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Abstract
This project investigates the relation between Apple's success and Total Quality Management (TQM) tools' implementation in an organization. Today, TQM has become one of the most important principles in management. Any successful organization's management team must work to continuously improve the quality of its products, services, and/or work environments in order to be competitive; this can easily applied via a TQM principles & tools.
Apple is one of the world's most successful companies. Although it has not implemented TQM principles & tools verbatim as in TQM text books, it has been successful in part due to implementing TQM principles from the start. This project focuses on presenting this company's success and quality improvements in different areas, and their relation to each other from the TQM perspective. It discusses the evaluation of Dr. Deming's five steps and fourteen points about Total Quality in Apple. Also, it shows how Apple serves as an example in today's technology industry by focusing on quality first. Finally, this project discusses the legacy Steven Jobs' focus of placing customer experience and quality first.
Keywords
Total Quality Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Apple Inc.
Introduction
While Apple may not have adopted all of the practices outlined in Deming's five steps and his fourteen points, there are many parallels in their approach to business and product design. From the moment a customer enters the retail realm of Apple they are immersed in a "customer first" experience. The products created and services provided by Apple at their retail outlets are arguably the standard when it comes to the modern day technological industry. The continual improvement on their designs is born of a tireless effort to refine the prior generation and continued improvement through cutting edge research and development. The research and design teams at Apple are committed to providing the user with the best possible product experience. In our society and modern age, it is rare not to find an Apple designed product within our offices, class rooms, and homes. Apple has developed success through a perspective focused on Total Quality Management (TQM), whether they realized it or not. The goal of this project is to investigate the application of TQM in Apple's management system. It focuses on highlighting the success...