In today's business environment, quality is one of the important aspects that need to be

considered in order to survive in this competitive environment. Almost everyone has the
experience of poor quality. Poor quality is intensified when employees are not empowered to
correct quality inadequacies or they are not willing to do so.
There are various ways of defining quality. Some of the most common definition of quality
are as follows:
Conformance to specifications: Measures how well the product or service meets the target
and tolerance determined by its designer (Crosby,1979)
Fitness for use: Focuses on how well the product performs its intended function or use (Juran,
1951).
Value for price paid: Is a definition of quality that consumers often use for products or service
usefulness (Garvin,1984)
A psychological criterion: Is a subject definition that focuses on the judgmental evaluate on
of what constitutes product or service quality (Garvin, 1984).

The 4 Eras of quality management

The quality management eras provides a basis for continuous and discrete development from
one management period to another.
2.4.1 Quality development through inspection
According to Garvin (1988), the development of quality management started with inspection.
The outcome of Industrial Revolution developed specialists who 'inspected' quality into
products. It was a flawed attempt. Scientific management occurred because of environmental
influences. Scientific management provides the frameworks for the development of quality
management inspection.
2.4.2 Quality development through quality control
The management of quality through control refers to dealing with information, derived from
actual process used to manufacture goods and services. As products are manufactured
according to customer specification, it is very important to effectively control the
manufacturing processes. This results in consistency and standardized products whereby
customers' requirements are met. This brings reduction in waste, more efficiency and even
more profits. The difference between inspection and quality control is that, the focus was on
the product for inspection while for quality control it was on the process.

2.4.3 Quality development through quality assurance

Quality assurance took quality from a slender perspective to a broader one. While quality
used to include only specialists, quality assurance involved management also. There has been
increasing awareness of quality among workforce and management. It is about the planned
and systematic actions needed to provide confidence that the requirement will be met. Quality
assurance systems are implemented in many departments of an organisation.
2.4.4 Quality development through TQM.
TQM involves the application of quality management principles to each and every aspect of a
business. An organisation passing through a total quality process would have a clear vision,
very few barriers, training, very good supplier and customer relationship. The realization of
the product does not only represent the quality of the product but that of the whole
organisation.

2.5 Quality Management Principles

There are eight quality management principles. These principles can be used by senior
management as a guidance to improve the performance of the organization. They are defined
in the ISO standards and they are as follows:

2.5.1 Customer focused organisation

An organisation depends on its customers. It is essential to know their current and future
needs, to meet the requirement and to exceed their expectation. This helps in increasing
revenue and market share.

2.5.2 Leadership
Having a good leader provides a sense of direction to the organisation. A leader should create
an environment which ensures that the people are fully involved in achieving the
organization's goals. There should be effective communication to make sure that the
objectives are well understood. This will also lead to motivation.

2.5.3 Involvement of people

People are the one who makes the business work no matter at which level they are. It can be
said that they are the heart of the organization. Hence, they should be motivated, committed
and involved within the organization.

2.5.4 Process approach

When resources and activities are managed as a process, the result is achieved in a more
efficient manner. By using the process approach, there can be lower costs and shorter cycle
times because of the effective use of resources.

2.5.5 System approach to management

By applying this approach, the organisation can improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
There will be alignment and integration of processes.

Continual improvement
This should be a permanent objective of a business. Management must strive continually
improving the effectiveness of the QMS.

Factual approach to decision making

Decision making is always based on the analysis of information and data. This approach can
prove the effectiveness of past decisions through reference to factual records.

Mutually beneficial supplier.

A mutually beneficial relationship improves flexibility and speed of joint response. It
improves cost of resources.
There is an indication that the mentioned principles are not being fully applied at Palmar
Limite. Hence, these principles will be assessed in the survey.

