THE IMPORTANCE OF TOP QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN …

1 1. INTRODUCTION1. 1. QUALITY : The meaning of the term QUALITY as a phenomenon appears alongwith the creation of the human , more than ever, we can hear the wordquality every now and again. Since QUALITY ispresent in our daily life, there is a need for itsgenuine definition. QUALITY is a very dynamicTHE IMPORTANCE OF TOP QUALITY MANAGEMENT INCONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENTA. Boljevi}University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Economics Subotica, Serbia(Received 12 May 2007; accepted 07 November 2007)AbstractWhen talking about QUALITY today, it can be freely said that it is becoming one of the most decisivefactors for the market differentiation of an organization and its competitive advantage.

2 At time ofhigh- QUALITY products and services and an increasing competition at the market, every firm has to setquality as its priority goal. QUALITY should be maintained at every level. Total QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) has been proved as an efficient process of organization advancement and functioning, and itsvalue is proved through a universal and well-justified implementation process. TQM as a processrepresents a series of changes and it should be understood as labour philosophy exerting influenceon shaping enterprise business.

3 QUALITY MANAGEMENT as a key resource in the market contest forconsumer confidence means a constant search for better technical, technological, marketing or anyother advancement and improvement that will give the desired results, the consumer order to satisfy the consumer, we should offer him/her a more superior QUALITY of products andservices. Today, consumers require better QUALITY , thus MANAGEMENT has to be simply obsessed andpersistent in attaining this goal as it is of essential IMPORTANCE for its success.

4 The way to the desiredresults is a long process and it should include every part of enterprise, but the results are visible andlong lasting. Keywords: QUALITY - definition according to ISO, top QUALITY MANAGEMENT , QUALITY as a competitiveadvantage*Corresponding author: Journalof ManagementSerbian Journal of MANAGEMENT 2 (2) (2007) 217 - 226 , so people dealing with QUALITY arealways faced with new research main attraction of the term lies in thefact that it is basically a positive concept. Noone is against QUALITY and everyone wants tohave it.

5 In the same time, since it is difficultto precisely define its meaning (some say itis impossible), the term of QUALITY leads toconfusion and order to establish mutual understandingin the field of QUALITY , the basic terms in useare defined. Standardisation of terminologyin the field of QUALITY and qualitymanagement facilitates mutualunderstanding and is aimed at strengtheningthe international cooperation betweenmanufacturers and users, - definition according to ISO8402:1994 1 : The "totality of characteristicsof an entity that bears on its ability to satisfystated and implied needs.

6 "An entity may be:-an activity or a process,-a product ,-a company, a system or a person, or-any combination of the notionsmentioned - definition according to ISO9000:2000 2 : "An integration of the featuresand characteristics which determine theextent to which output satisfies thecustomer's needs"We distinguish the followingcharacteristics that build QUALITY [1] characteristics (ofprimary concern for the users), that definethe product or service by describing thefunctions they have to meet in order tosatisfy the customer of conformity, withdefined specifications that manufacturers orservice providers has to comply with in orderto provide the product or service the desiredfunctional characteristics, that are not ofdirect concern for the , from the user or buyer'sviewpoint, QUALITY means appropriateness forutilization.

7 But from executives ormanufacturers' viewpoint it meanscompatibility with the QUALITY - a global phenomenonNow days, QUALITY is setting out toconquer the whole world and represents themost significant phenomenon of our time. Inthe past few years there has been a dramatictrend towards emphasizing the increasedquality IMPORTANCE . The world marketdemands QUALITY and it has become thematter of survival. It is the key of the longterm success and the growth of a and excellence has becomequality standards but not revolution started in the first halfof the 20th century, spread dramatically at itsend and at the beginning of the 21thcentury.

8 Represents a cultural answer to challengesbrought about by the industrial society andchallenges that the informational societybrings as present day international marketenvironmment is characterized by increasednumber of competitors and intensified effortsat all levels and each domain. Under thesecircumstances QUALITY development and itscontinuous advancement has developed asignificant meaning. QUALITY has become oneof the three key elements on which thecreation of a successful product brand andthe organization's reputation on the market isbased, along with the distinguishability ofproducts and communication with the218A.

9 Boljevi} / SJM 2 (2) (2007) 217 - 226customers 2 . Facing the managerial challenges onintersection of the 2nd and 3rd millennium,the managers have to be more proactive,inventive, flexibile and QUALITY oriented ineverything. QUALITY is becoming a moredecisive market and differentiating factor ofan QUALITY is a global phenomenonthat, after Japan and the United States, hasconquered Europe as well in its fullestmeaning. The Japanese QUALITY movementhad a large impact on the global style ofmanagement.

10 Today it is a positive globalexperience that transformed managementfrom its new QUALITY concept contains a newglobal language of understanding and amethodology for accepting standards andrules in every field of human A new QUALITY conceptIn the past the product QUALITY wasinterpreted as a value received for moneyinvested, but the manufacturer was the one toset the standards. The product QUALITY wasdefined as the level of consistency with theinternal specifications and it identified thetechnical properties of a the traditional opinion that qualityis defined by the manufacturer or thesupplier, the new approach places the buyerinto the focus.