The Seven Principles of Quality Management are internationally recognized quality management standards designed to help organizations achieve their quality goals and improve product quality and customer satisfaction. These principles are interrelated and can be applied to a variety of industries and organizations. Each principle and its application in your organization are described in detail below.
Principle 1: Focus on the customer
The organization depends on the customer. Therefore, organizations should put the needs and expectations of their customers first and translate them into specific quality requirements. These quality requirements should be embedded throughout the organization's processes to ensure that products and services meet the needs and expectations of customers. In addition, organizations should establish a customer-centric culture that encourages employees to pay attention to customer feedback and needs and take timely steps to address issues and make improvements.
Principle 2: Leadership
Leaders should be clear about the organization's vision and mission and develop strategies and goals to support those visions and missions. They should communicate the importance of quality management and provide the necessary resources and support to ensure that the organization can achieve its quality goals. In addition, leaders should build an organizational culture that is fair, transparent, and encourages innovation to increase employee motivation and creativity.
Principle 3: Full participation
Quality management is everyone's responsibility and requires the participation and support of all employees. Organizations should establish a culture of engagement and collaboration that encourages employees to participate in the quality improvement process. They should understand their responsibilities and roles and have the necessary skills and knowledge to support the organization's strategy and goals.
Principle 4: Process Approach
Quality management should adopt a process approach and apply quality management to various processes of the organization. Organizations should identify and analyze the processes that affect product quality and service quality, and take the necessary steps to control these processes. In addition, organizations should establish a culture of continuous improvement to continuously optimize and improve their business processes and management processes.
Principle 5: Improvement
Organizations should constantly seek opportunities for improvement and take the necessary steps to improve their business processes, management processes, and product quality. This includes analyzing problems and challenges and adopting innovative solutions to overcome them. In addition, organizations should establish a culture of continuous improvement and encourage employees to participate in the improvement process.
Principle 6: Evidence-based decision-making
Organizations should base their decisions on facts and data. This includes collecting and analyzing the necessary metrics and data to support the decision-making process. In addition, organizations should establish a data-driven decision-making process to better understand their business and customer needs. In the decision-making process, leaders should encourage employees to participate in the decision-making process and ensure that decisions are based on facts and data.
Principle 7: Relationship management
Stakeholders influence the performance of the organization. In order to be sustainably successful, organizations need to manage relationships with relevant stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, partners, customers, investors, employees, etc.) to maximize their role in organizational performance.
In conclusion, the seven principles of quality management are the cornerstones of achieving quality management, and they are interrelated and provide guidance and direction to the organization to help it achieve its quality goals, improve product quality, and improve customer satisfaction. By following these principles, organizations can ensure that the quality of their products and services meets requirements, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce costs. At the same time, these principles can also help organizations build a good reputation and brand image to stand out in a competitive market.