Management for quality

Management for quality involves the integrated actions and reactions of all operating functions within an organisation. The key is the environment set by the chief operating officer. There is no organisational panacea or magic recipe which well provide an effective quality programme. However, there are basic principles and practices which are common to all successful quality programmes. The quality programme is designed to provide a product or service which is suitable for its intended purpose. As customers are seldom philanthropic organisations, this suitability means having the right product at the right place at the right time and at the right time and at the right cost. The successful quality programme requires each activity to: (a) know the product or service requirements applicable to their function and (b) endeavour to carry out the activities correctly first time. The programme will also have a means of measuring the effectiveness of each activity in meeting its quality objective. The paper discusses the principles and practices of a quality programme as well as alternative approaches to preparing a successful programme. The method of applying these principles in the most effective manner is one of the challenges facing management today.