2.6 Quality Management System

It is important to have a Quality Management System (QMS). QMS is tools and processes
used by an organization to obtain good quality. The entire responsibility of the QMS lies on
the management. A good QMS will see that the following two important requirements are
met- the customer's requirement and the organization's requirement. Good quality leads to
customer satisfaction. Having an ISO certification give the customer assurance that the
quality is certain. In other words, the QMS satisfies the requirement of the standards.
Figure 2.2: The QMS Model
Source: http://www.google.mu/imgres

Components of a Quality Management System

The QMS should apply and interact with all the processes in the organisation. The QMS
consists of the following:

2.6.1 Management Responsibility:

The management responsibility is to develop and improve the quality system, listen to the
customers, formulate quality policy, plan and define responsibilities so that there will be an
effective quality management. This is a way for the top management to show their
commitment to QMS development and improving their effectiveness (Biazzo & Benardi,
2003)

2.6.2 Resource Management:

An organisation needs to have the necessary means to implement and maintain the QMS and
to progress on an incessant basis. Customer satisfaction must be enhanced by meeting the
requirements of consumers. (ISO 2008)

2.6.3 Product Realization:

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It consists of the identification of customer requirements, reviewing of product realization,

communication with customers, design and development of products, purchasing, production
and controlling measurement and devices (Biazzo & Bernardi, 2003). According to Seaver
(2001), product realization is the day to day productive business whether it is a good or
service.

2.6.4 Measurement analysis and improvement:

This part states the necessities for monitoring information on client satisfaction, assessing and
monitoring process and management of internal audits, non-conformity defection and
improvement actions (Biazzo & Benardi, 2003).

2.7. ISO 9001

ISO 9001 is one among the range of ISO 9000 standards. The ISO 9001:2000 is being
replaced by the ISO 9001:2008. The aim of this standard is to provide QMS which is
beneficial to an organisation and helps in managing the business in an effective way.
The application of ISO 9001 standards according to Magd and Curry, 2003, is a way to
increase employee motivation and efficiency. This leads to constancy and reliability in the
business.
According to Wickramasuriya and Dharmasiri, the implementation of ISO 9000 standards is
among the approaches used to show the importance of quality management. In Sri Lanka
many companies are achieving the ISO certification. However this accreditation does not
necessarily reflects the certification's effect. The study indicates that issues like customer
oriented behavior, organisation culture, measurement and monitoring of process, employee
satisfaction are the main factor present in organisation, whereas factors like approach to
implementation of ISO standards, leadership and involvement of management, company
reputation and employees involvement have low presence. Employees have a strong
perception that ISO implementation and profitability are connected. According to the
discussion, if there is more concentration on low presence factors, the implementation will be
more effective and hence there will be improvement in the quality management system and
profitability as well.
According to Basir et al, (2011), organizational culture can have a significant impact on IS0
9000 standards. Both the technical and cultural requirements must be considered.
Quality certification might be important for competitiveness. Firms should focus on
development of standards for improving quality and thus increasing customer satisfaction.
This certification helps in achieving competitive advantage (Tari et al, 2010).
Dearing (2007) has discussed that ISO 9001 can have both benefits and costs. There are 3
fixed advantages of using ISO certification. The benefits are listed below:
Discipline
The requirement of ISO 9001 is that the quality system must be reviewed on a routine basis.
In case there is failure in maintaining the quality system, corrective actions are taken. There is
the risk of losing the certification.
Basics of a good quality system
The customer requirements are taken into consideration. The organisation ensures that they
can meet customer requirements hence providing customer satisfaction. Capable staffs are
employed so that the work is well done so as to achieve quality. If there are problems,
corrective measures are taken.
Marketing program
Having an ISO 9001 certification, customers can have faith that the products are of good
quality. Dearing (2007) disagrees that the certification makes the organisation a good
supplier. According to him, ISO 9001 reduces efforts to improve quality.

The weakness of ISO 9001 is its reliance on the 3rd party audits. The requirements do not
contribute to controlling quality. More than half of the requirements are overhead burden that
is they do not contribute directly to the improvement of quality.

