Managing Quality and Business Improvement - Assignment Example

Managing Quality and Business Improvement A. Take a sample of no less than 10 articles on quality published in reputable academic journals after January 2003 and identify; i. The main issues being addressed by each article. As Bell & Elkins, (2004) describe, an attempt to promote quality excellence in the USA, the MBNQA programme was conceived in 1987. The Baldrige award framework has four basic elements: driver, system, measures of progress and goal. As described by Porter and Tanner (2005), there exist dynamic relationships among the criteria. Senior executive leadership sets directions, creates the values, goals and expectations. The system consists of a set of well-defined and well-designed processes for meeting the company's customer and overall performance requirements. Measures of progress comprise the control elements of the model. The measures provide the basis for determining the types of actions required in the pursuit of the two primary goals of the model; customer and marketplace performance, and business performance. The criteria are built upon a set of core values and concepts. Structurally, the most important difference in the frameworks is the complete separation of Enablers and Results in the EFQM Excellence Model. Separation of Enablers and Results generally improves the use of TQM frameworks in self-assessment and aids understanding by its specific focus on the 'hows' (Enablers) and Results. However, it also requires the description of matching specific enablers to specific results in different criteria. The particular strength of the EFQM framework is that it explicitly addresses the performance of an organization in meeting the needs of all its stakeholders (Porter and Tanner 1998). In general, the contents of both models are similar, but some differences exist (Zink et al. 2004; Porter and Tanner 1998). The criterion on Leadership of the EFQM Excellence Model appears in the Baldrige with the same name but the EFQM framework considers a wider range of activities. Baldrige also explicitly addresses the area of public responsibility and corporate citizenship (which constitutes by itself a unique criterion in the EFQM Excellence Model). The area 'policy and strategy' can be compared with the MBNQA criterion 'strategic planning'. The questions relating to 'people management' in the EFQM and those relating to 'people results' are to be found in the MBNQA. The comparison of the EFQM subject 'partnerships and resources' with the specific criteria within the MBNQA is difficult. The contents dealt with in the EFQM model in this area are distributed over many criteria within the MBNQA (Arif, et al. 2005). The criterion 'processes' within the MBNQA is significantly more detailed. While the EFQM structures the criterion according to activities in managing processes, the Baldrige criterion is structured according to the kind of processes. Large differences between the MBNQA and EFQM framework are to be found in the context of the EFQM criterion 'customer results'. Within the EFQM Excellence Model no relevant 'enabler' criterion is defined for the 'results' criterion, but would be addressed by the critical processes. The EFQM results part 'society results' is missing in the Baldrige. Finally, no major differences are found in the criterion 'performance results', since both frameworks distinguish between financial and non-financial results. ii. What common themes emerge? The common themes observed in the above-mentioned articles are: These values and concepts are the embedded behaviours found in high performing organizations (NIST 2000): • Visionary leadership. Senior leaders need to set directions and create a customer focus, clear and visible values, and high expectations. Leaders need to ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for achieving excellence, stimulating innovation, and building knowledge and capabilities. Through their ethical behaviour and personal roles in planning, communications, coaching, developing future leaders, review of organizational, and employee recognition, senior leaders should serve as role models, reinforcing values and expectations and building leadership, commitment, and initiative throughout the organization (Strach & Everett, 2004). • Customer driven. Quality and performance are judged by an organization's customers. Being customer driven is a strategic concept. It is directed towards customer retention, market share gain, and growth. It demands constant sensitivity to changing and emerging customer and market requirements, and the factors that drive customer satisfaction and retention. • Organizational and personal learning. Organizational and personal learning is a goal of visionary leaders. The term organizational learning refers to continuous improvement of existing approaches and processes and adaptation to change, leading to new goals and/or approaches. Employee success depends increasingly on having opportunities for personal learning and practising new skills (Mcginnis, 2006). • Valuing employees and partners. An organization's success depends increasingly on the knowledge, skills, innovative creativity, and motivation of its employees and partners. Valuing