Quality management as a concept and a practice got a lot of attention in the early 20 th century when the focus shifted to produce products that met clients’ needs satisfactorily. Over the years, the emphasis on quality has witnessed the formation of international agencies that set standards on the type of products to be produced and supplied. In line with this, the organizations have come up with the concept of total quality management which has brought a revolution on how quality standards are met. However, before the advent of total quality management concept senior management in the various companies did not have clear guidelines on ways of assessing quality. In this era, quality was compromised and relied on customers’ feedback to access the quality of their products and services. Additionally, the senior management focus was on what needs to be done rather than how it is to be done (DemingInstitute, 2016). As such, there was an emphasis on giving instructions and orders instead of giving explanations. The result of this was the production of goods that did not meet the needs of the customers.
The recent times have witnessed an increased focus on quality management thanks to increased awareness of the need to meet customers’ needs. More so increased global competition has meant that companies have to stick to the set standards if they have to compete on level ground. In this sense then the top management staff in most companies and organizations embrace more comprehensive strategic view. Going by Deming’s 14 points of attention, they have continually sought to enhance quality to match the international standards. Instead of focusing on reducing costs of production in this era of mass production, great emphasis is placed on ensuring quality. Further, the senior management no longer tells their workers to do but rather how and why and how they are to work to ensure quality (DemingInstitute, 2016). Consequently, there is a shift from ordering employees to offering them leadership. This is in line with the realization that when the employees own the entire production process, there is an excellent likelihood of quality assurance.
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References
DemingInstitute. (2016). W. Edwards Deming: The 14 points . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsF-8u-V4j4&feature=youtube.
