Technical capability is no longer the principal competitive determinant in the computer and software industry. Technical capability is necessary but not sufficient for success. What differentiates the successful from the unsuccessful organization, today, is superior “world-class” systems of work processes that men and women throughout the organization understand, believe in and are a part of. These systems of clear work processes reduce bureaucracy and cycle times, increase responsiveness and innovation, and lower costs thereby assuring product, market and organizational success. This is Total Quality Management: there are ten basic benchmarks underpinning the technology of total quality management and make quality a way of totally focusing the organization on the competitive discipline of serving the customer. These benchmarks are discussed.
Dr. Armand Feigenbaum is the originator of total quality control (TQC), the management approach that has profoundly influenced the competition for domestic and international markets in the United States, Japan and throughout the industrialized world.