2.8 Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM is a philosophy that seeks to encourage both individual and collective responsibility to
quality at every stage of production (from design to sales). TQM is a management method to
planning and applying continuous improvement in an organisation and may have an influence
on the organisation performance of both manufacturing and service sector (Claver-Cortes et
al, 2008). Methods for implementing this approach originated from various quality gurus
(Refer to table below). These personalities have shaped the evolution of TQM. Their
philosophies have contributed to our awareness and understanding of quality. The table shows
their contribution:
Table 2.2: Contribution of different quality Gurus
TQM must be viewed as a system which comprises of 3 interdependent components- values,
techniques and tools. The implementation process should start with the core values,
techniques which are suitable for the organisation must be decided and finally suitable tools
must be identified so that they can be used in an efficient way to support the techniques
(Hellsten & Klefsj, 2000)
TQM is used to attain productivity and process efficiency by identifying and reducing
problems in work processes. TQM addresses main problematic areas such as mistakes in
work processes, redundant processes, unnecessary tasks, and duplicate efforts. TQM helps
with forecasting and preventing mistakes and unproductive activities. Productivity is the
concern of many business managers. TQM is used as a tool to improve productivity. TQM
helps in inspiring employees to improve their performance and thus productivity also will be
better (Belay et al, 2011).
The TQM principles are related to competitiveness of enterprises. The main purpose is to
achieve high efficiency, high quality, low cost and high competitive power (Yatkin, 2004)
There is the possibility that there is a reduction in the absenteeism and labour turnover,
increase in job satisfaction, staff motivation and improvement in commitment to workplace
(Simsek, 1998).

2.9 Elements of TQM

TQM consists of six basic components. The application of these concepts helps to run the
business successfully. The six concepts are follows:

2.9.1 Customer
The first feature is that the company focuses on its customers. The organisation has to
identify their customer needs and then fulfill them. Customer is among the most important
asset of an organisation. The success of an organisation depends on the customers. Therefore,

an organisation should examine their quality system on a regular basis to see if it is fulfilling
the ever-changing requirement over the customers (Besterfield et al, 2003)
In the past, business did not pay attention to customer satisfaction. They have realized that
customer satisfaction increases customer loyalty which brings profits (Bruhn & Grunh,
2001). Also, the risk of chances of switching to other brands due to poor quality is lower
according to Anderson & Fornell (2000).
Quality is customer driven. Products should be manufactured according to customer wants. A
main long-term advantage of TQM relates to customer satisfaction. Successful quality
management practices had a positive impact on customers' satisfaction. Quality management
practices that have been successfully adopted have a positive impact on customer satisfaction
level. The focus on customers also results in good business performance (Ranganathan, S. &
Mehra, S. 2008).
However, according to a study carried out by Bruce Han (2007), there is no direct
relationship between TQM and customer satisfaction. TQM increases organizational
competitiveness hence resulting in customer satisfaction.

2.9.2 Involvement and commitment of management

The implementation of TQM process starts with the top management. Hence the involvement
of the managers is required. They should be engaged in the process. Communication is
important in order to implement the TQM process successfully (Besterfield et al, 2003). The
Deming philosophy can be useful, that is the 14 points. Ristova E. and Serafimovska H.
carried out a study about the impact of leadership on achieving TQM. The conclusion of the
study was that quality improvement is the concern of all individual, groups and the
organisation as a whole. But the key element is leadership. It is the ability and attitude of the
management that decides the success of the organisation.
Top management is essential for the successful implementation of TQM in manufacturing
sector (Raja W., Bodla M.A., Malik A.S., 2011).

