Definition of 'Quality Management'

1.Quality management can be considered to have three main components: quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.

The act of overseeing all activities and tasks needed to maintain a desired level of excellence. This includes creating and implementing quality planning and assurance, as well as quality control and quality improvement. It is also referred to as total quality management (TQM).

2. ISO 9000 is a series of standards, developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), that define, establish, and maintain an effective quality assurance system for manufacturing and service industries. The ISO 9000 standard is the most widely known and has perhaps had the most impact of the 13,000 standards published by the ISO. It serves many different industries and organizations as a guide to quality products, service, and management.

An organization can be ISO 9000-certified if it successfully follows the ISO 9000 standards for its industry. In order to be certified, the organization must submit to an examination by an outside assessor. The assessor interviews staff members to ensure that they understand their part in complying with the ISO 9000 standard, and the assessor examines the organization's paperwork to ensure ISO 9000 compliance. The assessor then prepares a detailed report that describes the parts of the standard the organization missed. The organization then agrees to correct any problems within a specific time frame. When all problems are corrected, the organization can then be certified. Today, there are approximately 350,000 ISO 9000-certified organizations in over 150 countries.

3. Management Philosophies and Motivation

Management philosophy can set the foundation for a positive work climate and influence a manager's approach to motivation. The way a manager views employees and communicates with employees affects their behavior.

Two popular theories are Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, which talk about how managers create self-fulfilling prophecies based on how they treat their employees.

Another theory by Chris Argyris centers on what he refers to as the mature worker. In his book Personality and Organization, Argyris contrasts the management practices found in traditional organizations with the needs and capabilities of the mature adult personality.

For example, the concept of work specialization is supposed to make people work more efficiently because the tasks are very defined. Argyris believes that this concept may actually be counterproductive because it will limit an employee from reaching self-actualization.

Like McGregor, Argyris is concerned about how managers treat people. He believes that if managers treat their employees in a positive manner—as responsible adults—their employees will be more productive. However, Argyris takes this concept one step further. He believes that mature workers want additional responsibilities, a variety of tasks, and the ability to participate in decisions. If not, he believes that the result will be employee absenteeism, apathy, and even alienation.

There is no faster way to motivate your employee's than to be honest with them. Be honest with them, tell them the truth about how you may receive bonuses if indeed that you do receive production bonuses and when you receive these bonuses, you will make sure that something comes their way. Of course no one gives money out of their pockets, but there are other ways of rewarding employee's and that is speaking up for them when it comes time for their raises or if upper management decides that one of your group needs a written warning while the manager may not be able to stop it, he or she can warn the employee that a warning is coming their way and whatever it is that will cause upper management to give them a warning, it had better stop right away or else you won't be able to stop any further warnings. You can't imagine how this goes well with most employee's knowing that their immediate boss has spoken up for them.Although the advice above is sound, a management philosophy should be a broad set of principles which help managers make all types of decisions. Keep them short and general and make sure everyone (including non-managers) believes in them and sign up to them. From there you'll be able to make consistent decisions on all manner of issues. Visit the www.manageasmile.com link to see an example of such a management philosophy and the experiences from using it.

4 TQM may be defined as an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards, such as the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9000 series. TQM can be applied to anytype of organization; it originated in the manufacturing sector and has since been adapted for use in almost every type of organization imaginable, including schools, highway maintenance, hotel management, and churches. As a current focus of e-business, TQM is based on quality management from the customer's point of view.

TQM processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle). In the planning phase, people define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, and ascertain the problem's root cause; in the doing phase, people develop and implement a solution, and decide upon a measurement to gauge its effectiveness; in the checking phase,

people confirm the results through before-and-after data comparison; in the acting phase, people document their results, inform others about process changes, and make recommendations for the problem to be addressed in the next PDCA cycle.

ISO 9000, 9001, AND 9004PLAIN ENGLISH DEFINITIONS

1.

Customer

A customer is anyone who receives products or services from asupplier organization. Customers can be people or organizations

and can be either external or internal to the supplier organization.For example, a factory may supply products or services to anotherfactory (customer) within the same organization. According toISO 9000, examples of customers include clients, consumers, end-users, purchasers, retailers, and beneficiaries.

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a perception. It is also a question of degree. It can vary from high satisfaction to low satisfaction. If customers believe that you've met their requirements, theyexperience high satisfaction. If they believe that you've not met their requirements, they experience low satisfaction.

