I recently completed a course in total quality management (TQM), and here are all my writings from that class. This was only my second business class, and these classes have one thing in common: their adherence to the "happy path." By this I mean that the textbooks and course material assumed that all involved individuals are perfect angels (except for those of us who reject TQM), and that the world is adorned with sprinkles and populated by unicorns that fart Skittles. For example, advocates of TQM call for "employee engagement," but managers are not prepared for when that truly happens.
Despite this, I do not consider this class to be a waste of my time. When someone asks me "when am I going to use this?" I counter with: "when is it going to use you?" This holds even for business management classes. Plus, those classes have a perverse entertainment factor: there is enough that is correct about TQM that when it goes wrong, it is worth observing, like a slow motion car accident.
To put a bow on all this, I present this list of posts. They are grouped by topics, and are also placed in the order they were written during this eight week course. There are some new ideas, some humor, and some criticism. Mostly, though, these posts are about connecting business management topics to the concepts I find interesting.
General Criticisms of TQM
- What is Total Quality Management?
- Contrasting the Quality Philosophies of Deming and Duran
- TQM and the Four Olds
- Cultural Assumptions of TQM
- Speedy Implementation of TQM
- TQM for Small Businesses
New and Interesting Concepts
- Management Paralysis and the Good Idea Fairy
- Remote Benchmarking
- Misrepresenting the Voice of the Customer
- Ignoring the Voice of the Customer
- Iterating SWOT Analysis
Humor
- A Sorted Tale of Pizza and Red Bull! (Applying Quality Management Techniques)
- Cheerful PDCA, OODA, and DOCA Loops
- Ignoring the Voice of the Customer
Military/Militia-Related
Voice of the Customer (VOC) and when Vox Populi is not Vox Dei
- Quality Function Deployment
- Misrepresenting the Voice of the Customer
- Ignoring the Voice of the Customer
Just-in-Time Manufacturing
- Just-In-Time and Lean Strategies
- JIT Manufacturing and Supply Chain Fragility
- More Problems with JIT Manufacturing
Leadership and Management
- Leadership in Total Quality Organizations
- A Note on Culture and Leadership Style
- TQM and Micromanagement
- A Note on Culture and Leadership Style
- Authority and Leadership
Week 1
Getting Started with Total Quality Management
- What is Total Quality Management?
- Contrasting the Quality Philosophies of Deming and Duran
- Cultural Assumptions of TQM
- TQM for Small Businesses
Culture, Ethics, and Strategic Alliances
- Values, Ethical Decisions, and Total Quality Management
- Partnerships and Strategic Alliances
- Speedy Implementation of TQM
Leadership, Customers, and Employees
- Software Development in Total Quality Organizations
- Leadership in Total Quality Organizations
- Customer Satisfaction
- TQM and Micromanagement
- TQM and the Four Olds
- A Note on Culture and Leadership Style
- Authority and Leadership
Teams, Communication, and Training
- Two Team Projects
- Successful Communication in a Quality Project
- Training Needs Analysis
- Role Clarity
- Trust and Team Dynamics
- Kanban Boards and Communication
- Hierarchy of Communication Channels
Quality Tools and Programs
- ISO 9000 Standards
- Decision Making Tools
- Quality Tool Application: Applying Histograms to Web Traffic Analysis
- Costs of ISO 9000 Certification
- Iterating SWOT Analysis
- Cheerful PDCA, OODA, and DOCA Loops
Continual Improvement Methods
- Quality Function Deployment
- Statistical Process Control
- Application of the PDCA Cycle
- Misrepresenting the Voice of the Customer
- Ignoring the Voice of the Customer
- When Statistical Process Control Goes Wrong
- Choosing Key Metrics
Benchmarking and Implementation of TQM
- Process Benchmarking
- Just-In-Time and Lean Strategies
- Change Management Strategy for Converting to Total Quality Management
- Benchmarking in Brick-and-Mortar Stores
- Benchmarking in High-Security Environments
- JIT Manufacturing and Supply Chain Fragility
- More Problems with JIT Manufacturing
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