The major contribution made by Crosby is indicated by the fact that his phrases ‘zero defects’, ‘getting it right first time’, and ‘conformance to requirements’ have now entered not only the vocabulary of quality itself, but also the general vocabulary of management.

The pioneers of Quality

William Deming

Historically, TQM was first emerged by the contributions of quality gurus, such as Deming and Juran in Japan after Second World War. Then Crosby, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa, and others had developed this powerful management technique for improving business quality within the organizations.

Deming

Dr. W. Edwards Deming: Probably the most known quality guru—for a reason. Developed a complete description and guide to quality management (14 points and 7 deadly diseases).

W. Edwards Deming takes the definition of quality just a little further: “a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at low cost and suited to the market.” Probably the most frequently used definitions are “fitness for use” and “conformance to requirements.”

Like beauty and truth, quality is in the eye of the beholder, your customer. Quality is an ever evolving perception by the customer of the value provided by a product. Quality and excellence are what your customers say they are. Customers of your products and services define quality!

In no particular order, the Top Ten Quality Gurus who have shaped quality as we know it today.

• Dr. Walter Shewhart.
• Dr. W.
• Dr. Joseph M.
• Armand V. Feigenbaum.
• Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa.
• Dr. Genichi Taguchi.
• Shigeo Shingo.
• Philip B.

1. Who among the following is not an American Quality Guru? Explanation: Crosby, Juran, and Deming are Quality Gurus from America.

What is a quality guru? A guru, by definition, is a good person, a wise person and a teacher. A quality guru should be all of these, plus have a concept and approach to quality within business that has made a major and lasting impact.

The Quality Gurus have all had a significant impact on the world through their contributions to improving not only businesses, but all organizations including state and national governments, military organizations, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and many others.

Benefits of Total Quality Management

• Strengthened competitive position.
• Adaptability to changing or emerging market conditions and to environmental and other government regulations.
• Higher productivity.
• Enhanced market image.
• Elimination of defects and waste.
• Reduced costs and better cost management.
• Higher profitability.

There are seven basic quality tools identified as appropriate for use in both the quality management plan and control quality processes. They are known as Ishikawa’s seven basic tools of quality: cause-and-effect diagrams, flowcharting, check sheets, Pareto diagrams, control charts, histograms and scatter diagrams.

Quality is critical to satisfying our customers and retaining their loyalty so they continue to buy from you in the future. Quality products make an important contribution to long-term revenue and profitability. They also enable us to charge and maintain higher prices.

Quality can be defined as conformance to specifications. The degree to which a product meets the design specifications offering a satisfaction factor that fulfils all the expectations that a customer wants.

The definition of a quality is a distinctive characteristic or trait. An example of quality is kindness. An example of quality is a product that won’t break easily. An example of quality is a well-made product.

For example, in 1984, Garvin [16] has described quality from five different views: 1) Transcendental view: Quality, as synonymous with “innate excellence”, is something we can recognize but not define; 2) User view: This is a personal, subjective view of quality, which lies in the eyes of the beholders; i.e., quality …