Cultural and Organizational Considerations of TQM

Abstract

Total Quality Management has been a driving force in Japanese business and industry for four decades and has demonstrated considerable success. U.S. corporations are now embracing the concept. There are significant organizational and cultural diferences between the two countries that must be taken into account however. Some of these differences are significant and will require flexibility and innovation on he part of U.S. firms if they are to realize the full benefit of TQM initiatives as has been the case with Japanese companies. There are also cultural differences that are so far removed from the U.S. experience that we may discover in a final analysis that the TQM model in the U.S. will not be the same as that developed by the Japanese.