TQM achieved only moderate success for a variety of reasons. Frequently there was no
real effective integration of the quality system with business goals, and too often insufficient
effort was devoted to widespread utilization of the technical tools of variability reduction.
Many organizations saw the mission of TQM as one of training. Some general reasons that
are cited for the lack of conspicuous success of TQM include (i) lack of top-down, highlevel
management commitment and involvement; (ii) inadequate use of statistical methods and
insufficient recognition of variability reduction as a prime objective; (iii) general, as opposed
to specific, business-results-oriented objectives; and (iv) too much emphasis on widespread
training as opposed to focused technical education. Another reason for the erratic success of
TQM is that many managers and executives regarded it as just another “programme” to improve
quality. During the 1950s and 1960s, programmes such as Zero Defects and Value Engineering
were widely deployed, but they had little real impact on quality and productivity improvement.