Competing on Quality and Environment

This book integrates two important issues that are shaping the future of businesses: total quality management (TQM) and environmental management. It presents the practice of quality and sustainable environmental management from a competitive posture. It develops a position to suggest that business firms can achieve competitiveness by developing strategies that focus on quality and environmental management practices. It demonstrates that quality and environmental management are not distinct topics but are interrelated, and adopting strategies to concurrently achieve them may lead to higher customer satisfaction.

The book covers critical topics that the reader should be aware of in both areas. In the TQM field, topics covered include the evolution of TQM, management philosophies, quality function deployment, strategic quality planning and statistical quality control. In the environmental management field, topics covered include environmentally conscious manufacturing, sustainable strategies (i.e., recycling, inverse manufacturing, remanufacturing), lean and agile manufacturing, and life cycle assessment. The book also discusses the role of new technologies such as the Internet in achieving both high quality and sustainable practices. An integrative chapter is presented to tie both quality and environmental management practices together in achieving business competitiveness.

This book can serve as a good reference guide for all those interested in the study of quality management and sustainable practices. Its content has implications for organizational competitiveness. Consultants, managers, practitioners and engineers in both public or private sectors, and non-governmental institutions interested in quality and environmental management practices will find the book to be very resourceful.