Total quality management is a way to describe a business environment where employees constantly improve their performance and are committed to maintaining high standards.
Before the 1950s, quality management was completely different – and not only because manufacturers didn’t have access to the technology we have today, says Otto de Graaf, CMO, AlisQI. Shop floor operators who had insights and first-hand experience with quality issues had no say in decision-making but relied on management for defining quality processes and controlling production lines. This all changed with Total Quality Management (TQM).