Total Quality Management and Continuous Quality Improvement have become the "buzz" phrase for the 1990s. Everyone seems to be jumping on the band wagon. But what is it, and is it right for your orga nization ? We believe that Total Quality Management is superior to many Quality Assurance programs cur rently in use. There are, however, many considera tions to take into account before implementing a Total Quality Management program. The purpose of this article is to explain the pros and cons of Total Quality Management and standard Quality Assurance pro grams and to compare and contrast these two ap proaches. This article focuses on barriers to success ful implementation and presents several questions organizations can utilize in assessing readiness for a quality management program.
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