ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN THE TQM CONTEXT A. IONICA 1 , S. IRIMIE 2 , V.BĂLEANU 3 , E.EDELHAUSER 4 University of Petroşani 1 andreeaionica2000@yahoo.com University of Petroşani 2 bina2932@yahoo.com University of Petroşani 3 ginabaleanu@yahoo.com University of Petroşani 4 edi1ro2001@yahoo.com In Romania, the mining industry comprises companies yet stirring up controversy on the subject of their viability in a free market economy. The companies are being compelled to look for ways to survive in an uncertain environment, so our paper underlines the „force” of human resources through organizational change in the TQM context. Key words: TQM, Human Resources, organizational change, organizational culture, National Hard Coal Company (NHCC) INTRODUCTION: BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS Change is a fact of organizational life, just as it is in human life. Every organization must change continually to survive and succeed in a more and more unpredictable and restrictive environment. Thus, implementing organizational change is one of the most challenging managerial responsibilities that involve continuous efforts and effective actions for improving the quality of customer service and performing in a more sustainable manner. Because it is a highly complex process essentially depending on how people perceive and actually react when asked to make changes at work, the change process must be managed so that to strengthen the commitment of employees. According to Pasmore (1994), there are four basic rules of organizational change: (1) to begin the process with concern for its impact on people; (2) to prepare people by educating them in what they need to know in order for the change to be successful; (3) to involve them as much as possible; (4) to change what really needs to be changed about the entire system in order for the effort to produce real results. Therefore, the managers should try to build flexibility throughout the organization (into its people, technology, systems, processes, and thinking) to create a work environment and an organizational culture that are open to change and able to support it. So, the concept of organizational change is often related to an organization- wide transformation designating a fundamental and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates, with important cultural and human involvement prerequisites. Implementing Total Quality Management is a such example of organization-wide change that our paper try to describe in the context of previous mentioned prerequisites. We talk about the „force” of human resources in the TQM implementation, about assuring the preconditions for this large-scale systems change, and about organizational culture as a source for the capability of the human resources.  It is ready a company, especially one operating in a highly specific field such mining, to implement TQM?  Is TQM just a philosophy, or a useful practical tool in obtaining QUALITY?  It is justified the diffused expression of “fad TQM”? While there have been quite a few success stories, for some companies TQM has become synonymous with failed efforts and wasted resources. Some believe it to be a fad that has lost its relevance in today's world. For answering these questions we must understand that implementing TQM will generate major changes at formal and informal levels, and human resources will be the most affected. Our point of view is that, in fact, the human resources are the „engine” of the change through TQM. All the other resources in an organization (either tangible or intangible) are not value–adding unless human resources are able to use them efficiently. There is no single theoretical formalization of Total Quality, but Deming, Juran and Ishikawa provide the core assumptions, as a "...discipline and philosophy of management which institutionalizes planned and continuous... improvement ... and assumes that quality is the outcome of all activities that take place within an organization; that all functions and all employees have to participate in the improvement process; that organizations need both quality systems and a quality culture". Reviewing principles of effective planned change implementation through TQM are proposed several assumptions related to the above mentioned questions, as follows: 1. Not all organizations are able or ready to change in order to create a favorable climate for implementing TQM; 2. TQM is a viable and effective planned change tool, when it is properly understood from the holistic systemic perspective of new managerial process views, including the needed approaches of organizational culture and behavior changes focused on human resources “force” enhancement; 3. Preconditions (prerequisites) for a successful TQM implementation can and must be created;