The Theories of Quality Management - Essay Example

Literature Review The following literature review will explore some of the theories of quality management and will also explore how application of TQM may impact on the performance of the employees as well as their job satisfaction. What is TQM Importance of TQM The ultimate goal of a company is to deliver total quality and 100 percent value to the end customer. (Zairi 1994) and this is the standard or benchmark of acceptable performance management that describes the optimum use of all resources. Business excellence is the outcome or measure of Performance which makes Performance Management a tool to achieve Business Excellence. On the way to achieving Business Excellence firms' attempt to attain competitive advantage (Porter 1980) and organizations adopt various techniques to realize efficiency and effectiveness. Industries struggle to gain this competitiveness through shorter production cycles, improved quality and by responding with speed and efficiency to meet customer requirements (Ahmed and Abdalla 2000a, 2000b). To reach excellence it is critical to develop internal quality consciousness and the ability to respond quickly as per schedules (Clausing 1994). Usually profits and returns are considered to be a measure of accomplishment, but, in its widest sense, quality is perceived as the vital element for both national and global success (Dale 1999, Feigenbaum 1999). A number of organizations also implement Total Quality Management (TQM) practices to guide them through to becoming competent and successful as TQM is a preventive approach and not a detective approach to work (Walton, 1986). According to Zairi and Youssef (1998) in the global context today competition cannot be met with cost efficiency alone. Quality plays an equally important role in assessing competitiveness. Quality is a function of TQM is but it is focused on quality improvement alone and in the broader sense does not cover the entire activities of the organization and therefore the Business Excellence has replaced both Quality and TQM as the final measure of performance that effects all stakeholders. (Dale, Zairi, Van der Weile and Williams 2000). Amaratunga and Baldry (2003) state that it is a process of ascertaining and assessing progress and achievement of pre-determined goals and includes information on the efficiency that has been shown in conversion of resources into goods and services. The quality of these outputs and outcomes has a great bearing on the organization's effectiveness and its objectives leading to Business Excellence. The real measure of Business Excellence or Performance according to Evans and Lindsay (1999) is found in five key categories; customer satisfaction; financial and market performance measure; human resource measure; supplier and partner performance; and company strategy measures. Each of these segments plays a vital role in determining the actual value of performance in the context of performance measurements. Benchmarking is essentially a cost reduction method (McDougall and Hinks 2000). Its exercise results in pre-determined and pre-arranged costs. Deviations are the measures that performance management seeks to locate and redress. Managers depend upon it for performance measurement in the TQM context (Camp 1989) and it is considered as the most powerful technique for gaining and maintaining competitive advantage (Codling 1992). Benchmarking has also been defined as the continuous, systematic process for evaluating the products, services and work processes of organisations for the purposes of organisations improvement (Sarkis 2001). Theories of TQM One of the earliest theorists on quality management, Edward Deming, is regarded as not only a pioneer of the quality movement but also a prolific thinker who has inspired and influenced other academicians and practitioners of quality management. According to Deming, quality is not just an external aspect of a product or service that can be measured or controlled. Instead, quality is inherent in the form of people's attitudes and knowledge and in the inter-personal relationships. It is the management's task to instill the values of qualities in their employees and to provide them with the resources and guidance to carry out quality control at each and every step of their work life. The ultimate goal of a company is to deliver total quality and 100 percent value to the end customer. (Zairi 1994) and this is the standard or benchmark of acceptable performance management that describes the optimum use of all resources. Business excellence is the outcome or measure of Performance which makes Performance Management a tool to achieve Business Excellence. On the way to achieving Business Excellence firms' attempt to attain competitive advantage (Porter 1980) and organizations adopt various techniques to realize efficiency and effectiveness. Industries struggle to gain this competitiveness through shorter production cycles, improved quality and by responding with speed and efficiency to meet customer requirements (Ahmed and Abdalla 2000a, 2000b). To reach excellence it is critical to develop internal quality consciousness and the ability to respond quickly as per schedules (Clausing 1994). Usually profits and returns are considered to be a measure of accomplishment, but, in its widest sense, quality is perceived as the vital element for both national and global success (Dale 1999, Feigenbaum 1999). A number of organizations also implement Total Quality Management (TQM) practices to guide them through to becoming competent and successful as TQM is a preventive approach and not a detective approach to work (Walton, 1986). According to Zairi and Youssef (1998) in the global context today competition cannot be met with cost efficiency alone. Quality plays an equally important role in assessing competitiveness. Quality is a function of TQM is but it is focused on quality improvement alone and in the broader sense does not cover the entire activities of the organization and therefore the Business Excellence has replaced both Quality and TQM as the final measure of performance that effects all stakeholders. (Dale, Zairi, Van der Weile and Williams 2000). Amaratunga and Baldry (2003) state that it is a process of ascertaining and assessing progress and achievement of pre-determined goals and includes information on the efficiency that has been shown in conversion of resources into goods and services. The quality of these outputs and outcomes has a great bearing on the organization's effectiveness and its objectives leading to Business Excellence. The real measure of Business Excellence or Performance according to Evans and Lindsay (1999) is found in five key categories; customer satisfaction; financial and market performance measure; human resource measure; supplier and partner performance; and company strategy measures. Each of these segments plays a vital role in determining the actual value of performance in the context of performance measurements. Benchmarking is essentially a cost reduction method (McDougall and Hinks 2000). Its exercise results in pre-determined and pre-arranged costs. Deviations are the measures that performance management seeks to locate and redress. Managers depend upon it for performance measurement in the TQM context (Camp 1989) and it is considered as the most powerful technique for gaining and maintaining competitive advantage (Codling 1992). Benchmarking has also been defined as the continuous, systematic process for evaluating the products, services and work processes of organisations for the purposes of organisations improvement (Sarkis 2001). References Ahmed, A.M., and H.S. Abdalla (2000a), Supertative Strategy as a portfolio for the next millennium, International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing 10, No 2, pp 1-22 A.M., and H.S. Abdalla (2000b), Beyond competition: A framework for the beyond 21st century, International Journal of Production Research 38, no 15, pp 3677-3709 Amaratunga, D and Baldry, D (2003), A conceptual framework to measure facilities management performance, Property Management, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 171-189. Camp, R.C ( 1989), Benchmarking - The search for industry best practices that lead to superior performance, ASQC Quality Press, New York, NY. Clausing, D., (1994), Total Quality Development: A step by step guide to world class concurrent engineering, New York, ASME Press. Dale, B.G., Zairi, M., Van der Weile, A, and A.R.T. Williams (2000), Quality is Dead in Europe - Long Live Excellence. True or False' Measuring Business Excellence. Vol. 4. No.3 Evans, J R and Lindsay, MW (1999), The management and control of quality, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio Feigenbaum, A.V., (1999), The New Quality for the 21st Century, The TQM Magazine, 11, no 6, pp 376-383 Porter, M. E., (1980)Competitive Advantage. New York: Free Press: Sarkis, J (2001), Benchmarking for agility, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 88-107. Walton, M. (1986). The Deming management method. New York: Putnam. Zairi, M (1994), Benchmarking: the best tool for measuring competitiveness, Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology, Vol. 1, No.1, pp. 11-24. Zairi, Mohamed., and Mohamed A. Youssef (1998), Competing through modern quality principles: a forward management approach, International Journal of Technology Management(IJTM),Vol.16,4/5/6, Read More