Aligning reward practices in support of total quality management

The rise of Total Quality Management represents one of the biggest changes of the past two decades in the way companies are managed. It has become known by various names - TQM, continuous improvement, total quality, process improvement. A survey by Lawler, Mohrman, and Ledford (1995) of the 1,000 largest US companies reports that nearly 75% were using TQM practices to manage the organization and 78% planned to increase their use of them in the near future. Many studies have found that, in general, TQM has had positive effects on company performance. Yet reports of failure are surprisingly common in the press. Many publications have deemed TQM only a partial success or a passing fad. Many firms have tried it, experienced less than positive results and decided to abandon it. Yet TQM clearly cannot be dead of three-quarters of America's largest corporations continue to embrace it.