TQM and business innovation

Business innovation, that is, the adaptation of management systems to the changing conditions of the environment, is a key factor for organisations if they wish to survive and grow. Total quality management (TQM) has demonstrated its potential to be a successful way for organisations to elimintate costs, improve productivity and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. However, are TQM and business innovation compatible? The advantages and disadvantages to TQM as a means of developing and facilitating business innovations are discussed in this paper. It is argued that TQM does not hinder business innovation and some of its dimensions can assist an organsation to be more innovative. The compatibility of reengineering, which is a form of business innovation, with TQM is also considered in the paper, along with the effects of TQM on the successful implementation of information technologies.