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The interest in total quality management (TQM) has increased rapidly in recent years. Some people see TQM as something necessary to reach competitiveness but others claim TQM to be merely a management fad. We believe that there are several reasons for the different opinions about TQM. One is that the gurus, who often are seen as fathers of TQM, do not like the concept. Another one is that there are several similar names for roughly the same idea. A third one, which, maybe, is the most severe, is that there are many vague descriptions and few definitions of what TQM really is. In this paper we will discuss some of the problems with TQM and describe and discuss our own view of TQM as a management system consisting of the three interdependent components: values, techniques and tools. We strongly believe that this definition will help to understand and implement TQM.

Describes a project focusing on the experiences of implementing a third‐party certified quality system in small (maximum 50 employees) Swedish organisation. The project consisted of a questionnaire to CEOs, and then a more comprehensive case study of selected organisations. Results show that the more the CEO and employees have been involved in the implementation process, the more the system is used, that the CEO is more satisfied with the results; and quality improvements have continued after certification. Furthermore, the higher the level of education within the company, the less help has been required from external consultants. Indicates that important factors for a successful implementation are the attitude of the organisation when the implementation starts, that fairly detailed plans for the implementation are performed and that the documentation is adapted to the business and not necessarily to the ISO standard.