8 Principles of Quality Management

When it comes to the quality of products and services presented by a company, quality management is essential. Quality management is the process of managing and monitoring performance to ensure adherence to predetermined quality standards and goals.

A principle is a fundamental truth or law and therefore quality management principles are the fundamental truth or laws that form the basis of quality management. There are a number of principles used in quality management, all of which play a significant role in its success.

These principles have been identified to facilitate the achievement of quality objectives and form the foundation for effective quality management.

Principle 1 - Customer-Focused Organization : "Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations".

Principle 2 - Leadership : "Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s objectives."

Principle 3 - Involvement of People : "People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit".

Principle 4 - Process Approach : "A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities are managed as a process."

Principle 5 - System Approach to Management : "Identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for a given objective improves the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency."

Principle 6 - Continual Improvement : "Continual improvement should be a permanent objective of the organization."

Principle 7 - Factual Approach to Decision Making : "Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information."

Principle 8 - Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships : "An organization and its suppliers are interdependent, and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value."

The International Standard for Quality Management (ISO 9001:2008) adopts a number of management principles that can be used by top management to guide their organizations towards improved performance. These eight principles form the basis for the quality management system standard ISO 9001:2008. These principles are used by many companies as an improvement model. The more companies who begin implementing these principles, the more successes there will be across the board and the better quality and services will be.