Question

What features distinguish a quality management program from traditional quality assurance?

Answer 1

Traditional quality assurance and quality management that we are using currently have many differences in the philosophy, how they are implementing and the method of measurement. In past, the main aim of quality assurance based on the organisation's short-term goals and objectives, while quality management aims at long-term goals and customer satisfaction.

• In traditional quality, assurance-quality was emphasised by the organisation's review. Example:- hospitals started using single-use syringes in place of multiple use glass syringes to improve patient safety and quality of care. while in modern quality management program the quality of product or care is determined by the customers or patients. example: Taking feedback about the product or quality of care from the customers or patients.
• Traditional quality assurance mainly focused on the short-term objective that is the profit of the organisation while quality management aims at long-term goals for the improvement of the product or maintaining customer or patient satisfaction.  
• in case of any defect in quality, traditional quality management punishes the individual who is responsible for the defect however in modern quality management they will change the process for the improvement of the quality.
• Managers use their power to improve the quality of quality assurance by threatening or firing their employees but in quality management, authority giving opportunities to their employees to improve. They get rewarded as they achieve their goals.
• only employees are responsible for the quality, not the management in traditional quality assurance whilst the whole team including management and employees are equally responsible for the quality in quality management program.
• each employee is responsible for a particular job assigned by their managers in traditional quality assurance, however, in quality management program each employee has several roles from top to bottom.
• traditional quality management checks quality only after commencing an issue while in quality management program try to improve the quality continuously by analysing and systematically solving the issues.