Quality Management

Quality management (QM) is the “coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality” (ISO 9000:2005 2005). A functioning quality management system is companywide and process oriented. There are international standards available to provide guidance on implementing a quality management system. Quality management is sometimes referred to as total quality management. Quality management includes documents that define the operations of processes that can have an effect on product quality. An important element of quality management is continuous improvement. This is partially important in the modern, competitive environment where industry leaders can be pushed aside by innovative new companies.