Quality management (QM), also called total quality management (TQM), evolved from many different management practices and improvement processes. Quality management is not specific to managing people, but rather is related to improving the quality of goods and services that are produced in order to satisfy customer demands. Quality management permeates the entire organization as it is being implemented.

TQM has its roots in the quality movement that has made Japan such a strong force in the world economy. The Japanese philosophy of quality initially emphasized product and performance and only later shifted concern to customer satisfaction.

The quality improvement movement began in both the United States and Japan before World War II. Throughout the war, Americans continued to improve concepts related to manufacturing productivity. After the war, the Japanese pursued the idea of quality improvement. It was W. Edwards Deming, an American, who helped the Japanese...