback from the market place, since customers are generally the final judge of any product. Remember quality must become an attitude that is shared by all employees in the business.



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