Summary

GAO reviewed the Department of the Interior's implementation of total quality management (TQM). GAO found that: (1) as federal agencies invested more time and effort in TQM activities, TQM implementation matured, barriers became less difficult, and greater benefits could be achieved; (2) Interior's TQM efforts were similar to the majority of federal agencies responding to the survey; (3) 59 percent of Interior's installations had implemented TQM and believed TQM was beneficial; and (4) although Interior generally agreed with other federal agencies regarding barriers to successful TQM implementation, it believed funding and budget constraints were the most significant barriers to TQM.