Total Quality Management

A short label for the list of prerequisites for achieving world-class quality. Use began in the last half of the twentieth century. Although there is no agreement on what were the essential elements of TQM, many use the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

A conceptual and a philosophical context which requires management and human resources commitment to adopt a perpetual improvement philosophy, through succinct management of all processes, practices and systems throughout the organization to achieve effectiveness in the organizational performance and fulfilling or exceeding the community expectations.