employees means commitment to their satisfaction, development, and well-being. Increasingly, this involves more flexible, high-performance work practices tailored to employees with diverse workplace and home-life needs. Organizations need to build internal and external partnerships to better accomplish overall goals. Successful internal and external partnerships develop long-term objectives, thereby creating a basis for mutual investments and respect (Mcginnis, 2006). • Agility. Success in globally competitive markets demands creating a capacity for rapid change and flexibility. Businesses face ever-shorter cycles for introductions of new or improved products and services. All aspects of time performance are becoming increasingly important and should be among your key process measures. • Focus on the future. Pursuit of sustainable growth and market leadership require a strong future orientation and a willingness to make long-term commitments to key stakeholders. Major components of a future focus include developing employees and suppliers, seeking opportunities for innovation and fulfilling public responsibilities. • Managing for innovation. Innovation should focus on leading the organization to new dimensions of performance. Organizations should be structured in a way that innovation becomes part of the culture and daily work (Conyers, 2004). • Management by fact. Organizations depend upon the measurement and analysis of performance. Such measurements must derive from the organization's strategy and provide critical data and information about key processes, outputs and results. The measures or indicators selected should represent the factors that lead to improved customer, operational, and financial performance. • Public responsibility and citizenship. An organization's leadership needs to stress its responsibilities to the public and needs to practise good citizenship. These responsibilities refer to basic expectations of the organization - business ethics and protection of public health, safety and the environment (Mullins, 2004). • Focus on results and creating value. An organization's performance measurements need to focus on key results. Results should be focused on creating and balancing value for all stakeholders. The use of a balanced composite of leading and lagging performance measures offers an effective means to communicate short- and longer-term priorities, to monitor actual performance and to provide a focus for improving results. • Systems perspective. The core values and the seven Baldrige categories form the building blocks of the system. Successful management of the overall enterprise requires synthesis and alignment. Synthesis means looking at the organization as a whole and focusing on what is important to the whole enterprise. Alignment means concentrating on key organizational linkages among requirements. Thus, alignment means linking key strategies with key processes and aligning resources to improve overall performance and satisfy customers (Mullins, 2004). B. How has the debate changed since Garvins article of 1991 and what are the implications for; i. The management and development of quality within an organisation. The core values and concepts are embodied in seven categories: Leadership The Leadership category examines how your organization's senior leaders address values and performance expectations, as well as a focus on customers and other stakeholders, empowerment, innovation, learning, and organizational directions. Also examined is how your organization addresses its responsibilities to the public and its key communities. Strategic planning The Strategic Planning category examines your organization's strategy development process, including how your organization develops strategic objectives, action plans, and related human resource plans. Also examined are how plans are deployed and how performance is tracked. Customer and market focus The Customer and Market Focus category examines how your organization determines requirements, expectations and preferences of customers and markets. Also examined is how your organization builds relationships with customers and determines their satisfaction. ii. The fundamentals(tools/techniques, philosophies, and systems) of quality. Information and analysis The Information and Analysis category examines your organization's performance measurement system and how your organization analyses performance data and information. Human resource focus The Human Resource Focus category examines how your organization enables employees to develop and utilize their full potential, aligned with the organization's objectives. Also examined are your organization's efforts to build and maintain a work environment and employee support climate conducive to performance excellence, full participation and personal and organizational growth (Lehman, 2006). Process management The Process Management category examines the key aspects of your organization's process management, including customer-focused design, product and service delivery, support and supplier and collaborating processes involving all work units. Business results The Business Results category examines your organization's performance and improvement in key business areas - customer satisfaction, product and service performance, human resource results, supplier and partner results, and operational performance. Also examined are performance levels relative to competitors. c. Taking either the EFQM OR IS09000; i. Critically evaluate how your chosen formal quality model addresses the current key issues identified by your research. The European Quality Award (EQA) was officially launched in 1991 with the aim of enhancing the competitive position of European companies in the world market. The EQA is managed by the EFQM established by fourteen leading European corporations, in September 1988. The purpose of the award is to promote TQM in Europe and all applicants must be able to demonstrate a history of significant commitment to Europe of at least five years. Like the Baldrige model, the EFQM Excellence Model is a non-prescriptive framework that recognizes there are many approaches to achieving sustainable excellence. Excellence is defined by the EFQM as an outstanding practice in managing the organization and achieving results, based on a set of eight fundamental concepts, which underpin the model. They are described below (EFQM Excellence Model 1999): • Results orientation. Excellence is dependent upon balancing and satisfying the needs of all relevant stakeholders. • Customer focus. The customer is the final arbiter of product and service quality and customer loyalty, retention and market share gain are best optimized through a clear focus on the needs of current and potential customers. • Leadership and constancy of purpose. The behaviour of an organization's leaders create a clarity and a unity of purpose within the organization and an environment in which the organization and its people can excel. • Management by processes and facts. Organizations perform more effectively when all interrelated activities are understood and systematically managed and decisions concerning current operations and planned improvements are made, using reliable information that includes stakeholder perceptions. • People development and involvement. The full potential of an organization's people is best released through shared values and a culture of trust and empowerment, which encourages the involvement of everyone. • Continuous learning, innovation and improvement. Organizational performance is maximized when it is based on the management and sharing of knowledge within a culture of continuous learning, innovation and improvement. • Partnership development. An organization works more effectively when it has mutually beneficial relationships, built on trust, sharing of knowledge and integration, with its partners. • Public responsibility. The long-term interests of the organization and its people are best served by adopting an ethical approach and exceeding the expectations and regulations of the community at large. The EFQM model is divided into two parts: Enablers and Results. The Enablers are policies and processes that drive the business and facilitate the transformation of inputs to outputs and outcomes. The Results are the measure of the level of output and outcome attained by the organization. The arrows emphasize the dynamic nature of the model. They show Innovation and Learning, helping to improve Enablers, which in turn lead to improved Results. The full power of the model is derived from the relationship between the enabler criteria and the results criteria. The model is based on the premise that excellent results with respect to performance, customers, people and society are achieved through leadership driving policy and strategy, people, partnerships and resources, and processes. The model consists of nine elements: five Enablers and four measures of Results. ii. Evaluate the benefits(if any) of incorporating the issues you have identified into your chosen formal quality model. The EFQM Excellence Model These are further divided into a number of secondary elements. The model's criteria are considered below: 1 Leadership How leaders develop and facilitate the achievement of the mission and vision, develop values required for long-term success and implement these via appropriate actions and behaviours, and are personally involved in ensuring that the organization's management system is developed and implemented. 2 Policy and strategy How the organization implements its mission and vision via a clear stakeholder-focused strategy, supported by relevant policies, plans, objectives, targets and processes. 3 People How the organization manages, develops and releases the knowledge and full potential of its people at an individual, team-based and organization-wide level, and plans these activities in order to support its policy and strategy and the effective operation of its processes. 4 Partnerships and resources How the organization plans and manages its external partnerships and internal resources in order to support its policy and strategy and the effective operation of its processes. 5 Processes How the organization designs, manages and improves its processes in order to support its policy and strategy and fully satisfy, and generate increasing value for, its customers and other stakeholders. 6 Customer results What the organization is achieving in relation to its external customers. 7 People results What the organization is achieving in relation to its people. 8 Society results What the organization is achieving in relation to local, national and international society as appropriate. 9 Key performance results What the organization is achieving in relation to its planned performance. A comparison of the frameworks: MBNQA versus EFQM Excellence Model Both the Baldrige Award and the EFQM frameworks attempt to model TQM by identifying its constituent parts. Furthermore, they assume that there is a causal relationship between different constituents of TQM. They are implicitly based on the premise that management leadership and customer/external focus are the two key factors underpinning the efforts to introduce total quality. They suggest that customers play a major role in defining the desired product and service quality levels and that the goal of quality improvement is enhanced by customer satisfaction (Ghobadian and Woo 1996). The EFQM model and the MBNQA are based on the following management philosophies and principles (Ghobadian and Woo 1996): 1 Everyone in the organization is responsible for quality but it is top management's function to create the necessary environment for driving quality forward. 2 Only top management can influence and alter the system, thus its role (in setting goals and quality policies, establishing targets for the design of systems and procedures, promoting quality awareness, and providing role models by displaying quality behaviour) is crucial to the development of a total quality environment. 3 External focus and customer-oriented quality programmes - it is necessary for a company, managed in a total quality fashion, to benchmark itself against its competitors and have processes and procedures in place to enable it to understand the needs of its customers and manage its customer relationship. 4 High level of participation by employees and teamwork - attainment of consistent quality levels and performance targets require a well-motivated and cohesive labour force. 5 Education and training designed to develop the organization's human resources is considered by all of the awards to be one of the pillars of total quality. 6 Emphasis on management by fact rather than by instinct or feel, which requires the design of an information system encompassing a set of measurable and objective indicators relevant to the way the company provides value to customers. 7 A clear understanding of internal processes - self-assessment against fixed and arguably universal criterion is a key emphasis of the awards. This requires the development of a thorough and systematic understanding of all internal processes. 8 Importance of managing supplier relationship and quality. Resources Arif, Mohammed. Smiley, Frederick M. Kulonda, Dennis J.; Business and Education as Push-Pull Processes: An Alliance of Philosophy and Practice. Journal article by Education, Vol. 125, 2005 Bell, Robert R. Elkins, Susan A. ; A Balanced Scorecard for Leaders: Implications of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria. Journal article by SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 69, 2004 Conyers John G.; Thinking outside to Support Newcomers: Young Administrators Benefit from Confidential Mentoring by an External Protege. School Administrator, Vol. 61, June 2004 Garvin, D. A. 1988 Managing Quality. New York: Free Press. Garvin, D. A. 1991 "How the Baldrige Award really works." Harvard Business Review, 69 (6): 80-93. Ghobadian, A. and Woo, H. (1996) 'Characteristics and shortcomings of four major quality awards', International Journal of Quality, 13(2): 55-65. Lehman, Kirby; Establishing a Framework for Quality: Using Data as a Basis for Decision Making Leads Jenks, Okla., to Continuous Improvement and a Baldrige Honor. School Administrator, Vol. 63, September 2006 Mcginnis, Patricia; Tougher Challenges-And Leadership to Match: Public Servants Are Using Innovative Techniques to Get Better Results Quickly and Cost-Efficiently, Improving Workforce Performance and Spanning Organizational Boundaries to Effect Much-Needed Changes. Journal article by The Public Manager, Vol. 35, 2006 Mullins, John M.; Developing Leaders for the Federal Inspectors General Community: How a New Curriculum That Goes beyond Traditional Competencies by Emphasizing Personal Leadership and Organizational Results Offers New Tools to Improve Governmental Programs and Operations and Build a Network for Governmentwide Collaboration. Journal article by The Public Manager, Vol. 33, 2004 NIST (2000) Baldrige National quality Program 2000 - Criteria for Performance Excellence, Gaithersburg, MD, US. Porter, L. J. and Tanner, S. J. (2005) Assessing Business Excellence - a guide to self-assessment, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Strach, Pavel. Everett, Andre M.; Is There Anything Left to Learn from Japanese Companies? Journal article by SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 69, 2004 Zink, K. J., Hauer, R. and Schmidt, A. (2004) 'Quality assessment: instruments for the analysis of quality concepts based on EN 29000, the Malcolm Baldrige Award and the European Quality Award', Total Quality Management, 5(5): 32. Read More