6 C's of TQM

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1.Commitment :
If a TQM culture is to be developed, so that quality improvement becomes a normal part of everyone’s job, a clear commitment, from the top must be provided. Without this all else fails. It is not sufficient to delegate ‘quality’ issues to a single person since this will not provide an environment for changing attitudes and breaking down the barriers to quality improvement. Such expectations must be made clear, together with the support and training necessary to their achievement.

2. Culture :
Training lies at the centre of effecting a change in culture and attitudes. Management accountants, too often associate ‘creativity’ with ‘creative accounting’ and associated negative perceptions. This must be changed to encourage individual contributions and to make ‘quality’ a normal part of everyone’s job.

3. Continuous improvement :
Recognition that TQM is a ‘process’ not a ‘programme’ necessitates that we are committed in the long term to the never-ending search for ways to do the job better. There will always be room for improvement, however small.

4. Co-operation :
The application of Total Employee Involvement (TEI) principles is paramount. The on-the-job experience of all employees must be fully utilised and their involvement and co-operation sought in the development of improvement strategies and associated performance measures.

5. Customer focus :
The needs of the customer are the major driving thrust; not just the external customer (in receipt of the final product or service) but the internal customer’s (colleagues who receive and supply goods, services or information). Perfect service with zero defects in all that is acceptable at either internal or external levels. Too frequently, in practice, TQM implementations focus entirely on the external customer to the exclusion of internal relationships; they will not survive in the short term unless they foster the mutual respect necessary to preserve morale and employee participation.

6.Control :
Documentation, procedures and awareness of current best practice are essential if TQM implementation are to function appropriately. The need for control mechanisms is frequently overlooked, in practice, in the euphoria of customer service and employee empowerment. Unless procedures are in place improvements cannot be monitored and measured nor deficiencies corrected. Difficulties will undoubtedly be experienced in the implementation of quality improvement and it is worthwhile expounding procedure that might be adopted to minimise them in detail.

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