Customer focused performance improvement: developing a strategy for Total Quality

The need to develop effective business performance improvement strategies has never been greater than it is today. Organisations in all sectors are seeking to improve financial performance, market share, customer loyalty and employee contribution. Total Quality can provide the basis of a strategy to meet these challenges. Although the philosophy, concepts and potential benefits of Total Quality have become well known, realising these benefits has frequently proved to be very difficult. Christopher Jones defines the key elements of a successful business performance improvement strategy based on the principles of Total Quality. These elements include: defining the organisation vision, mission, cultural values and operational objectives, developing processes for performance improvement, processes for delivering, managing and improving performance, for managing, redesigning and integrating improvements into the key business processes, training and motivating employees and developing the organisation structure and improvement support facilities.