What is the Difference Between TQM and BPR?

Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) are both management approaches aimed at improving organizational performance, but they differ in their focus and implementation. The main differences between TQM and BPR include:

1. Focus: TQM is centered on continuous improvements and customer satisfaction, while BPR is about making process improvements through radical redesign and the use of advanced technology.
2. Approach: TQM emphasizes incremental, continuous improvement, and requires a change in organizational culture to achieve its objectives. BPR, on the other hand, is concerned with product innovations and involves fundamental changes to existing processes, redesigning the entire process with new technology and a new structure.
3. Risk and Complexity: BPR's radical changes are riskier, more complex, and expensive than the continuous improvement approach of TQM. If a TQM project fails, the company may return to its original state, while a failed BPR project could leave the organization in a worse situation.
4. People vs. Process: TQM focuses more on people, while BPR focuses on processes and IT technology.
5. Holistic vs. Incremental Changes: In TQM, redesign tends to focus on minor improvements in all areas of the organization, while BPR involves a redesign project for a single process at a time, using a methodology that involves planning and execution.

In summary, TQM and BPR have different approaches to improving organizational performance. While TQM focuses on continuous, incremental improvements and customer satisfaction, BPR aims to achieve dramatic improvements through radical redesign and the use of advanced technology. These differences make BPR riskier and more complex than TQM, but both approaches share a common goal of enhancing organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Comparative Table: TQM vs BPR

Here is a table comparing Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR):

TQM focuses on continuously improving the existing processes, using statistical process control methods, and emphasizing gradual, incremental improvements. On the other hand, BPR is about making radical, breakthrough improvements by redesigning processes and using advanced technology, which can result in drastic productivity improvements but also carries higher risks and complexity.