In this era of global competition, the demands of customers are growing, and the quest for quality has never been more urgent. Quality has evolved from a concept into a strategy for long-term viability. The third edition of Principles of Total Quality explains this strategy for both the service and manufacturing sectors. This edition addresses the theme of reliability against the backdrop of increasing litigation in the area of product performance. New chapters also introduce and provide a historical perspective for Six Sigma, and discuss practical applications of the concepts of service excellence within healthcare organizations. The book also expands its analysis of management of process quality, customer focus and satisfaction, organizing for TQM, control charts for variables, and quality function deployment.