Implementation of Total Quality Management and Its Integration - Essay Example

?Running head: change management Proposal for implementation of Total Quality Management and its integration. and number Instructor’s name Date submitted Introduction: Organizational change is a complex as well as daunting because of a variety of challenges that surface during the process of bringing about change at organizational level. These challenges come in the form of cultural differences, resistance to change, differences in leadership style and management, governance and political issues, requirement of specific knowledge and skills etc. Yet, change is inevitable for organizations to improve their existing situation and to sustain their existence. One such organization-wide change has been decided in our company, which aims to adopt a Total Quality Management (TQM) approach in order to enhance organizational effectiveness. In this recommendation for change management process, I assert that adoption and implementation of TQM involves its translation into employee commitment through effective leadership competence to bring and sustain the concept of TQM in true sense. According to my observation and learning, TQM is an enormous task, and hence bringing the culture of TQM requires effective change management process and a strategy that fits with organizational structure and systems. To achieve this, I propose a systematic process that should involve assessment of the current situation and its readiness for TQM; a proven change management approach that fits with organizational systems and structure; development of leadership competencies; and effective communication strategies. Assessment of organizational readiness to the intended change can be done based on McKinsey’s 7-s Model. This approach will also help in aligning different strategies and systems in accordance with the requirements of TQM. This approach was designed by Peters and Waterman (1982), and considers organization as a system made of seven key elements namely, strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, shared values and skills (Green, 2007). In the process of assessment, every manager should be given the task of identifying the areas that can be improved/modified in order to improve the output. Managers must be instructed to view the present structure and its readiness to adopt the TQM. For instance, managers must assess their processes structures and systems if they already have quality monitoring or control processes; if yes, then the process structure and systems may be regarded as suitable, and if not, modifications might be required. Thirdly, staff’s readiness for adopting TQM can be assessed in terms of knowledge and acceptance levels. Next, style assessment requires understanding the staff members’ and leaders’ behavior and attitudes towards adoption of TQM. Skills assessment includes level of understanding, competencies as well as technical skills required for adoption of TQM principles. Lastly, assessment of shared values is necessary to imbibe the intended change into organizational values and then into individuals’ objectives. This is extremely important in change management situation because individuals at all levels must be committed to implement the change. In Gill’s (2006) words, ‘change requires effective management: clear objectives and planning; organizing roles, responsibilities and resources, and compatible and supportive corporate policies, practices and systems; monitoring and control’ (p.323). From this viewpoint, change management encompasses three critical dimensions: leadership, strategy and change process. Very often, change implementation fails because of lack of effective planning, monitoring and control; moreover, people tend to focus more on the objective or outcome of change rather than the process of change. The process of change should involve a good plan, measurable objectives, effective monitoring and corrective actions. The most important aspect of change management is the vision. In the present situation, organizational vision is to enhance its overall performance through adoption of TQM. Kotter (1995a) identified that although organizations recognize a need for change and draw interesting change management plans and procedures, they fail to assign a compelling statement of what is to be achieved, leading to confusion and resistance (Gill, 2003). Five factors are extremely necessary for bringing about effective change and they include leadership, corporate values, communication, teambuilding, and education and training. Emphasis is very strong on leadership aspect. In this context, Gill (2003; p.317) asserts, ‘change requires good management, but above all it requires effective leadership.’ Leadership is crucial in achieving a successful change implementation. In the present context, I strongly recommend leadership at all levels should be proactive and understand the need for this change. Role of leadership is reinforced by Seiler and Pfister (2009) in their 5-factor leadership model, which identifies individual competence, group, organization, context and situation as the five critical elements required in change management. I strongly believe that leaders at all levels need professional skills in terms of knowledge of the job and business in order to direct their followers towards the intended change. Such competencies will facilitate effective decision making and problem solving. Further, these will help the leaders to identify the right candidates with right skills for leading the intended change. Leaders need to be self motivated, possess good communication skills as well. Strong interpersonal relationship with followers is the key to successful change implementation. Strategic thinking will help the leaders to form strategic goals and align individual objectives with the strategic goals. Leaders should be able to align their teams’ goals to organizational strategies and use effective internalization of processes and systems. This five-factor leadership model may be applied to leaders at all levels, which will help in understanding leaders’ competencies and guide the leaders towards intended change. A systematic change implementation approach would certainly fetch promising results. Of the various change management approaches described in change management literature, I recommend Kotter’s eight-step model because this model is most congruent with the present situation. Moreover, McKinsey’s 7-step model and five-factor leadership models can be effectively integrated with Kotter’s 8-step model. Kotter’s model may be applied to all organizational contexts and at all levels in achieving a planned organizational change (Cameron & Green, 2004). I would recommend the following processes in the change management process using Kotter’s (1995) model. Establish a sense of urgency: This can be achieved by sending out organization-wide communication in the form of email, posters, briefing sessions etc. All employees need to be educated about the intended changes and reasons for the change; moreover, the expected outcomes and impact of these outcomes on the organization as well as employees must be explained in order to avoid misinterpretations and grapevine messages, which can hinder the process at later stage. These steps will help in making all members accept the need for the change