Total Quality Management as a Cultural Phenomenon

Total quality management has proven to be more than just a quickly disappearing management fad or fashion. It has been considered one of the most influential management innovations of the 20 th century. TQM is based on a rather naïve and overly rational view of an organization but, without a doubt, it has had a significant influence on contemporary management practices. The ISO 9000 family quality standards and quality award criteria have led to the practical development and diffusion of the discipline, and at the moment, they provide the most comprehensive definition for TQM. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has been selected as the practical definition of TQM for this study. The role and impact of TQM is examined based upon how it ensures an organization will meet its mission and ultimate objective of long-term survival. The means of how to achieve survival are specific to an organization, and depend on multiple factors. At the basic level, organizational survival is based on the processes of external adaptation and of internal integration. The role of TQM is analyzed based on the impact it has on those