TQM AND TAYLORISM; HOW THEY COMPARE H. Bremer Preface The industrial world today is divided between two camps: a culture based on the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), developed in the Far East, and one still strongly influenced by the origins of "Scientific Management", intro duced in the West by F.W. Taylor and others at the turn of the century. This divergence will be shown to have arisen in the last forty years, long enough for a new generation of managers and corresponding culture to emerge. The two cul tures are so deeply entrenched that it is difficult for one to change to the other. However, there is strong evidence to support the contention that people-oriented TQM is superior, and those companies clinging to Taylor models now face diffi cult decisions. Actions by Taylor-companies to move to TQM rnight weH be hindered rather than helped by applying present Quality Assurance Standards, developed by Taylor-oriented national and international Standards Institutions.