Quality is a perceptual, conditional and somewhat subjective attribute of a product or
service. Its meaning in business has developed over time. It has been understood
differently and interpreted differently by different people. A business will benefit most
through focusing on the key processes that provide their customers with products and
services. Producers may measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the
product or service was made according to the required specification. Customers on the
other hand, may focus on the quality specification of a product or service, or compared
it with those that are available in the marketplace. In a modern global marketplace,
quality is a key competency which companies derive competitive advantage. Achieving
quality is fundamental to competition in business in propelling business into new
heights.
Many quality management philosophies, methodologies, concepts and practices were
created by quality gurus to manage quality of product and service in an organization.
These practices have evolved over time to create sustainable sources of competitive
advantage. New challenges faced by managers are addressed to improve organization’s
performance and future competition. In the total quality management form, it is a
structured management system adopted at every management levels that focused on
ongoing effort to provide product or service. Its integration with the business plan of the
organization can exact positive influence on customer satisfaction and organizational
performance.
This chapter dealt with what is quality and TQM, cost of quality, linking quality
management system to organizational performance, its impact on organizations and
approaches of implementing TQM and the quality journey
