The ideology of Total Quality Management (TQM), along with the concept of customer-oriented marketing, have conquered the minds of management academics at least, if not practitioners too. Both concepts urge us on to formulate an all-embracing definition of quality. What does TQM say on that?
Quality is the ability of product or service to consistently satisfy or exceed the needs and expectations of the customer *
We practitioners usually stop here. Nice, clear and adopted by all. Having read this, just go ahead struggle for quality at an individual enterprise. However, the author’s experience shows that one needs to take apart this definition to comprehend such a multifaceted concept as quality. So, we go ahead analyzing.
First of all, let’s pay attention to the word “consistently”. It hints at the invariability of the “manufacturing” aspect of quality which can be assure d by monitoring the production process – until the customer preferences has changed. Next, the word “ability” embraces the “product” aspect that, together with the manufacturing one, constitutes the “quality of design”. All that remains points to the customer, so the whole definition does demonstrate an integral approach. However, three more words have escaped from our consideration. Let us take a closer look at them.
Quality and value
The problem of the TQM definition is that it does not put explicitly what these “needs” and “expectations” mean, what are the interrelations between them and the notion of quality, and, generally speaking, what is “satisfaction”. Interpretations suggested in the literature are usually ambiguous and sometimes even contradictory. The author dares propose what seems to be the first consistent interpretation. So, the “manufacturing” component treats quality apart from the customer, just as bare concordance to specifications, or standards (see Fig. 1). Such an approach can be found until now, e.g., in the well-known texts of ISO 9000:2000.
Fig. 1
Quality is the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements.
Combining the “design” approach with the customer orientation broadens the model of quality (see Fig. 2).
As an example, the below definition by American Society for Quality complies with this model:
Quality is the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Fig. 2
his model acknowledges the existence of a customer, but in no way takes into account
- the subjectivity of human perception and
- that the customer does not expect a 100% fulfillment of his/her needs.
Trying to further improve the model to do away with these shortcomings, we obtain (see Fig. 3).
Now the customer’s expectations arise not only from his/her needs but also from the information about the product or service. How realistic these expectations are, the customer determines based on his/her purchasing power (in other words yet another, “economic” aspect of quality conceals itself here). Thereby the quality is acceptable if it meets the expectations while satisfying the needs to the due extent and creating corresponding customer value. Fundamentally, the customer is interested in the total value. This is the difference between total benefits and total costs, not necessarily monetary. Thus the gap between the desired and the available is formed, and the boundaries of this gap are rather flexible. The customer optimizes his/her choice aiming to minimize the gap.
So, we can modify the TQM definition with seemingly minor but meaningful corrections: Quality is the ability of a product or service to satisfy the needs while consistently matching or exceeding the expectations of the customer.
This definition, indeed being integral, can be completely understood only based on the model elaborated by the author.
As for the standards and specifications, they are being formulated basing on the needs (in common with the “design” model), but with mandatory account of the forecasted expectations. Moreover, a manufacturer can influence these expectations through marketing communications. It should be noted that the specifications of a product in principle cannot be designed based on the needs of one particular customer. They are always statistic in their nature and defined upon a sample that is called market segment by the marketers. This is the perception of quality that is strictly personal, as well as the expectations. To overcome the statistic discrepancy is not possible; one can only advance the best feasible quality.In conclusion, let us quote one more definition, which generally supports the above rationale. This definition was given to the quality of service by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Great Britain:
Quality, from the customer’s perspective, occurs where an organization supplies services to a specification which meets the customer’s needs. Customer assessment of quality is made by comparing perceptions of the service received with expectations the service desired. Consequently, quality begins with the design of the service delivery system.
* Adapted from Bo Bergman and Bengt Klefsjo, “Quality. From Customer Needs to Customer Satisfaction”, Studentlitteratur, 2003, and Andy Hill, “Operations Management”, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. | 
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