Involvement of workforce
Employees' involvement is very important in the production of good and services. They are
the ones who contribute in the manufacturing of the goods hence meeting the organization's
goals. They should be motivated so that they give their best. Various ways can be used to
motivate them. TQM practices have an important aspect of effectively involving employees
in practices that lead to improvement in company performance (Mohrman et al., 1996). The
use of TQM practices can create a culture that encourages employees to work together across
the company, improve personal responsibility, and enhance a sense of accomplishment in job
tasks.
2.9.3.1 Training
It enables employees to perform better and empower them to optimize the use of their
abilities and capabilities. The purpose of training is to help an organization to achieve its
objectives by adding value to the people it employs. There is increase in job satisfaction and

productivity. Employees need good training so that they can identify and take corrective
actions against quality problems. They must know how to make assessment of quality by
using the quality control tools. They must know how to interpret the findings and the
corrective actions to be taken. Since TQM is an on-going process, training also should be the
same. TQM will be successful only if all employees are given training. But the top
management should be the one receiving training first (Crous M.J., & Vermeulen, W. 2000)
Employee empowerment
Another aspect of TQM is to authorize the employees so as to look for quality problems and
correct them. Employees are provided with incentives to identify problems unlike in the old
concept where they were scared of detecting problems. In the new concept, employees are
empowered to take decisions concerning quality. Their suggestion and contribution are
valued. They are given training. Employees are considered as the internal customers while
those purchasing the goods and services are known as the external customers

Continuous Process Improvement

An organisation which aims for perfection strives to attain it by continuously improving the
process. Perfection can never be achieved and hence performance must always be evaluated
and measures must be taken to improve it. There are different approaches that can be used for
continuous improvement.
The Juran's trilogy consists of 3 steps which are as follows:
Planning
In the planning process, it is important to know who the customers are and what their wants
are. The product/service is developed according to the customers' requirements. The quality
function deployment (QFD) can be used. QFD is a tool use to convert the wants of customers
into specific technical requirement. It helps to view the relationship among the variable into
design of product. QFD identifies the customer requirement and these requirements are
scored based on their importance and hence converted in the specific product characteristics.
Next, an evaluation is done to compare the product with that of competitors. Finally the goals
are set.
Control
It helps to meet the requirement of the product and services. The performance are measured
and compared to the goals that have been set. Actions are taken if there are differences.
Statistical tools are used to achieve control. Some of the tools are: Cause and effect diagram
(also known as the fishbone or Ishikawa diagram), flowcharts, checklist, control chart, scatter
diagram, pareto chart and histogram.
Improvement
The third and last part of Juran trilogy is improvement. The aim is to attain performances
which are higher than expected. Improvement strategies such as repair, refinement, and
renovation and re invention can be used. (Besterfield et al, 2003).

Suppliers
According to TQM, the suppliers also must meet the quality standards so that it is guaranteed
that quality materials are being supplied. If suppliers are delivering good quality hence there
is no need for inspection of the materials upon delivery, thus there will not be waste of time.
The better the quality being supplied, the better will be the position of the supplier. The
customer also will benefit from this as they will have a good quality product.

2.9.6 Performance Measures

This is the final concept of TQM. Performance measure plays a vital role in the success or
failure of a company. It helps to know what the trends are, which processes need to be
improved and so on. The performances are compared to the goals set. Feedback about the
performance of the employees and the organisation as a whole can be obtained. Performances
can be measured in various ways. The absenteeism rate and turnover rate are example of
typical performance measurement. (Besterfield et al, 2003)
Rewards and recognition is a form of motivation. Reward can be of two forms- intrinsic (nonmonetary) and extrinsic (monetary). A heartfelt thank you for a job that has been well done is
one form of reward and recognition. This helps to boost the moral of employees. They know
that they are valued for their contribution.
"An effective performance measurement system should provide timely, accurate feedback on
efficiency and effectiveness of operations" Kaplan & North (1993). According to Claver et al,
2003, an effective performance measurement system must be based on customer satisfaction.
In a research conducted by Kumar et al, 2008, it was pointed out that performance measures
are less financially and more process oriented in TQM environment.
Karachan & Tetik (2012) have carried out a research about TQM based on manufacturing
industry in Turkey and have found that TQM is having a positive impact on the performance
in general. Employees' performances were affected by four issues which are management
satisfaction, job satisfaction, customer orientation and finally process analysis and continuous
improvement. Continuous improvement and improvement in the working environments affect
employee performance in an optimistic way.
TQM definitely has an important positive effect on a firm's performance as said by
Vanichichinchai and Igel (2011) and Anwar et al (2012).

