The Use and Impact of Total Quality Management in the UK Business Sector - Research Paper Example

?Running head: The use and impact of total quality management in the UK business sector Registration Number: Degree: Module Word Count: Title: Abstract The paper presents an empirical and theoretical analysis of the implications of the total quality management on the business sector in the UK. The hypothesis was tested in an empirical study, which was carried out on a sample of U.K firm. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the total quality management on the business firms in U.K. Our research was to answer a few questions on the use and the impact of the quality management at the telecom sector in U.K. Introduction Over the last few decades in the U.K, quality management models have been used to improve on the performance of the firms. It is thus applied by these firms in realization of excellent results. The literature review here has discussed whether the quality management fosters change and flexibility of firms in trying to realize their set goals or whether on contrary it hinders the firm’s interest in their new developments. Consequently, quality management has evolved considerably hence it is very much vital to try to determine whether these practices have provided effective means in order to respond to the flexibility necessary in the new competitive conditions (Hariharan 2004). Research design A list of techniques was generated from various sources, which included textbook, scholarly works. The initial list included 13 techniques. These are the techniques applied. Balanced score card, cooperate social responsibility, customer surveys, improvement teams, mission and vision statements, employee suggestion scheme, lean, knowledge management, QMS, Six sigma, supplier evaluation, SWOT analysis, and 5S (Hariharan 2004). Questionnaire and Questionnaire administration The questionnaire included the following questions on how quality management has been used in the following principles in the company. 1) Employee involvement 2) Company culture 3) Executive management 4) Company decision-making and continuous improvement. (Fahey 1997). First of all, a covering e-mail and survey was sent to the sample of 10 managers of the registered telecom companies in U.K. 5 days after the mail had been sent, a reminder postal card was also sent to non-responders. A total of 10 requests where made whereby seven of the interview requests were accepted. As a result, the whole interview yielded a total of 17 usable responses, which included seven from the structured interviews hence it yielded response rate of 17.8% and 9 from e-mail responses yielding a response rate of 30%. So, the overall response rate was 24.3%. (Fahey 1997). Non-response bias In trying to assess the non-response bias in the mail survey, the statistical significance different tests now between the earlier responses and the later response is used. So, using this method, first five responders and the last five responders were then compared. The test of the 20 randomly selected survey items then found there was no any statistical significant difference. This brought us to our conclusion that non-response may not be a major problem in our study. (Fahey 1997). Literature review According to Jackson (2002), total quality management is one of the management approaches applied by firms in seeking to establish zero defects when running your business. It comprises of team leadership, worker empowerment, and creative problem solving in order to achieve its set goals. These programs are now available in marketing, production, customer support, and finance. A TQM program includes all aspects of organizations operations, which include, the structure of the company, the culture the company has developed, and its hiring and promotional practices. TQM evolved from the quality assurance methods that were first developed during the First World War. It was as a result of these was which led to large-scale manufacturing efforts that produced poor quality of goods and services in the world. Principles of total quality management Brown (2000) indicates that TQM involves the management of initiatives and procedures that are aimed at production and delivery of quality goods and services I U.K and other countries. In trying to define TQM, five principles have been applied. 1) Executive management: The top managers in any firm are used to drive quality management by creating an environment suitable for the production of quality products. 2) Training: In U.K and other countries firms, they have applied the principle of training its employers periodically. It is through these trainings that you find the workers here are conversant with methods and concepts for quality products (Brown 2000). 3) Customer focus: Through the consideration on quality products, you find that the customer satisfaction in this case is improved hence leading to more purchase of these goods and services. In return, you will find that the business output increases hence the growth of the economy in return (Brown 2000). 4) Decision making: Good and quality decisions are also made based on measurements. Once the good decisions have been made, it is realized that, the firms set goals and objectives can be realized hence leading to the growth of the company/firm (Brown 2000). 5) Continuous improvement: Firms work continuously towards improving manufacturing and quality procedures. In the U.K, you find that that principle has applied since you find that the firms have continuously improved on the range of their products. This is because you find that many consumers have the tendency of liking the new products in the market. Hence, due to the increasing demands of the customers, these have improved on their products quality indeed (Brown 2000). 6) Company culture: The culture of the company in this case should aim at developing the employee’s ability to working together towards improving quality goods and services. In U.K, most the firms have applied this principle in that the workers are motivated to work together towards the achievements of the companies set goals and objectives (Brown 2000). 