A guide for implementing Total Quality Management in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve

Abstract

Implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) into the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve involves a major change in the way work is done. The impact will be enormous and universal. Thorough planning must be done to ensure satisfactory integration of TQM. Interviews with the principal officers involved with the TQM initiative were conducted to examine the current status of the project. This study describes the basics of the Coast Guard's TQM philosophy and tools, identifies criteria of successful change, and delineates general techniques for the implementation effort. Resistance to change and overcoming that resistance are explored. A general guide for implementing change in the Coast Guard Reserve is outlined as a product of this research. The guide can be employed so as to be useful for initiating TQM or any new concept into an organization.