Schools of thought in and against total quality. (total quality management)

The critiques above raise the issue of the universality of TQM's concepts. The total quality discourse typically suggests, or explicitly claims, that the implementation of TQM is both desirable and feasible in any and all public or private services or industrial organizations. Organizational contingencies are either completely forgotten or viewed as having little importance (Dean and Bowen, 1994; Reed et al., 1996). Sitkin et al. (1994) go even further to suggest that this "overselling" of TQM might be the cause of many of the reported fail-

There has also been some interest in the psychological dimension of the total quality discourse. An American study conducted at AT&T (Lader, 1988) shows that for Americans "quality" is an emotionally charged concept related to personal feelings of success and failure, serf-esteem, and the fulfillment of parental expectations, which are subsequently transferred to authority figures. This study shows that expressions such as "do it right the first time" and "zero-defect" (associated with the normative school) are perceived negatively, and the terms "control" and "total" are spontaneously associated with inflexibility and totalitarianism, leading to the conclusion that the expression "total quality control," notwithstanding its underlying good intentions, may be a very poor choice of words. The study also suggests that the archetypes of quality are represented in films like Rocky and Star Wars, in which the final result of attaining an ideal is less important than perseverance and the struggle against adversity, without which there can be no real success. The presence of these archetypes would explain why the concept of continuous improvement is much better received by workers, because it focuses on the struggle more that on an ideal result. With certain nuances, this conclusion has been supported by a second study (Bemowski, 1993).

While the studies above suggest the existence of a transfer between management-defined quality improvement objectives and individual aspirations, they do not directly question the relevance of such a displacement. Other researchers, however, have looked into this matter. Their arguments constitute what we call the ideological critique.

The Ideological Critique: Does TQM lie?

Contrary to the pragmatic and theoretical critiques, the ideological critique (Aubert and de Gaulejac, 1991; Delbridge et al., 1992; du Gay and Salaman, 1992; Kerfoot and Knights, 1995; Steingard and Fitzgibbons, 1993; Webb, 1995) does not focus on either the theoretical content or the applicability of TQM approaches. Rather, it examines the social consequences and political significance of the movement. The critique is based on the observation of a considerable gap between TQM rhetoric and the reality experienced by organizations implementing TQM (Webb, 1995; Kerfoot and Knights, 1995). First, while TQM rhetoric advocates autonomy and worker empowerment, the fact is that its implementation is generally accompanied by an increase in control (Delbridge et al., 1992; Webb, 1995). Second, TQM is supposed to be a collective effort in pursuit of a common cause. Yet the concept of an internal customer on which it is often based inherently conveys the other side of any market relations: exploitation based on power (Webb, 1995). Finally, TQM promotes worker participation, their personal involvement in the organization's success, and the possibility of improving their working conditions and their chances for advancement by initiating a true "meritocracy" (Webb, 1995). However, critics believe that TQM implementation is often undertaken within the framework of massive streamlining, accompanied by a flattening of hierarchical structures, which reduce chances for advancement (Kerfoot and Knights, 1995; Roberts and Corcoran-Nantes, 1995).

These divergences might be attributed to the fact that the total quality discourse was rashly adopted by many organizations seeking to keep up with trends and improve their public image. However, a much harsher criticism argues that the total quality rhetoric is just a way of gaining acceptance for changes which serve ends other than those it purports to pursue, thus constituting a vocabulary of motives (Webb, 1995).

Some researchers have focused on the impacts of TQM approaches on employee life. For example, Aubert and de Gaulejac (1901) conducted in-depth studies of the harmful effects of approaches advocating excellence, which fit in well with the culture of anxiety currently prevailing in industrialized societies, but which frequently lead to burnout. It is also argued (du Gay and Salaman, 1992; du Gay, 1906) that in creating the cult of the customer and making everyone a supplier responsible for customer satisfaction (which is a key principle of TQM), the needs of the organization are superimposed on individual projects. The financial difficulties experienced by companies are transferred onto the shoulders of individuals. Employees are made to believe that, as responsible suppliers and alert customers, they will become more virtuous and more empowered individuals. In fostering an image of omnipotence, perfection, and expansion, it is argued that corporate growth is fueled by the self-actualizing capacities of employees, who see progress as giving their lives a meaning which they cannot find elsewhere. When the company fails, even partly, in its quest for excellence, the result is either a collapse of the ideal image of self (burnout) or a psychological withdrawal (reduction of involvement). In internalizing the corporate culture and in perceiving themselves as corporations whose success they must secure, employees are said to endorse their own exploitation and willingly, even at times enthusiastically, participate in what McArdle et al. (1995) have termed "management by stress."

Empirical data show that TQM introduction increases the control over workers, though it is supposed to reduce it (Delbridge et al., 1992; Webb, 1995). It is argued that the obligation to be accountable to internal customers introduces a neighborhood watch, which some express as "the chain metaphor represents manacles as well as links" (Tuckman, 1995: 58). Moreover, TQM techniques themselves, with their insistence on the establishment of indicators of quality and control charts that must be made visible (graphs are often displayed on the walls of the workplace), always give managers access to "scientific" data, easily considered irrefutable. According to McArdle et al. (1995), the increase in control might be all the more facilitated, given that it is justified by a rhetoric of the market and competition, which play on the fear of job loss in order to eliminate resistance.

Some effort has been made to emphasize the political nature of the total quality movement. Munro (1995) and Webb (1995) argue that within organizations, TQM constitutes a new discursive space used by managers in their own political struggles. For example, Webb concludes from a case study that "Instead of the prescribed equal dialogue.... Marketing had emerged at the top as a result of the rhetoric of customer responsiveness. It was able to use its direct contact with customers as a legitimating device" (1995: 117). Other authors (Steingard and Fitzgibbons, 1993; Tuckman, 1995) more interested in the sociopolitical nature of organizations, view TQM as an element within a larger hegemonic project which presents market relations as an ideal to be overlaid onto social relations. Steingard and Fitzgibbons maintain that the pursuit of this ideal leads employees to be "totally managed" as parts of the "TQMachine." They write: "this [TQM] organizational panacea for the twenty-first century conceals a capitalist schema of alienation, dehumanization, and totalitarianism" (1993: 31).

This political critique is not without its detractors, however, who question the characterization of TQM as part of a Machiavellian plan for worker exploitation (Kerfoot and Knights, 1995; Webb, 1995). They argue, for example, that increases in the control of workers might be a perverse effect of TQM rather than a hidden objective. Hill (1995) also argues against the theory of indoctrination and maintains that "people are not cultural dopes."

DISCUSSION

It is quite normal and very healthy that TQM should have proponents, critics, and "impartial" observers, like any valid management approach. It is only through the discussion of ideas that advances are made in the social sciences. We believe, however, that the study of the evolution within the field of quality management exhibits certain characteristics which may provide a new understanding of the current situation.

The presence within quality management of schools of thought which differ fundamentally, but which are not recognized as such, leads to confusion and contradictions within the discourse on quality. Several authors and consultants have attempted to integrate the views of the rational school with those of the normative school in order to present what they see as a "more complete" approach. It is for this reason that certain approaches simultaneously advocate both continuous improvement and "do it right the first time," and both "zero-defect" and the right to make mistakes. These approaches borrow the most seductive concepts and striking slogans from various authors without concern for the coherence of the resulting message. To be sure, some have attempted to reconceptualize these expressions with a view toward eliminating contradiction. However, the often complicated definitions that ensue do not necessarily clarify matters for the average worker. It is sometimes forgotten that the meaning given to words is as much a function of those using them as those defining them. For example, in everyday language it is quite natural to associate the word "total" with the idea of absolute or perfection, and the nuances developed by theorists change nothing.

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