The Differences and/or Similarities in TQM and ISO 9000

At first glance, one would think that TQM and ISO 9000 do not have much in common, other than the fact that they both deal with the topic of quality. One is a philosophy of what makes up a quality organization, and the other is a set of rules that a quality organization might undertake. However, they both do share a common defining characteristic that is critical to understanding both of these notions. That is, neither one will proscribe how quality is to be deployed in an organization, nor how to explicitly design a business process that is profitable while simultaneously satisfying the customer.
The difference is that TQM, through its 14 Points, provides guidance that an organization can reference when designing their processes and operations, while ISO 9000 does not provide process design guidance, but instead allows a firm to declare its operational practices and has a mechanism to confirm that the organization follows those declared processes.
The other point we like to bring up whenever a comparison to TQM is made, is that ISO 9000 could be considered a subset of TQM. In this instance, ISO 9000 would be covered by Deming's first point, "Create constancy of purpose ...” Deploying a process where your business processes are documented and audited would be one way that constancy could be implemented. That is not to say it is the only method available.