ABSTRACT
We cannot avoid seeing how quality has developed into the most important competitive weapon, and many organisations have realised that TQM is the [sic] way of managing for the future.
(Oakland, 1993: Preface)
Through this statement Oakland gives absolute primacy to the pursuit of quality as the cornerstone of organisational success. While it can be agreed that organisations which do not achieve quality in the contemporary environment will probably fail in the long term, it is more difficult to accept the concept of its absolute primacy. Although quality has strategic implications (as discussed in chapter 2) and is a strategic issue, it cannot be accepted that it is the only strategic issue.
