NCJ Number
173164
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: April 1998 Pages: 92-95
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
After discussing the nature and benefits of total quality management (TQM), this article describes how to implement TQM in the public sector.
Abstract
TQM refers to "a management process and set of disciplines that are coordinated to ensure that the organization consistently meets and exceeds customer requirements." Benefits of TQM as experienced by the private sector are reduced cost in bringing high quality through efficiency, greater retention of customers and attraction of new ones, improvement in employee morale and increased employee participation, and stronger employee loyalty from team productivity and rewards. The implementation of TQM in the public sector involves strong leadership, evaluation, training, the measurement of customer satisfaction, and constant re-evaluation. The first step involves strong leadership. An administrator must develop a vision for the quality of service the department can provide the community; this can be achieved by gaining the assistance and support of the agency's commanders. The next step is to evaluate the organization. There should be an ongoing process of evaluation in the following areas: leadership, information analysis, strategic quality planning, human resource use, quality assurance, quality results, and customer satisfaction. Once the evaluation information has been analyzed, a training strategy must be developed to address the deficiencies identified. Law enforcement agencies must build a partnership with their customers; this involves listening to and understanding the customers' perception of the quality of service they receive. Quality service surveys are a tool to measure such perception. TQM is not a one-time project, but rather a continuous reassessment of how the police department is serving the community and how the community perceives that service.