1. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy that says that quality is the responsibility of everybody in the organization. The focal point is customer satisfaction. Important features include continuous improvement, benchmarking, employee empowerment, the use of teams for problem solving, and knowledge of tools for identifying and solving problems.

2. Continuous improvement is a philosophy towards the improvement of quality that many organizations have adopted: The quest for higher and higher levels of quality should never end. Continuous improvement provides a structured approach to quality improvement. It is directed primarily at improving the process. The Japanese term for continuous improvement is kaizen.

3. The conceptual basis for continuous improvement is the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle: Plan by studying and documenting the current process. Collect data on the process. Develop a plan. Do refers to implementing the plan on a small scale, and collecting data. Study means to evaluate the data collected during the do phase. Act means to standardize the new method if it is judged to be successful. Also, consider repeating it in other similar situations, communicate it to others, and implement training for the new method. The PDSA cycle is also known as the Shewhart cycle or the Deming wheel.

4. Among the key tools and techniques that are used for continuous improvement are flow charts, check sheets, Pareto analysis, brainstorming, control charts, interviewing, quality circles, benchmarking, cause-and-effect diagrams, and run charts.

5. A basic concept in both decision making and problem solving is that some elements or factors are more important than others. Typically, a relatively few of these are very important, and many are relatively unimportant. This is known as the Pareto phenomenon. The implication for decision makers and problem solvers is that it is important to identify the few key elements of factors and then give them special attention or emphasis.

6. Organizations need to avoid the trap of over-emphasizing TQM, personnel and paperwork costs can quickly mount. A balanced approach is generally the best approach, giving measured emphasis to quality while continuing to give appropriate attention to other aspects of the organization.