Comparison of total quality management and Akhi approaches

Total Quality Management provides great advantages to businesses of our age in terms of principles such as customer satisfaction, continuous development and improvement, leadership, quality standards and training. These principles were also put into practice by the Akhi Organizations. Considering the customer as benefactor, being a matter of reputation of producing quality products and / or services, guiding leadership styles, life-long training processes from apprenticeship to master, were implemented within in a certain system by the Akhi Organizations in Anatolia centuries ago. Understanding of the Akhi Organizations approach and its adaptation to the present day are important and prioritized, just as the implementation of TQM is important in the world. Despite the fact that the philosophies of TQM and the Akhi Organizations overlap at many points, it is concluded that TQM is a purely economic approach despite being an institution that educates people beyond the economic nature of the Ahilik philosphies. While the aims at the center of the Akhism lead to the mentioned principles, it is also concluded that these principles are only tools in TQM. Keywords: Akhi, Akhism, Akhi Organization, Quality, Total Quality Management