'Are there no limits to authority?': TQM and organizational power

In this paper we examine some of the problematic assumptions and concepts u nderlying Total Quality Management (TQM) through a case study of a major UK retail bank. We question traditional approaches towards power which assume it to be the property of individuals or groups. For us, power should be un derstood to be a condition of social relations. Thus, it is erroneous to as k who has power. Instead, it is necessary to explore how power is exercised . Notwithstanding this, it is essential to recognize that power is not simp ly an external agency, but that it penetrates the very essence of our being . We explore the structural and inter-personal tensions which emerge betwee n the bank's mortgage division and its branches over mortgage applications. We examine how TQM, through the medium of 'quality partnerships' is used t o address these tensions. The article reveals that TQM is both a condition and a consequence of organizational power relations. Not only is TQM consti tuted by these power relations, but it is itself a vehicle for struggle bet ween competing groups and individuals. This suggests that the problems conf ronting TQM are far more embedded than is often assumed to be the case. Cri tically, through opening up the notion of power as 'relational' rather than 'propertied', it is our aim to illuminate the continuing exercise of, and potential for, resistance during the operation of TQM regimes.