and urgency for change. Managers and supervisors need to be trained and coached as to how this information is dispersed in order to avoid potential resistance from individuals. Create a powerful guiding coalition: The process of change would require strong coalition between senior management and middle management in order to formulate strategies that will facilitate achievement of the vision as well as be inline with organizational goals. The coalition group may also include human resources team, which would help in formulating and/or modifying HR policies in favor of the change and to motivate employees towards the intended change. For example, changes in processes and procedures would warrant changes in performance measurement, evaluation etc; this could create significant tension and resistance from individuals. Therefore, involvement of HR team becomes necessary in order to handle resistance as well as modify performance management to suit the new processes. Moreover, implementation of TQM principles would require cross-functional liaison and hence strong coalition between different departments also becomes necessary. This can be achieved by involving representatives from different departments during strategy formulation, decision making processes etc. Develop a vision and strategy: A common vision that aims to achieve TQM needs to be created, which further needs to be educated to all members of the organization. Creation of new vision can also mean modification of the existing vision with inclusion of TQM objective. This will reinforce the significance of the intended change. Communicate the new vision: The new vision needs to be communicated to every member of the organization in every possible manner so that the vision and strategic goals are embossed on every employee’s mind. Communication of vision and strategies has a strong impact on individuals’ commitment and motivation. Managers and HR professionals play a very important role in communicating the new vision, objectives and strategy. I recommend all possible modes of communication be used for this purpose, like, team briefings, posters or notice boards, newsletters, email communications, confidential help lines, conference calls, questionnaires etc (Cameron & Green, 2004). Empower employees for broad-based action: In a change management setup, the most visible barrier to change is employee resistance backed by their misconceptions, misinterpretation and fear. To address this, leaders need to find new ways of achieving the new goals. The best way is to empower individuals and encourage them to come up with new methods and ideas of completing the tasks. For example, good performers can be asked to identify processes or procedures that are of no significance or wasteful; or, they can be asked to identify better ways of performing a specific task, which can be standardized. Empowering others will improve their commitment, reduce resistance, and enhance the process of accepting and embracing change. In turn these will improve cooperation, communication and coordination within groups thereby bringing people from different groups/departments closer and fosters better coalition. Generate short-term wins: Long-term or larger strategic goals can be achieved and sustained by breaking the goals into smaller short-term objectives. In implementation of TQM, this can be achieved by implementing quality processes like ISO standards, lean methods, Six Sigma tools, performance management etc. These processes may be further subdivided into respective individual steps, which can be delegated to specific departments, groups or individuals. Achievement of these smaller objectives can be celebrated in the form of appreciation, rewards, announcements, etc. Generation of smaller goals and celebration of their achievement makes the entire process of change implementation more encouraging. This will further improve trust in leadership as well as commitment and cooperation among individuals. Consolidate gains and produce more change: As a next step, all processes or steps that have produced positive outcomes need to be frozen so that individuals at all levels are clear about their direction as well as activities. This will help in reducing apprehensions among the staff. Relationships developed at higher management levels as well as successful achievement will drive the change process further. Further, more number of individuals from different levels can be involved in the process; for example, more individuals can be involved in identifying processes or procedures that need improvement; more inputs can be taken for identifying better ways of doing things. This will intensify change process as well improve energy around change implementation. Leaders need to constantly monitor the progress as well as processes, and provide feedback so that everyone is moving in the right direction. Anchor new approaches in the culture: The new processes and procedures that helped n in improving quality of outcomes should be communicated to all others so that these processes and procedures are followed going forward. Changes implemented should be reinforced by highlighting the relationship between new processes and their outcomes. Such reinforcement will foster more innovation and participation from larger masses in the organization. Conclusions In conclusion, my proposal for change management would be adoption of a proven systematic procedure in order to achieve successful and sustainable change, which will not only simplify the entire process of change but also achieve change in individuals’ attitude and commitment towards the new process. I propose to assess the organizational readiness at team, department and organizational levels using the McKinsey’s model. Leadership is critical to change management. Hence, I strongly recommend that all leaders chosen for strategic planning for the change possess the five factors necessary for change implementation, based on Seiler and Pfister’s model. Integration of TQM into organizational processes and procedures requires its integration into organizational culture; this can be effectively achieved by Kotter’s eight-step model. The concept of TQM is of continuous nature, and hence its implementation into organization’s systems goes beyond its integration with organizational processes and procedures. From this perspective, my recommendation to the leadership team is that they constantly support and encourage participation, innovation, flexibility, empowerment, motivation and commitment. With the help of all these attributes and processes, it would be possible to adopt and implement the desired change, i.e. TQM with effective translation of employee commitment to actions that result in desired outcomes. References Cameron, E and Green, M. (2004). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Gill, R. (2006). Theory and practice of leadership. London: SAGE. Gill, R. (2003). Change Management –or change leadership? Journal of Change Management, Vol.3 (4): 307-318. Green, M. (2007). Change management masterclass: A step by step guide to successful change management. Great Britain: Kogan Page Publishers. Seiler, S and Pfister, A.C. (2009). ‘Why did I do this?’: Understanding Leadership Behavior through a Dynamic Five-Factor Model of Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies. Vol 3(3): 41-52. Read More