Conclusion:
Studies that have been carried out show that more and more businesses are recognizing the
importance of improving quality in order to survive in this worldwide competition. The
prevention of problems is better than taking corrective actions upon the manufacture of the
product. TQM does not happen abruptly. This is a long process. A quality system is one of the
tools of TQM. The ISO 9000 quality system is a phase towards TQM.

As seen in the past studies, emphasis is more on the impact of ISO and TQM on performance,
improvement of quality and so on. In other words, more importance was given to the benefits
of these quality systems. Some researchers have pointed out that despite these quality
systems, it is not necessary that the companies are providing good quality products or
services. For example as said by Dearing (2007) the ISO certification does not necessarily
makes a company a good supplier. According to him, ISO 9001 cuts the efforts to improve
quality as the customers know that since the company is ISO certified, their products must be
of good quality. According to Sousa-Posa et al (2009), TQM only talks about the presence of
QMS but its functionality is not guaranteed.
On the other hand, Matinez-Lorente and Martinez-Costa (2004) carried out a study to
determine whether TQM and ISO 9000 standards are complements or substitutes. Their study
showed that the application of TQM together with ISO 9000 standards did not show any
optimistic outcomes. The benefits would have been better if the system were functional
individually.
To summarize, the main objective of this research is to make an assessment on the quality
management practices at Palmar Limite (Mon-Loisir Unit). This literature shows the
different contexts that have been used by different authors to shed light on the quality
management principles.
IV. CASE: TQM JOURNEY
OF TATA STEEL
Tata Steel is among the top ten global steel companies
with a crude steel production capacity of 26.5 million
tones per annum (mtpa). Tata steel has been practicing
TQM since the late 1980s which was when the Tata
steel initiated several quality activities quality circle,
ISO certification, quality improvements using juran
methods, etc. The steel giant won the deming application
prize 2008 & deming grand prize (DGP) 2012 for
achieving distinctive performance improvement through
the application of total quality management. In 2000,
after winning the JRD QV Award, by going through the
deming process, Tata Steel discovered the deeper
meaning of TQM for achieve the next quantum jump in
performance and improvement. In 2005, Tata Steel
conducted a TQM diagnosis along with the JUSE team
for getting the status of TQM implementation in the
organization.
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Opinion: International Journal of Management

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ISSN: 2277-4637 (Online) | ISSN: 2231-5470 (Print)
Opinion Vol. 3, No. 1, June 2013

Fig. 2
Road map for TQM Practice for
performance excellence
Strategic & Policy Management- Tata Steel is
committed towards sustainable development and
growth as an integral part of its business
philosophy. First adopting the Total Quality
Management (TQM) philosophy as a part of
Competitive Strategy was formally launched in the
company in late 1980. It started with massive
effort on education and training on TQM.
Daily Management - Daily Management is the
fundamental of TQM in Tata Steel. Its needs to
institutionalize processes leading to long term
substances to its performance. Daily management
provides the solid foundation for substance to Tata
Steel. The company established a standardized
approach for integrating daily management

activities in various functions such as operations,

maintenance, customer services etc.
People Management - the most fundamental
challenge was to create a mindset that looks at
improvement activities as essential for achieving
targets and goals. TATA Steel create guidelines
and reference manuals to have uniformity and
alignment across the organization, dealing with
35,000 employees, in explicitly stating and
documenting improvement targets and how to go
about achieving these in a systematic manner, in
standardized approaches and creating alignment
to profits and goals and so on.

