What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

• A. TQM focuses on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction
• B. TQM focuses on maximizing profits at any cost
• C. TQM focuses on downsizing staff
• D. TQM focuses on marketing campaigns only

Answer: (A)

Total Quality Management is an organization-wide effort to build a culture of continuous improvement so that products and services meet or exceed customer expectations. It centers on improving processes, not just the end product, and it involves people at all levels of the organization in identifying problems and implementing fixes. By using data to guide decisions, focusing on reducing variation and waste, and keeping the customer’s needs front and center, TQM aims for long-term quality gains through ongoing small improvements. It isn’t about maximizing profits at any cost, downsizing staff, or marketing campaigns alone; those approaches do not align with the process-focused, customer-driven mindset of TQM.