Final answer:
In TQM, the process of investigating how the best companies in an industry operate to replicate their success is called benchmarking. It involves comparing business processes and performance metrics to those of industry leaders.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Total Quality Management (TQM), the practice of a company investigating how the best companies in the industry achieve their success is known as benchmarking. Benchmarking involves comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other companies. This strategy allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the goal of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may involve looking at practices in critical areas such as quality, time management, and cost reduction.
Kaizen, on the other hand, represents continuous improvement in a more incremental fashion, rather than looking externally for best practices. Quality control is focused on the process of ensuring that products and services meet customer expectations and comply with regulations. Process mapping refers to the activity of creating a flowchart to represent the sequence of processes or steps in a task, with the goal of better understanding the process and identifying areas for improvement.