Raine Isaksson

Total Quality Management for Sustainable Development: Focus on Processes Raine Isaksson

This work proposes some ideas of how synergies of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Sustainable Development (SD) can be realized. A process based change model for SD has been developed. Synergies between TQM and SD have been discussed in the literature but further important possibilities of synergies remain untapped. Process focus and process management are believed to be important for realizing these synergies. Even if process management has been shown to contribute to organizational performance, it seems that most organizations do not focus on processes. This seems specifically to apply to process management for SD. Descriptive and easy-to-use process models should be able to enhance the introduction of process management. The ability to identify, map and measure the organizational processes constitutes an important part of identifying opportunities for improvement. Process models could be used for both describing actual performance and the process to improve it.