Purpose – During the last decades, different quality management concepts, including total quality management (TQM), six sigma and lean, have been applied by many different organisations. Although m ...

Similarities and differences between TQM, six sigma and lean

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore if six sigma and lean are new methods, or if they are repackaged versions of previously popular methods – total quality management (TQM) and just‐in‐time (JIT).Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a critical comparison of lean with JIT and six sigma with TQM, a study of the measure of the publication frequency – the number of academic articles published every year of the previous 30 years – for each topic, and a review of critical success factors (CSF) for change efforts.Findings – The more recent concepts of lean and six sigma have mainly replaced – but not necessarily added to – the concepts of JIT and TQM. lean and six sigma are essentially repackaged versions of the former, and the methods seem to follow the fad (product) life cycle. The literature offers fairly similar and rather general CSF for these methods, e.g. top management support and the importance of communication and information. What seems to be missing, however, is the need ...

Lean, six sigma and lean sigma: fads or real process improvement methods?

Purpose – According to the literature, quality management consists of a set of components: critical factors, tools, techniques and practices. The purpose of this paper is: to identify the components of total quality management (TQM), in order to make them known to managers and thus facilitate successful quality management implementation, and to show the situation of 106 ISO 9000 certified firms concerning these components.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve this objective, a literature review and a survey based on 106 ISO 9000 certified firms in Spain were developed.Findings – The results reflect that certified firms must develop their people orientation 1and use techniques and tools to a higher extent in order to progress towards total quality.Originality/value – The value of the paper is point out which TQM components are important to successfully implement TQM and identify the situation of these components in ISO 9000 certified firms in a particular area.

Components of successful total quality management

The relationship between quality management practices and their effects on quality outcomes

Six sigma programs are raging through corporations worldwide, with some corporations citing savings in the $US billions resulting from six sigma implementation. Six sigma has both proponents and detractors with some arguing that nothing new is involved and others identifying it as revolutionary. The view espoused herein argues for six sigma as a methodology within the larger framework of total quality management – a blend of old and new in the sense that the tools of six sigma are often familiar ones, but are applied with an eye that is more strategically focused than historic use of those tools ordinarily indicates.

Six sigma seen as a methodology for total quality management

The interest in total quality management (TQM) has increased rapidly in recent years. Some people see TQM as something necessary to reach competitiveness but others claim TQM to be merely a management fad. We believe that there are several reasons for the different opinions about TQM. One is that the gurus, who often are seen as fathers of TQM, do not like the concept. Another one is that there are several similar names for roughly the same idea. A third one, which, maybe, is the most severe, is that there are many vague descriptions and few definitions of what TQM really is. In this paper we will discuss some of the problems with TQM and describe and discuss our own view of TQM as a management system consisting of the three interdependent components: values, techniques and tools. We strongly believe that this definition will help to understand and implement TQM.

TQM as a management system consisting of values, techniques and tools

Possibilities, obstacles and tools for implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises

Ulrika Hellsten

Papers

TQM as a management system consisting of values, techniques and tools

Possibilities, obstacles and tools for implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises