Total quality management and public administration: the case of Vila Real town hall

In most countries, public administration is the economic sector which weights more heavily on employment and also the one which produces more goods and creates more services. Naturally one cannot remain indifferent to this Total Quality Management (TQM) movement in public administration. The Government is aware that "quality is now recognized and accepted worldwide as the client’s satisfaction at an adequate cost and an imperative for all public organizations (…) in view of the public’s and consumers’ growing awareness of their rights.” (DL n.º 166-A/99 de 13 de Maio). In Portugal, public administration faces new and more complex challenges everyday as a result of economic, social and technologic changes the country is going through.

Total quality management and public administration: the case of Vila Real town hall Conference Paper