Who is known as the father of TQM?

W. Edwards Deming is widely recognized as the father of Total Quality Management (TQM) due to his profound influence on quality improvement practices and his development of key quality principles and methodologies. His theories emphasized the importance of statistical process control, continuous improvement, and the need for management to adopt a long-term view of quality. Deming’s 14 Points for Management and his work with Japanese manufacturing firms in the post-World War II era laid the foundation for modern quality management practices. His focus on systematic thinking and understanding the entire organization's role in quality also set the groundwork for TQM as a comprehensive approach to improving organizational performance.

In contrast, while Phil Crosby and Joseph Juran also made significant contributions to the quality movement—focusing on concepts like "quality is free" and quality planning, respectively—their approaches and emphases differ from those of Deming, who is specifically credited with shaping the core concepts of TQM.