Total quality management implementation for reducing percent process defects in a manufacturing organisation

As organisations across the globe have faced stiff cut-throat competition in the last three decades, Indian industry too has not escaped the brunt of globalisation. Indian manufacturing industry has also witnessed irrepressible competition in the recent times, predominantly due to the opening up of the Indian economy from merely a regulated economy. To abet the competitiveness amongst Indian industry, organisations have embraced an assortment of approaches or philosophies. One of such approaches is total quality management (TQM). TQM has received worldwide attention and is being adopted in many industries, particularly within developed economies. TQM has emerged as a customer-centric approach encompassing a set of management policies that deliver quality to maintain a sustainable competitive edge. A study has been conducted in a public sector undertaking of India to demonstrate the excellent potential of TQM initiatives in addressing the organisational concerns of tackling high levels of process defects. The study reveals that holistic adoption of TQM axioms results in strengthening the organisational competitiveness by virtue of enhanced quality, productivity, customer satisfaction and realisation of significant reduction of process defects.