IS TQM DEAD?

If Total Quality Management (TQM) isn't already dead then it's surely on its way to extinction, at least in its traditional application, according to Jay Arthur, a self-described corporate shaman, based in Denver, CO.

"The statistics are ominous. Over half of all TQM and reengineering efforts fail and the price of failure is not cheap," says Arthur. "Time, money, market share, and opportunity have all been lost on the promises of TQM and reengineering."

Indeed, reports of failed TQM efforts can be found not only within the manufacturing sector, but throughou