ABSTRACT
A small team should be formed, preferably one which includes the top manager. The team should be expanded to include all top management with the top manager functioning as team leader. This team should be chartered with the ongoing responsibility for quality management within the organization. One member of the team should be assigned responsibility for coordinating the Total Quality effort, and this responsibility should be clearly established as his/her top priority. The investigation phase of getting started is essentially a self-guided course on quality management. As the Quality Council gains greater understanding of quality management, the council should start to outline a plan for transforming the organization. It is important to understand that this will be a living plan, in that it will grow and evolve as greater portions of the organization begin to participate and add their ideas and insights.