Since satisfaction is a perception, customers may not be satisfied even though you’ve met all contractual requirements. Just because you haven’t received any complaints doesn’t mean that customers are satisfied.

There are many ways to monitor and measure customer satisfaction. You can use customer satisfaction and opinionsurveys; you can collect product quality data (post delivery), track warranty claims, examine dealer reports, study customercompliments and criticisms, and analyze lost businessopportunities.

Effectiveness

Effectiveness refers to the degree to which a planned effect isachieved. Planned activities are effective if these activities arerealized. Similarly, planned results are effective if these results are actually achieved.

For example, an effective process is one that realizes plannedactivities and achieves planned results. Similarly, an effective set of characteristics or specifications is one that has the potential torealize planned activities and achieve planned results.

Efficiency

Efficiency is a relationship between results achieved (outputs) andresources used (inputs). Efficiency can be enhanced by achievingmore with the same or fewer resources. The efficiency of a processor system can be enhanced by achieving more or getting betterresults (outputs) with the same or fewer resources (inputs).

Key performance indicator (KPI)

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric or measure. KPIs areused to quantify and evaluate organizational success. They measurehow much success you’ve had and how much progress you’ve maderelative to the objectives you wish to achieve. KPIs are also used toset measurable objectives, evaluate progress, monitor trends, make

improvements, and support decision making. KPIs should bequantifiable and appropriate and should collect information that is useful to your organization and relevant to the needs and expectations of interested parties.

Examples of KPIs include the following: average revenue percustomer, customer attrition rate, student failure rate, averageresponse time, average delivery time, employee retention rate, return on equity, lost time due to accidents, and energy costs per unit of production.

The following analogy might help make the point: when you go to your doctor he or she might measure blood pressure, cholesterollevels, heart rate, and your body mass index as key indicators ofhealth. KPIs try to do the same thing for organizations.

Management

The term management refers to all the activities that are used to coordinate, direct, and control an organization. In this context, the term management does not refer to people. It refers to activities.ISO 9000 uses the term top management to refer to people.

Management review

The overall purpose of a management review is to evaluate thesuitability, adequacy, and effectiveness of an organization's qualitymanagement system, and to look for improvement opportunities.

Management reviews are also used to identify and assessopportunities to change an organization’s quality policy and quality objectives, to address resource needs, and to look foropportunities to improve its products.

Management system

A management system is a set of interrelated or interacting elements that organizations use to implement policy and

achieve objectives.

There are many types of management systems. Some of these include quality management systems, environmentalmanagement systems, emergency management systems, foodsafety management systems, occupational health and safetymanagement systems, information security managementsystems, and business continuity management systems.

A process is a set of activities that are interrelated or that interact with one another. Processes use resources to transform inputs into outputs.

According to ISO/TC 176/SC 2/N526R, “the terms subcontract and outsource are interchangeable and have the same meaning”.

Procedure

A procedure is a way of carrying out a process or activity. According to ISO 9000, procedures may or may not be documented. However, in most cases, ISO 9001 expects you to document your procedures.

Process

A process is a set of activities that are interrelated or that interact with one another. Processes use resources to transform inputs into outputs. Processes are interconnectedbecause the output from one process becomes the input for another process. In effect, processes are “glued” together by means of such input output relationships.

Organizational processes should be planned and carried out under controlled conditions. An effective process is one that realizes planned activities and achieves planned results.

Process approach

The process approach is a management strategy. When managers use a process approach, it means that they manage the processes that make up their organization, the interactionbetween these processes, and the inputs and outputs that tie these processes together.

Product

A product is the output of a process. Products can be tangible or intangible. ISO 9000 lists four generic product categories :services, software, hardware, and processed materials. Manyproducts combine several of these categories. For example, an automobile (a product) combines hardware (e.g. tires),

software (e.g. engine control algorithms), and processed materials (e.g. lubricants).

Service is always the result of an interaction between a service supplier and a customer and can take many forms. Service can be provided to support an organization’s own products (e.g. warranty service or the serving of meals). Conversely, service can be provided for a product supplied by a customer (e.g. a repair service or a delivery service). Service can also involve the provision of an intangible thing to a customer (e.g. entertainment, transportation, or advice). While software is intangible, and includes things like approaches and procedures, hardware and processed materials are tangible and are often referred to as goods.

Quality

The quality of something can be determined by comparing a set of inherent characteristics with a set of requirements. If those inherent characteristics meet all requirements, high or excellent quality is achieved. If those characteristics do not meet all requirements, a low or poor level of quality is achieved.