V. AFTER WINNING THE PRIZE

The defect rate in the manufacturing process at Tata
Steel decreased substantially and customer returns came
down as a result of these quality control initiatives. Tata
Steel noticed many tangible and intangible benefits in
their journey of TQM. There were all-round
improvement in customer satisfaction, new product
development, supplier satisfaction, employees and their
family satisfaction, breakthrough achievement in business
results. Tata Steel believes that Deming Prize is not only
a ticket for TQM journey towards organizational
excellence. Quality goals are moving targets. It knows
that its future lies in further improving the product quality
and productivity along reducing costs and implementing
lean manufacturing systems and TPM.

VI. LEARNING
Compulsion of competitive business environment is not
merely to do well, but to do well than the
competitiveness. This challenging situation is compelling
industries to opt for new strategies leading to superior
performance: the goal of TQM system. This calls for
rethinking and reworking of an organizations existing
processes, position, posture and attitude with a view to
transforming the organization to enable it to cope with
the changing context of business, where customer is king.
TQM provides the vehicle for change and transformation
by making the organization more customers focused
people driven, flexible and committed to continuous
improvement.
The present study has resulted in the following
valuable lessons:
1. Globalization has thrown new challenges as well
the opportunities.
2. Implementation of TQM leads to improvement in
performance.
3. Culture is an important issue for the success of
TQM.
4. Awards models provide a roadmap, a framework
for excellent.
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Opinion Vol. 3, No. 1, June 2013

Fig. 3
Benefits of TQM System

VII. CONCLUSION
Continuous improvement is an integral part of culture in
Tata Steel. Tata Steel addresses all aspects of social,
environmental and economic performance like safety
and health of the people, resource conservation,
development of innovative products and processes,
value creation for all stakeholders and contributing to
the prosperity of the communities and nations. Tata Steel
Quality policies guide in its approach such that quality
principles and practices are applied throughout the
business using ISO9001, the global quality and customer
relationship standard. With the Tata Steel better
understanding of TQM on the Deming Application Prize

journey, its customer focus and market orientation have

undergone a sea-change. We must understand that
although our companies have won the crucial battle of
saving their home turf, the war is still not over as long as
we do not make our stronghold in the international arena.
So far, our companies have been attaching the highest
priority to attaining ISO certifications, but they keep in
mind that if ISO clauses are not implemented seriously,
the companies may be deceiving themselves. The crux
of the issue is that whatever quality philosophy we follow,
be it TQM, Six Sigma, ISO 9000, or something else,
we must have a continuous zeal and serious intentions
of improving the quality of our products and services.
Tata Steel has inculcated the philosophy of Total Quality
Management and Business Excellence as part of the
companys Corporate Business Strategy. Any company
can gain competitive advantage and move towards
Business Excellence as described in this paper. Tata
Steel has done this because of its foresight and the vision
it had among the Top Management Leadership and
support from all its employees in the company. These
companies have as prepared themselves to compete
and be successful in a competitive globalize world.

VIII. REFERENCES
1. AKAO, Y. and GLENNH, M., 2003, the leading
edge in QFD: past, present and future,
International Journal of Quality &Reliability
Management, Vol.20, No.1, pp.20-35.
2. AKKERMANS, H.A., BOGERD, P. and VOS,
B., 1999,Virtuous and vicious cycles on the road
towards international supply chain management,
International Journal of Operations and
Production Management, Vol.19, Nos.5-6,
pp.565-581.
3. ANDERSON, G.E., 1993, Shouldnt You Own
Your Future? Linking Education to skills in Quality
Organization, ASQC Quality Press, and
Milwaukee, WI.
4. BEMOWSKI, K., 1991, Restoring the Pillars
of Higher Education, Quality Progress, Vol.24,
No.10, pp.37-42.
5. BRITISH STANDARD, BS 5750: Part 1:
1992,BSI, 1992, Guidance Notes for the
Application of BS 5750 to Education and
Training, British Standard Institute, London.
1997, Measuring up against the 1997 Baldrige
criteria, The Journal for Quality and Participation,
Vol.20, No.4, pp.22-28.
6. Bowen, D.E. (1986), Managing customers and
human resources in service organizations. Human
Resources Management: 253-384
7. Buckely, A. (1996). The essence of Total Quality
Management. John Bank. Prentice Hall of India.
8. Carothers Jr., G.H. (1986). Future Organizations
of Change. Survey of business: 16-17.
9. Casey, R/(1992). Non-traditional view of
customer satisfaction-A study of the

