02373pab a2200193 454500008004000000100002500040245004300065260000900108300001500117520174900132650003001881650004501911650002901956650001101985773005101996909001002047999001702057952010502074180718b1996   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aAikman, Alexander B.  aTQM in the courts: maybe so, maybe not  c1996  ap.1865-890  aCourts are prime candidates for the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) but also difficult settings in which to implement it. The leadership structure of courts discourages strong leadership but also requires negotiation and mediation to install new programs, so an effective chief judge can bring most of the governing body--the other judges--along when a decision is made to adopt TQM. As turnover on the bench is slow, the governing body remains throughout the period needed to institutionalize TQM. Courts already have a valuable and useful tool for thinking about "customers" and using data effectively in the Trial Court Performance Standards. Courts have been slow to adopt TQM to date, but there i s growing interest and several leadership courts using TQM to improve various court functions. Courts' work mostly is processed in assembly-line fashion; using TQM's principles can help courts improve productivity, recognize and respond to customer needs more readily, and generally be better able to obtain taxpayer support. The courts are at once prime candidates for Total Quality Management (TQM) and a setting in which TQM is a hard sell. This article will explore why both elements of this statement are true. Acknowledging the difficulties, this article nonetheless concludes that TQM can and should be sold and that the courts will be better for the effort. Most Americans do not understand how courts work. Even less do they understand how courts are managed or why courts should involve any different management issues from other public agencies. To understand both the difficulties in having TQM accepted in courts and the fertile ground they offer, it may help to explore briefly the management context. - Reproduced  aJudiciary - United States  aTotal quality management - United States  aTotal quality management  aCourts  aInternational Journal of Public Administration  a32051  c32051d32051  00104070aIIPAbIIPAd2018-07-19hVolume no: 19, Issue no: 10pAR32237r2018-07-19w2018-07-19yAR