Ken Miller replied, "If I understand Prof. Naman's statement, I wonder how
teamwork,
employee empowerment, statistical analysis, identification of variation,
customer needs assessment, building quality in rather than inspection followed
by rework, management listening to employee ideas for process improvement,
just to name a few, could be called "really bad mistakes"
I never said that nor do I mean that TQM is not valuable. I said that it was
necessary, but not sufficient. If TQM is milk, you still need other food in
your diet to be healthy. That is not to say milk is bad, only that it can't do
the job by itself. TQM is simply one tool for operating an organization, but
there are many other important tools for required for strategic management.
TQM does not directly address responding to competitive change, competitive
intelligence, an options approach to risky investments, diversification
strategies, management of mergers and acquisitions, entry and exit strategies,
growth strategies, creativity in R&D, technology innovation,
entrepreneurship, leadership, organizational politics, management of conflict,
strategic thinking, bounded rationality and selective perception, strategic
planning processes, management of strategic issues, scenario analysis,
strategic reward systems, evolutionary strategy, management of uncertainty,
change management, succession management, organization structure, strategic
flexibility, social networks within and among organizations, resource
dependence,
One fundamental question that executives (not operational managers) must
address is: what are we going to start doing new tomorrow morning that will
ensure the success of the organization in the future? Are we going to launch
new products to existing customers or take existing products to new markets?
What competences and resources need to be developed in order to be be
available when they will be required. Using a TQM lens alone will certainly
distort the answer.
--
Prof. John Naman Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh