The Impact of Total Quality Management on Employees Productivity - Research Proposal Example

A Research Proposal on the Investigation of the Impact of Total Quality Management on Employees’ Productivity Table of Contents A Research Proposal on the Investigation of the Impact of Total Quality Management on Employees’ Productivity 1 Introduction 2 Background study 3 Fundamental concepts of TQM 3 Conceptual framework 5 Research aim 6 Research objectives 7 Research questions 7 Research methodology 7 Sampling 8 Data collection methods 8 Qualitative approach 8 Quantitative approach 9 Plan for data presentation 10 Ethical considerations 10 Possible limitations 11 Timeframe for the research study 11 Summary 12 References 12 OLeary, Z. ( 2009).The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. SAGE Publications Ltd 13 Royse, D. M. (2010).Research Methods in Social Work.(6th edition). Stamford, Connecticut: 13 Cengage Learning Publications. 13 Introduction 2 Background study 3 Fundamental concepts of TQM 3 Conceptual framework 5 Research aim 7 Research objectives 7 Research questions 7 Research methodology 8 Sampling 8 Data collection methods 9 Qualitative approach 9 Quantitative approach 9 Plan for data presentation 10 Ethical considerations 11 Possible limitations 11 Timeframe for the research study 12 Summary 12 References 13 Introduction Presently there is increased regulation and competition, which has had an equal impact on both non-profit organisations and profit-oriented organisations, and with this into consideration, organisations across the divided have applied various techniques to ensure that they are compliant to the legal requirements and that they are also competitive. Among the documented techniques that have commonly being applied across various organisations, include the use of advanced technology to undertake numerous tasks within the organisation and the adoption of numerous management strategies such as strategic management, and total quality management, which are focused on adhering to new set of regulations and sustaining competitive advantages within organisation. This research paper will is based on concept of total quality management but it will take a detour from the common studies that have been undertaken in regards to this concept, which have largely been centered on management issues. Moreover, studies conducted by Creech (1994) stated that total quality management (TQM) is aimed towards creating excellence and due to this fact; it focuses on promoting the right attitudes within organisations and even implementing control measures in order to avoid costly mistakes. The detour will lead to a research study that seeks to investigate the impact of TQM on the level of productivity amongst the employees. Productivity in this context will refer to the performance measure of both employee effectiveness and efficiency. It will be important to conduct this research study because in a majority of the widely available scholarly literature there is very little mention of how TQM directly affects the level of employee productivity. This research gap provides a justification for conducting this present research study, as it will seek to establish the relationship between the fundament concepts of excellence or TQM and their direct impact on the level of employees’ productivity. This means that a method of measure will be established in order to gauge the extent to which the fundamental concepts of TQM influence the level of employee productivity. Background study Fundamental concepts of TQM First, Evans and Lindsey (2008) defined total quality management as a combination of socio-technical processes that are aligned towards doing the right things (externally), everything right (internally), first time and all the time, with economic viability considered at each stage of each process. In the writings by Goetsch and Davis (2010), they argued that organisations, which have implemented TQM have always been able to undertake strategic planning in order attain the mission as well as make significant strides towards their vision. Goetsch and Davis (2010) further argued that such organisations are always capable of achieving a balanced set of results, which enables them to attain long-term as well as short-term objectives. Under the model framework for European Foundation for Quality Management, it was noted that TQM has eight guiding principles. The principles comprised of the following; building partnerships, nurturing creativity and innovation, adding value for customers, succeeding through people, taking responsibility for a sustainable future, leading with vision, inspiration, and integrity, managing by processes, and achieving balanced results (EFQM, 2003). Under the principle of building partnerships, Nigam (2005) argued that TQM aims at creating organisations that are focused on the development and maintenance of trusting relationships with stakeholders in order to ensure mutual success. Therefore, from this principle it is correct to state that through TQM, organisations aim at building relationships with their employees so that they can as well succeed in their respective roles. Secondly, under the principle of nurturing creativity and innovation, TQM encourage stakeholders to harness their creativity levels in order to increase value and levels of performance. In this regard it can be stated that through TQM organisations tend to engage in strategies that can enable employees to perform much better, for instance promoting creativity and innovation amongst them (Goetsch and Davis, 2010). Thirdly, Naagarazan (2009) argued that organisations, which engage in TQM, always value their customers and therefore, they partake in various innovations that are aimed at creating value for their customers. In this regard, it is correct to state that when employees engage in adding value to the customers they also improve the quality of service that they provide, which means an increased productivity on their part. Another fundamental concept of TQM is succeeding through people, which means that organisations which have implemented TQM value their employees and therefore, they create a culture within the work environment that promote equal achievement for the organisation as well as the employee’s personal goals (Goetsch and Davis, 2010). This principle promotes productivity amongst the employees since they are valued with the organisation and therefore, they have high morale to achieve organisational goals as well as their own goals. Under the fundamental concept of taking responsibility for a sustainable future, Nigam (2005) stated that organisations, which have implemented TQM, have integrated within their culture an ethical mindset, clear values, and high organisational standards that enable them to strive for ecological, social, and economic sustainability. This fundamental concept influence employee productivity in the sense that employees will be encouraged by the organisational culture that assures them of sustainable practices, which is an indication for successful years ahead for the organisation that an employee would wish to be a part. In regards to the concept of leading with vision, inspiration, and integrity, it is noted that organisations, which have implemented TQM have leaders who are capable of shaping the future and then making it come into reality, thereby acting as role models for its values and ethics (Naagarazan, 2009). This fundamental concept of TQM is able to influence the productivity of employees in the sense that they will be encouraged and motivated by the attitude and spirit of hard work, which is exhibited by their own leaders/ boss in the organisation who will be leading with vision, inspiration, and integrity. According to Nigam (2005), organisations that have implemented TQM are able to be managed by structured and strategically aligned processes that rely on fact-based decision making in order to create sustained and balanced results. From this principle, it can be argued that organisations, which have implemented TQM, are able to increase the productivity of their employees because of the fact that their performance or undertakings will be through structured and strategically aligned processes. Lastly, under the principle of achieved balanced results, it is noted that organisations, which have implemented TQM are able to meet their mission and even strive towards their vision through planning. This enables such organisations to meet both long-term and short-term needs of their stakeholders who include the employees (Daft and Daft, 2007). The productivity of employees in this regard is influenced on the fact that they are equally encouraged to strive towards meeting the organisation’s mission and vision. As seen from the above discussion on the fundamental concepts of TQM it is noted that it is a different kind of management that focuses on increasing the quality of different aspects of management thereby ensuring maximum results for the organisations and stakeholders, who also include the employees. TQM has a direct relation to the productivity of workers because just as simple management techniques aim at increasing the performance of workers so does the TQM. However, in the present theoretical knowledge on TQM, there is little mention on how it directly affects the productivity of workers because the scope is wide and it does not narrow down on employee productivity improvement. However, as it has been discussed above, the scope of TQM goes to an extent of influencing the productivity of employees. The justification for conducting this research study is pegged on the fact that there is a research gap on the present body of literature since there is little mention as to how directly the fundamental concepts of TQM affect the level of productivity for employees. Whilst undertaking this research study it will be particularly important to consider what parameters determine the level of productivity amongst employees and thus, gauge each fundamental concept with its impact on the relevant parameters of employee productivity. According to the writings by Walters (2010), he stated that the measures of employee productivity are determined by the nature of the job or roles that a particular employee is assigned. This means that parameters for measuring the productivity of managers are slightly different with those that can be applied on the employees in the subordinate roles. For example, the parameters for measuring managers’ level of productivity can include the following; the company’s financial performance, the level of customer and employee satisfaction, and the public image of the company. As for employees, the parameters for measuring their level of productivity can include the time they take to complete the task, the accuracy of their tasks, their level of reliability, the amount of sales they generate, Conceptual framework The conceptual framework indicates that context through upon which the entire study will be based upon. Moreover, it highlights on the deliverables of that can be tested whilst conducting the data collection process. The deliverables are grouped into independent and dependent variables. The independent variables will comprise of the fundamental concepts of TQM while the dependent variables will comprise of different measures of level of employee productivity. Principles/ Concepts of TQM Impact of TQM on employee’s performance Research aim The main aim of this research study is to investigate the actual impact of TQM on the level of employees’ productivity. Research objectives a) To establish how fundamental concepts/ principles of TQM are implemented in organisations b) To establish aspects of management that influence the level of employees’ productivity c) To establish the impact the concepts/ principles of TQM have on employees’ level of productivity? Research questions a) How are the fundamental concepts/ principles of TQM implemented within organisations? b) What are the aspects of management that influence the level of employees’ productivity? c) What are the impact of these concepts/ principles of TQM on employees’ level of productivity? Research methodology This chapter spells out the procedures and the methods that the researcher employed in achieving the objectives of the research as highlighted in the abstract of this paper. It defines location of the study, research procedures, and analysis plan that were put into consideration when carrying out this particular research project It is important to note that the research study will apply both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and therefore, it will take the form of a mixed methods study. Because the qualitative and quantitative research method have differing objectives. it means the methods that will be applied in both approach will differ to some extent. Sampling Under qualitative approach, the researcher will aim at gaining an understanding of motivation and reasons that the respondents have, and because of this, the researcher will be forced to use a small sample of participants who are possibly from a case study organisation. The sample size will be twenty-five participants from a selected organisation that has so far implemented TQM. The actual sampling method that will be applied in this approach is the snowballing whereby the researcher collects data on the few members of the target population he locate, and then he asks those individuals to provide the information needed to locate other members of that population whom they happen to know (Kothari, 2004). Under this recruitment method, the researcher will approach a particular organisation and ask the managers to lead him to other employees who will be willing to participate in the research study. Under the quantitative approach, the researcher will aim at quantifying data and then generalizing the results obtained to the sample population. This means that the results obtained will be assumed to represent the TQM effect of employees across the entire branch network of the chosen organisation. Because of this, the sample population will be large but since there is time limitation on the period for collecting data the target sample population will only be limited to a hundred people. Since the big number will be used to represent the interest of the entire population, the most appropriate recruitment method will be the simple random sampling, which was described by OLeary, 2009), as a sampling technique whereby each subset within a frame has an equal chance of being selected to participate in a particular research process. The intended recruitment will be simply approaching adults on streets and asking them if they would agree to fill out the questionnaire. Data collection methods Qualitative approach The main data collection strategy that will be used by the researcher in this approach is the case study method. In the writings by Noor (2008), he described case study as an investigative research method that involves investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon in the real life situation using multiple sources of evidence like financial statements. More elaborate explanation on the nature of the case study as a research method was given by Dick (2005, p. 78) who viewed case study as a representation of ‘a specific way of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data’. The case study research method has been proposed in this research proposal and it will mean that the researcher will select a specific company that will be used for referencing purposes in the sense of how TQM affects upon the level of employees’ productivity. For example, the researcher can opt to use Barclays Bank as its case study since it has reportedly implemented TQM. In terms of data collection, the researcher will ask for permission from the bank manager to interview at least 25 employees in both the management and junior levels on the impact TQM has had on their productivity. Since the data collection center will be inside a bank, the researcher will try to limit the interview sessions to 15 minutes and the data collection period will be 5 days. During the interview sessions, the researcher will seek to obtain in-depth facts as to how TQM affects the productivity of employees at the bank. Quantitative approach According to the writings by Khan (2011), he stated that under the quantitative approach, the researcher would be expected to use structured techniques such on street, online questionnaires, or telephone interviews. However, because the desired data under this approach should be statistical it means that the researcher will use structured questionnaires that are capable of collecting data in the form of tabulation. The questionnaire designed for this particular research project will enable information to be gathered from many respondents. The use of structured questionnaire as a quantitative method for collecting data from the sources is the most appropriate method of collecting mass responses and as such, providing a good method of comparative analysis (Royse, 2010). First section of the questionnaire will consists of questions that are more inclined at getting to know the research participant or in other words the demographics of the randomly selected participants. These questions are particularly important since they help in explaining more on how a participant answered certain questions in a particular manner. The second section the questionnaires will comprise of questions that are simply designed to answer the research questions. Since the researcher will collect raw data from data participants, it will be particularly important to conduct a pilot study to test the accuracy of the questionnaire and whether random selected participants can provide valid feedback to the research questions that will be listed or even if they will be able to understand the questions. In the pilot survey the researcher will distribute sample questionnaire to at least randomly selected by standers in order to see how they would answer the questionnaires and test the ability of the questionnaire to collect data that can be easily compared. The problems that will be encountered during the pilot survey will be resolved before the actual data collection process. In addition, the questions will be considered complex or will receive neutral answers will be restructured so that they can be easily understood and thus answered during the actual data collection process. Plan for data presentation The data that will be collected in the qualitative approach will be simply presented as a discussion, which will be integrated with data that were collected during the secondary research i.e. from scholarly books and journal articles listed in the reference list. In addition, the researcher will compare the interview responses from the 25 participants against each other to ascertain the majority view from the employees of the selected cases study company. The data that will be collected from quantitative approach will first of all be presented in tables, which will show frequencies and percentages of each response on every question. From the table containing the raw data, the researcher will be able to present the findings on graphical charts that can be generated from the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences or Microsoft Word Excel. Moreover, based on the conceptual framework that was presented in the previous section of this paper, the researcher can use the IBM SPSS to conduct a regression analysis that will test for two variables and therefore, validate if the relationships presented in the conceptual framework are indeed correct or not. Ethical considerations One of the main ethical issues that arise from this study is the possible power imbalance that can arise during the qualitative research study in the sense of who should be given the priority to provide credible answers between the managers of the chosen organisation and the employees. For example, the researcher could be face ambiguity as to who exactly can tell the impact TQM has had on the employees of Barclays Bank. However, the researcher can maneuver through this by simply including all the participants since their varied opinion will help answering their research question. Another ethical consideration is maintaining the anonymity of respondents. The researcher can simply maintain the anonymity by not disclosing personal information. Lastly, another ethical consideration is seeking for consent first from the respondents who will participate in the interview sessions and even those who will be randomly approached to provide answer to the questionnaire. While seeking consent the researcher will also inform the participants about the objective of the research study. Possible limitations While carrying out of the research project several limitation are likely to be encountered of which they will comprise of; There is likely to be a tedious and long procedure to be followed in order to obtain access to chosen company, which will be used as the case study. It is likely that some employees from the selected after agreeing to participate in the interview process will not show up to the sessions, which might be caused by an arising work-related issue that requires their immediate attention. Considering that the researcher will be issuing questionnaires randomly in the street is highly likely that some questionnaires will not be answered properly while there are chances that some questions might be left unanswered by the randomly selected participants. Timeframe for the research study Activity April May June July August September October Proposal writing Preparation of instruments Data collection Data analysis and interpretation Report writing Submission of final report Summary In summary this research proposal has constructed a conceptual framework through which various concepts/ principles of TQM are matched with the possible influence they might have on the productivity of employees. This research proposal proposes for the use of qualitative and quantitative research method in order to answer the research questions, the two approaches will result to use o mixed methods. The results obtained from the two approaches will be used to substantiate what was represented in conceptual framework. References Creech, B. (1994) The Five Pillars of TQM: How to Make Total Quality Management Work for You. New York: Truman Talley Books Daft, R. L., & Daft, R. L. (2007). New era of management. Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western. Dick, B. (2005). Grounded Theory: A Thumbnail Sketch, Research Papers in Action Research, Available at http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/grounded.html Accessed on [26. 04. 2014] EFQM. (2003) The Fundamental Concepts of Excellence. Brussels: The European Foundation for Quality Management. Evans, R. J. & Lindsey, W.M. (2008) The Management and Control of Quality (7th edition). Wesly, USA: Thompson South-Western Goetsch,D.L., & Davis, S.B. (2010). Quality Management for Organisational Excellence (6th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Khan, M. (2011). Research Methodology.New Delhi, India:APH Publishing Kothari, C. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi, India: New Age International Naagarazan, A. (2009). Total quality management. [S.l.], New Age International Pvt. Nigam, S. (2005). Total quality management: An integrated approach. New Delhi: Excel Books. Noor, K. (2008). A strategic Research Methodology. Science Publications,’ American Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 5, Issue 11, pp. 1602-1604, Available at http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajas/ajas5111602-1604.pdf. Accessed on [3rd August, 2012] OLeary, Z. ( 2009).The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. SAGE Publications Ltd Royse, D. M. (2010).Research Methods in Social Work.(6th edition). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning Publications. Walters, J. H. (2010). Positive management: Increasing employee productivity. New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017: Business Expert Press. Read More