Affiliations: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Program on Employment and Disability, Ithaca, NY 14853-3901, USA | President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 1331 F. Street N.W., Washington, DC 20004, USA | Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities, 2853 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2601, USA
Abstract: This paper describes how key concepts of Total Quality Management can be applied to the implementation of the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). An argument is made for the use of Total Quality Management in a series of recommendations, examples, and case histories which show how Total Quality Management techniques can improve disability management, reasonable accommodation and customer service for people with disabilities. Business and industry can use the inclusion of people with disabilities in a positive way to improve their human resource programs and their production processes. In addition, companies can become more efficient for all workers and expand their customer base by implementing the employment provisions of the ADA.
Keywords: Total quality management, The Americans with Disabilities Act, Reasonable accommodation, Disability management, Continuous quality efforts, Human resource management