Given the historical background to quality which started

as a assurance functions through inspection prior to
dispatch or sale, the concept of a quality appears to
have its roots more in manufacturing than trading or
service organizations, especially large manufacturing
organizations. After the logical follow-up to this, TQM
as a company-wide management philosophy started
getting attention by a large number of manufacturing
organizations. Given an environment of competition and
concern for productivity and effectiveness, as also global
opportunities, many organizations including private and

public sectors appear to have appreciated the need for

implementing a quality conscious culture across their
companies different functions. Indian industry is facing
stiff competition from rivals like, china, Korea, and many
other nations. It is high time that is focused more upon
attaining world-class standards in terms of the quality
of its products and services. Of late, Indian companies
have demonstrated many successes on this front, such
as winning Deming prizes. Prior to globalization of Indian
economy in 1991, the competition in steel industry was
limited. By adopting measures leading to marginal
improvements, Tata Steel was ahead of its Indian
competitors. However, the environment changed
dramatically and the company had to think out of the
box. It became necessary to redefine the business
elements (processes, products, market-segment, human
resource, input materials, plant location, etc.), business
priorities, vision, strategies, management tool and
techniques etc. In effect, the company redefined and
reoriented itself in a turbulent environment. It started
*
, **Associate Professor
, Dept. of Management, Lingayas Lalita Devi Institute of Management & Sciences Mandi road,
Mandi, New Delhi-110047 *** Research Scholar, Lingayas University, Faridabad, Haryana, India

Sumit Sehrawat***
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Opinion: International Journal of Management

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ISSN: 2277-4637 (Online) | ISSN: 2231-5470 (Print)
Opinion Vol. 3, No. 1, June 2013

with ISO 9001 certification of various manufacturing

and later service units. Process Improvements through
Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs), Value
Engineering Projects and Statistical Process Control
projects and Operations Research Projects by
managerial teams was making great contributions in
various departments and divisions of the company.
Quality Circles and 5S as strategic tool for employee
involvement and improvement were adopted in all
departments of the company. It adopted the J N Tata
Quality Award Model based on Malcolm Baldrige
Model for its various divisions in the company in 1992.
Later it adopted the JRDQV Model for Business
Excellence in 1994 for competing with other group
companies. Benchmarking and Business Process
Reengineering (BPR) emerged as powerful Management
Tools in this direction complimenting the TQM efforts
at Tata Steel in terms of continuous improvement in
process and practices.

CASE: TQM JOURNEY

OF TATA STEEL
Tata Steel is among the top ten global steel companies
with a crude steel production capacity of 26.5 million
tones per annum (mtpa). Tata steel has been practicing
TQM since the late 1980s which was when the Tata
steel initiated several quality activities quality circle,
ISO certification, quality improvements using juran
methods, etc. The steel giant won the deming application
prize 2008 & deming grand prize (DGP) 2012 for
achieving distinctive performance improvement through
the application of total quality management. In 2000,
after winning the JRD QV Award, by going through the
deming process, Tata Steel discovered the deeper
meaning of TQM for achieve the next quantum jump in
performance and improvement. In 2005, Tata Steel
conducted a TQM diagnosis along with the JUSE team
for getting the status of TQM implementation in the
organization.
www.cpmr.org.in
Opinion: International Journal of Management

