Case study of unforeseen negative impacts of a TQM program

Abstract

Presented is a case study of some of the adverse impacts of formalization of a total quality management (TQM) program in a medium sized business. A brief description of the company culture before and after implementation of the TQM program is provided. The informal quality processes and employee attitudes are characterized followed by a depiction of the TQM formalization efforts and its impacts: both positive and negative. Since the negative results outweighed the positive in this example, the company shall be referred to as Company Z.<>