Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of an intelligent effort.
Truly stated that quality can never be an accidental outcome, in fact, this is the result of vigorous efforts and regular practices. In the present world, if one has understood the key to managing the quality of task he performs, he has secured the power to win over the world. Because quality makes us stand unique among the crowd and uniqueness is absolutely liked by all. Seeing the depth of the concept Quality Management was formally recognized and introduced into the professional world by Fredrick Winslow Taylor who was a mechanical engineer, to improve the efficiency of industries. The importance of the subject can be determined by the fact that after World War II Japan decided to make quality improvement as the key feature to rebuild their economy.
Let us understand a bit what QM is all about
Quality Management is basically an assurance of how efficient is the product or services that we are offering. It can be divided into four major components-quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, quality improvement.
Before we dig up the wide horizon of Quality management, let me clear one obvious question that must be striking your mind - what is the need of paying extra efforts and time in this process? So, the answer is - Satisfaction and Loyalty. Satisfaction of the user and loyalty of the brand. The much desired and essential outcome for any service. As far as time is concerned, paying a little time on the quality check can prevent extra efforts later. As the saying goes- "A stitch in time saves nine."So QM is a win-win strategy from all the aspects.
With the purpose to ensure and supervise the quality of products and services International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was established which created the Quality Management System (QMS) standards in 1987. According to these standards, there are certain basic principles for quality management, which are-Customer Focus, the involvement of people, evidence-based decision making, and relation management. Let us explore each one of them.
Customer Focus- this comprise of understanding the needs of customers, their interest and trying to exceed their expectations.
Involvement of people- involving people from all the levels is one of the key features of Quality management. Here the EEE formula comes in action, which is- EMPOWERMENT, ENHANCEMENT & ENGAGEMENT. This assures the growth of the organization vertically.
Evidence based decision making- the most appropriate decisions are taken with proper analysis and evaluation of related facts. This leads to greater objectivity in decision making which is essential where quality comes in play.
Relation management- people associated with an organization are the pillars on which the organization stands proudly. Therefore the relationship between them proves pivotal in its growth. Hence relationship management goes essentially for any organization to flourish with a uniform speed.
After going through the quality management principles above, we can formulate that- "Quality is the pride of workmanship" and quality management can take an organization to the new heights if practiced properly. In today's nail-biting competition, it is only the quality of services which makes any product or service popular among the customers.