The Role of the Marketing Department in the Implementation and Maintenance of a Total Quality Management (TQM) System

Abstract

The emphasis on quality in most organizations has called for an evaluation of the role of each department or functional area in creating a TQM system. This article discusses the basic TQM philosophy, principles, implementation steps and the specific role of marketing personnel in implementing a TQM system including: defining quality from a customer perspective, marketing quality internally to marketing and non-marketing personnel, aligning promotion and distribution systems to deliver quality, and assessing quality satisfaction among customers.