Total Quality Management Key Terms

Learn more about the aspects of total quality management by understanding key terminology

By Terri Deno

Total quality management (TQM) is an approach to management that holds all individuals responsible for product or service improvement. Total quality management includes a number of ways to analyze and measure the progress of individuals and groups in all areas of production. In this type of management, competition is carefully watched and benchmarking processes are used to improve a company's own brand and product.

Quality awareness

Quality awareness is the ability of employees in an organization to recognize values in the quality of a service or product they produce. Quality awareness also leads to creating specific policies for quality throughout the organization.
Try: Quality Integration provides an expanded definition of quality awareness and how this is used in modern business environments.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance is the process of checking a company's product or service to ensure that it meets the standards set forth by the company. Quality assurance teams work to improve areas where quality does not meet standards.
Try: The American Society for Quality provides resources and information on quality practices and theories for businesses.

Performance appraisal

Performance appraisal is a method of evaluating employees. This type of evaluation helps to further career development by providing feedback on an employee's performance. The appraisal also helps to determine any changes needed throughout the organization.
Try: The Performance Management and Appraisal Help Center provides many resources for different performance appraisal systems.

Strategic quality management

Strategic quality management is the process of creating and implementing a quality system for an organization using long-term objectives and goals.
Try: Quality Digest provides an article on integrating quality into strategic planning for success in quality management.

Compensation system

An organization's compensation system determines bonuses and commissions for employees based on the quality of their work. Certain compensation systems use the quality of the product or service to determine a fair compensation system.
Try: Authoria provides information on different compensation strategies and solutions for businesses wanting to improve quality.

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the measure of how well a product is received by consumers. In total quality management, customer satisfaction is used to measure the quality standards currently in place to see if improvement is necessary.
Try: The National Business Research Institute provides different strategies for measuring customer satisfaction.