Quality is, therefore, a question of degree. As a result, the central quality question is: How well does this set of inherent characteristics comply with this set of requirements? In short, the quality of something depends on a set of inherent characteristics and a set of requirements and how well the former complies with the latter.

According to this definition, quality is a relative concept. By linking quality to requirements, ISO 9000 argues that the quality of something cannot be established in a vacuum.

Quality is always relative to a set of requirements.

Quality assurance (QA)

Quality assurance is a set of activities intended to establishconfidence that quality requirements will be met. QA is one part of quality management.

Quality characteristic

A quality characteristic is tied to a requirement and is an inherentfeature or property of a product, process, or system.

A requirement is a need, expectation, or obligation. It can be statedor implied by an organization, its customers, or other interestedparties. An inherent feature or property exists in something or is a permanent characteristic of something.

Quality control

Quality control is a set of activities intended to ensure that quality requirements are actually being met. Quality control is one part of quality management.

Quality improvement

Quality improvement refers to anything that enhances anorganization's ability to meet quality requirements. Qualityimprovement is one part of quality management.

Quality management

Quality management includes all the activities that organizations use to direct, control, and coordinate quality. These activities include formulating a quality policy and setting quality objectives.They also include quality planning, quality control, qualityassurance, and quality improvement.

Quality management system (QMS)

A quality management system is a set of interrelated or interactingelements that organizations use to direct and control how qualitypolicies are implemented and quality objectives are achieved.

A process-based QMS uses a process approach to manage and control how its quality policy is implemented and qualityobjectives are achieved. A process-based QMS is a network of many interrelated and interconnected processes (elements).

Each process uses resources to transform inputs into outputs.Since the output of one process becomes the input of anotherprocess, processes interact and are interrelated by means of such input-output relationships. These process interactions create a single process-based QMS.

Quality manual

A quality manual documents an organization's quality management system (QMS). It can be a paper manual or an electronic manual. According to ISO 9001 section

Quality policy

An organization’s quality policy defines top management’scommitment to quality. A quality policy statement should describe an organization’s general quality orientation and clarify its basic intentions.

Quality policies should be used to generate quality objectives

and should serve as a general framework for action. Quality policies can be based on the ISO 9000 Quality ManagementPrinciples and should be consistent with the organization’s other policies.

Service

According to ISO 9000, a service is a type of product. Service isalways the result of an activity or interaction between a servicesupplier and a customer and can take many forms.

Service can be provided to support an organization’s own products (e.g. warranty service or the serving of meals). Conversely, service can be provided for a product supplied by a customer (e.g. a repair service or a delivery service). Service can also involve the provision of an intangible thing to a customer (e.g. entertainment, transportation, or advice).

Systems approach

When managers use a systems approach, it means that they treat the interrelated processes that make up an organization as an integrated system and then they use this system to achieve its objectives. A system is a set of elements that are interrelated or interact with one another.

Top management

When ISO 9001 (and ISO 9004) uses the term top management it is referring to a person or a group of people at the highest levelwithin an organization. It refers to the people who coordinate, direct, and control organizations.

The term management refers to all the activities that are used to coordinate, direct, and control an organization. The termmanagement does not refer to people. It refers to activities.

Traceability

Traceability is the ability to identify and trace the history, distribution, location, and application of products, parts, andmaterials. A traceability system records and follows the trail asproducts, parts, and materials come from suppliers and areprocessed and ultimately distributed as end products.

Values

According to ISO 9004, your values are the general principles and beliefs that are important to your organization.

Vision

According to ISO 9004, an organization's vision describes what it wants to be and how it wants to be seen by interested parties. 

Work environment

The term work environment refers to working conditions. It refers to all of the conditions and factors that influence work.In general, these include physical, social, psychological, andenvironmental conditions and factors. Work environment includes lighting, temperature, and noise factors, as well as the whole range of ergonomic influences. It also includes things like supervisory practices as well as reward and recognition programs. All of these things influence work.

We have translated ISO’s quality management definitions into plain English in order to make them easier to understand. Our plain English definitions are primarily based on the official definitions found in the ISO 9000 2005 standard. However, we also consider how ISO 9001 2008and ISO 9004 2009 actually use these terms, and sometimes we use several definitions to construct a single definition of a more complex concept that is used in either the ISO 9001 or ISO 9004 standard but not explicitly defined in the ISO 9000 standard.