Based on a cross-sectional survey and by classifying MCS into“control”and“exploration”，we ex_x005famine the relationships among total quality management ( TQM) ，management control systems (MCS) ，and organization performance using structural equation modeling．We find that the implementation of TQM can significantly improve organizationd performance．Furthermore，with MCS being the supporting system，the organization should consider the synergistic effect of its fundamental functions，i.e.，“control”and“exploration”．The appropriate fit between the two fundamental functions and TQM can bring better performance for organizations．