Total quality management: origins and evolution of the term

The focus of this paper is to trace the origins of the term TQM and clarify the different definitions employed by academics and practitioners. Feigenbaum and Ishikawa are perhaps the greatest contributors to the development of the term. The other recognised quality management gurus such as Crosby, Deming and Juran have shaped the dimensions, practices and mechanism which underpin the concept, but it is noted that none of these three actually uses the TQM term. TQM started to be used in the mid‐1980s and only became a recognised part of the quality‐related language in the late 1980s. The paper also analyses the key dimensions of TQM and traces their origins.