Total quality management and cost of quality

Abstract

Before we start analysing the philosophy of Total Quality Management it is worthwhile going back to the early days of quality and the quality movement. In fact, the quality concept dates back to the creation of Adam and Eve: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis A 31). It is remarkable that at the end of each day, looking at his creations God was saying, This is good. However, at the end of the sixth day, after he finished the creation of human beings, he said, This is very good. It is amazing that he did not say, This is excellent. This is because excellence is something that we gain after tireless effort. God left room for improvement in order to challenge us and make our life more attractive, which has really happened! © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.