TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT - EMPIRICAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND PRACTICAL ISSUES

In recent years, total quality management (TOM) has become something o f a social movement in the United States. This commentary returns to t he writings of the movement's founders-W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran , and Kaoru Ishikawa-to assess the coherence, distinctiveness, and lik ely perseverance of this provocative management philosophy. We identif y a number of gaps in what is known about TQM processes and outcomes a nd explore the congruence between TOM practices and behavioral science knowledge about motivation, learning, and change in social systems. T he commentary concludes with a prognosis about the future of TQM-inclu ding some speculations about what will be needed if TQM is to take roo t and prosper in the years to come.