GETTING STARTED IN TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT:

                         THE SEVEN STEPS


     Step One: Assess

     "Assess" means getting a measurement of where the organiza-
tion is in two ways: climate (or culture) and quality.  A recom-
mended way of measuring quality is to benchmark the organization
against the Baldrige Award criteria or the President's Award
criteria.

     Step Two: Educate

     The organization's leadership needs to plan out how it will
arrange for the education of itself and the workforce in Total
Quality Management.  The result will be an education plan.

     Step Three: Identify Customers

     This step includes identifying the customers, internal and
external, and establishing the degree to which their requirements
are being satisfied.

     Step Four: Create Infrastructure

     Create the Quality Council and establish its ground rules
and guiding principles.  Create quality boards if they are
needed.

     Step Five: Write Vision

     This step means writing a vision statement to serve as a
beacon to lead the organization into the future.

     Step Six: Write the Quality Policy

     The Quality Policy is a brief statement, to be signed by all
members of the Quality Council, which defines what quality means
in this organization.

     Step Seven: Construct Strategic Plan

     Draft a brief, blunt plan for institutionalizing Total
Quality Management in the organization.



Copyright 1992, Tom Glenn