Improving Public Service Delivery: Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) represents quality control and management practices widespread in the 1980s in both the public and private sectors. While the public’s interest in TQM did not last long, it is still widely applied in organizations in all sectors after rebranding its name in several ways, such as Lean and Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or Agile. This chapter aims to help readers understand TQM’s basic principles and methods and its application in public service administration using the most recent brand of TQM practices, i.e., Lean Government (LG). This chapter provides a review of the origins of TQM in the public sector, its basic management principles and methods, i.e., the continuous improvement cycle, and its application using LG practices. This chapter will end with future research topics after critically assessing the use of TQM and LG practices in government.