TQM is considered as a kind management innovation tools. Managers are apt to be embarrassed in face of too many emerging and diminishing faddish management innovation tools. In spite of their expected usefulness, the result of implementation used to be depressing. One of the most important things for successful implementation is to understand their correct usefulness and characteristics. This paper analyzes the characteristics of TQM as innovation tool by comparing TQM with other management innovation tools in terms of criteria derived in view of competitive strategy formulation.