7) Employee involvement: Here, the employees are motivated to be more pro-active in trying to identify and address the quality related problems. You find that the workers in these firms out of the knowledge they have, they are in a position to see a problem relate to their products hence when such a problem is detected, the company is in a position to improve on the quality of that particular product hence improving consumer satisfaction (Brown 2000). Using the example of the telecom industry in U.K, it registered unpreceded population adjusted growth in its last few years. These huge revenue generations for the operators, huge FDI and also large-scale jobs generations has seen this sector create a very competitive environment with its focus on the quality of service and quality practices. Now, taking this example from the research conducted, UK has witnessed the fastest and largest telecom industry population growth in the world over the last 7 years or so. It is due to this, the sector has attracted a net FDIs of approximately 7.6 billion US dollars in the period (2002-2008) (Economic survey of U.K, (2007-2008). This sector witnessed a 28.4% growth in the reinvested earnings in FDI in the last financial year. It has also reported a generation of 400,000 indirect jobs to its citizens (Chatzkel 1998). Comparison with different economies Thailand Penetration CAGR=53.2% Subscriber CAGR=54.7% Philippines Penetration CAGR=67.8% Subscriber CAGR=78% Indonesia Penetration CAGR=67% Subscriber CAGR=70% U.K Penetration CAGR=109% Subscriber CAGR=123% Pakistan Penetration CAGR=52.1% Subscriber CAGR=53% India Penetration CAGR=76% Subscriber CAGR=90% (Brenner 1998). While there is an intense competition, which is witnessed in U.K and other countries in this sector, innovative products and services that is highly coupled with increased advanced technology in the country, there is still a huge potential for growth in this sector as a result of the incorporation of the principles of quality management it applies as stated above (Brenner 1998). Defining and measuring quality in the telecom sector Balogun (2004) states that Quality in its final analysis, is the capacity to meet diverse requirements which are economical, productive, social and of course with measurable actions. The quality of performance is then one of the basic elements in trying to differentiate an organization within any market. 1) Customer relationships- involve establishing strong relationships with the customer’s trough partnership arrangements, having direct customer contacts. 2) Customer involvement in the new product desings-this involves the involvement of the potential customers in the new product, which is to be introduced in to the market. It is through this, and then you find that the firm is in a position to assure itself whether the new product is good for the customers. 3) Collection of information on customer needs- this involves a close interaction with the customers. Through this interaction, information is then collected suitable for the company concerning its product in the market. 4) Dissemination of customer needs within the organization and responsiveness to that information (Balogun 2004). Data analysis After collecting our data above, it was analyzed using a table chart. There are so many ways of analyzing data but we opted for the table chart because it is easy for everyone to read and also understand it. Here we got the mean of means on various issues, which included, 1) Awareness of techniques 2) Use of techniques 3) Effectiveness perceived by adopters 4) Future use expectations of the non-adopters (Lubit 2001). The table below then clearly shows how our data was analyzed in trying to determine the effectiveness of total quality management on the telecom industry in U.K, which is one of the competitive industries in this sector. DATA SET MEAN OF MEANS (telecom) MEAN OF MEANS (manufacturing) Awareness of techniques 4.57 on a scale of 7 3.54 on a scale of 7 Use of techniques 78.97 on a scale of 97 48.537 on a scale of 97 Effectiveness perceived by adopters 4.57 on a scale of 7 4.89 on a scale o 7 Future use expectation by non responders 54.2 on a scale of 97 56.324 on a scale of 97 Table 2. Mean of means comparison in the manufacturing sector (Lubit 2001). Data evaluation and interpretation From the data collected above on the U.K telecom industries, it can be concluded that due to the application of the five principles on quality management, this industry has been in a position to increase quality of its products hence leading to a high customer satisfaction. Quality management in this case involves incorporation of various factors, which include leadership, worker empowerment, and creative problem solving. You will find that through proper leadership in the firm, worker empowerment which in this case may involve employee training lead to quality products in the market. This is because of the high competitors which make the telecom industry to strategies itself as far as quality products are concerned. By the end of the day, you will find that the company competes effectively with the other competitors in the market. The customer on the other hand is in a position to enjoy a wide range of goods and services as a result of the new technology (Gold 2000). Conclusion Our study has provided an insight on the current business practices in U.K with the use of the quality management applied in its firms as seen in our case study of the U.K telecom industry which has applied this technology highly hence leading to its mass growth of the economy. The results shown above highly reveal and represent the first formal study carried out in the U.K telecom industry on the quality and business improvement practices of the telecom industry. So, based on the brief individual techniques results and analysis, the mean of means then come out to be as shown in the chart above. This then led to our conclusion that, the effectiveness which is seen to be adopted by the industry has the highest mean. This as a result clearly tells us that the quality management system which is adopted by the managers in this industry has enabled them to increase on their quality products hence increased customer satisfaction. In the case of the future customer satisfaction, you can see its ranging between 54 and 56. This clearly shows that there is a high future use expectation even by the non-responded. References Balogun, J. 2004. Breaking the chain of organizational structure. London, Pitman publishing. Free press. Buck man, H. 1998. Knowledge sharing at Buck man labs. Journal of business strategy. Pp 3- 15. Bajaria, A. 2001. Knowledge creation and management: Total quality management. TQM Magazine, Vol. 15. Brenner, M. 1998. Motivating knowledge workers. American society for quality, Pp 33-37 Chatzkel, J. 1998. How can systems thinking enhance quality efforts. New York: McGraw- Hill, Inc. Brown, P. 2000. Knowledge management. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18 (1), 115-150. Crane, O. 2000. High performance teams. Team performance management. Pp 87-102 Dale, G. 1994. Managing quality, 2nd edition. London, Prentice hall. Fahey, L. 1997. The eleven deadliest sins of knowledge management. California Management Review, 30 (6), Pp265-276.   Gold, A. 2000. Knowledge management. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18 (1),  Han, F. 2001. "Understanding Knowledge Management." The Public Manager. Vol. 30, 2. p34 Hariharan, A. 2004. "Knowledge Management: A Strategic Tool." Journal of Knowledge   Management Practice, September, 2002 Jackson, L. 2002. Knowledge management. Competitiveness review. Pp 1-12 Lubit, R. 2001. Tacit knowledge and knowledge management: The keys to sustainable competitive advantage. Organizational Dynamics, 29 (3),   Nidumolu, S. 2001. Exploring the ground beneath knowledge management. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18 (1), 115-150. Read More