27
ISSN: 2277-4637 (Online) | ISSN: 2231-5470 (Print)
Opinion Vol. 3, No. 1, June 2013

Fig. 2
Road map for TQM Practice for
performance excellence
Strategic & Policy Management- Tata Steel is
committed towards sustainable development and
growth as an integral part of its business
philosophy. First adopting the Total Quality
Management (TQM) philosophy as a part of
Competitive Strategy was formally launched in the

company in late 1980. It started with massive

effort on education and training on TQM.
Daily Management - Daily Management is the
fundamental of TQM in Tata Steel. Its needs to
institutionalize processes leading to long term
substances to its performance. Daily management
provides the solid foundation for substance to Tata
Steel. The company established a standardized
approach for integrating daily management
activities in various functions such as operations,
maintenance, customer services etc.
People Management - the most fundamental
challenge was to create a mindset that looks at
improvement activities as essential for achieving
targets and goals. TATA Steel create guidelines
and reference manuals to have uniformity and
alignment across the organization, dealing with
35,000 employees, in explicitly stating and
documenting improvement targets and how to go
about achieving these in a systematic manner, in
standardized approaches and creating alignment
to profits and goals and so on.

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press Deming's philosophy of management: specifically, they break down the need for a
working understanding of basic quality management system statistical principles. In addition
to Deming's 14 points, he also outlined Seven Deadly Diseases, which describe the most
serious barriers that management potentially faces within an organization. Outlined below are
his Seven Deadly Diseases of Management, as well as an explanation of each.

1. Lack of constancy of purpose to plan

product and service that will have a market and keep the company in business, and
provide jobs.
As long as the focus is on short term thinking, management will fail to plan adequately.
Without good long term planning, worker efforts will be irrelevant: Total Quality
Management (TQM) cannot be a fad, as long-term forward progress should always be the
ultimate goal for any organization.
2. Emphasis on short-term profits.
Short-term thinking - the opposite of constancy of purpose - in order to stay in business, fed
by fear of the push from bankers and owners for dividends. Boosting short-term profits is

easier, at it typically involves the cutting of any expense related to the long term: training,
quality assurance management, maintenance, etc.
3. Personal review systems, or evaluation of performance, merit rating, annual review,
etc. for people in management, the effects of which are devastating.
Management by objective, on a go / no-go basis, without a method for accomplishment of the
objective, is the same thing as management by fear. The essential problem with merit systems
is that they reward results rather than process improvement - results will almost always have
a lot of system luck mixed in. Some managers want to reward people who cooperate more or
who seem to have better attitudes, and will insist that they can recognize the people who are
most cooperative and have the highest work ethic. Instead, managers should understand that
the best way to develop cooperation is by focusing on the nature of work environment, not
monetary rewards.

4. Mobility of Management: JobHopping

The simplest and yet one of the most deadly of quality systems management diseases,
management mobility (or when top management changes organizations every 3-4 years)
means continuous improvement efforts will be broken and disjointed as new leaders come on
board. With changes in leadership, there is a change in management philosophy. Managers
who have an eye on the next promotion want results - now - to gain the next rung on the
ladder.

5. Use of visible figures only for management, with little or no consideration of figures
that are unknown or unknowable. Some facts are simply unknowable. Knowing this,
Deming insisted that leaders must still make decisions and manage a situation. This leads to a
basic dilemma

How do you know what would have happened if you had kept on your
prior course?

How do you put a dollar value on the customer loyalty won through quality
improvement efforts?

You can't, because these numbers are unknowable - and this must be taken into consideration.

6. Excessive Medical Costs. For the economy as a whole, health care as a percentage of
overall expenditures has steadily risen for decades, which gradually pushes numerous
businesses into a state of crisis. Potentially the only remedy for this disease would be a
political system attempting to reform health care.
7. Excessive costs of liability. W. Edwards Deming blamed America's lawyers
in part for the problems of American business. The US has more lawyers per
capita than any other country in the world, and they spend much of their
professional time finding people to sue. Like health care costs in #6, Deming
believed the remedy to this disease will probably have to come from the
government.