Total Quality Management (TQM) is the strategic activities aimed to implement the awareness of quality in an organization by management. Manufacturing, service, non profit, and governmental organizations have been using TQM extensively since the 1990s. This paper discusses total quality management in a service and manufacturing organization. Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas is the service organization and Dell, Incorporation (Inc.) is the manufacturing organization discussed in this paper. The value of quality in customer satisfaction and the description of the need for customer-driven quality of METRO and Dell, Inc. are explained. A matrix that compares and contrasts the strategic roles of TQM for the two organizations is included. The significance of management and how leadership relates to quality is evaluated in this Total Quality Management Survey Paper.
Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) – Service Organization
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) is a total quality management organization that provides public transportation service for Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. METRO ensures customer satisfaction by serving the Houston area with bus, light rail, paratransit, and high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV). METRO also has a website to help meet the needs of the new and existing passengers. The company has a local service that operates on the city streets; and an express service that operates on the freeway. The local service has bus stops at every other corner of each route. The express service has Park and Ride Lots near the freeway where customers can park their cars and ride the freeway bus to downtown Houston. Some express buses travel to the Medical Center and the Uptown/Galleria area. Th ...