Total Quality Management Approach - Assignment Example

Quality Strategy The development of the global marketplace and the emergence of fierce global competition have resulted in an increased focus uponquality. Since the level of pressure is increasing within a globally competitive environment and organizations are facing more challenges, they must pay attention to the quality of their products and services if they want to ensure long term survival in the marketplace. As a result, the development of a quality strategy has become vital and one of the most important tools used in improving quality is technology. Garvin (1998) has identified five different approaches to quality (a) transcendent approach, according to which quality always exists (b)products based approach whereby products must meet high quality standards (c) user based requirements wherein quality is defined by the extent to which it meets user requirements (d) manufacturing based approach or the conformance to specifications and (e) value based approach or the relationship between usefulness and satisfaction to the price of the product or service. The perception of quality will differ depending upon where the viewer is located in the value chain. For instance, the customer is the driving force behind the production of goods and services but is likely to adopt a transcendent perspective on quality. The Total Quality Management (TQM) approach seeks to maximize the productivity of an organization by continually improving the quality of its products, people, environment and services (Deming, 2000). Deming has designed his quality approach around fourteen different goals and practices for management among which some important aspects are (a) creating a constancy of purpose in improvement of products and services (b) using quality suppliers and design a quality based production process (c) using statistical tools to identify weaknesses within the system so that they can be improved (d) using improved training and supervision methods (e) eliminating barriers between departments as well as factors demotivating employees and (f) Continuous improvement, which is the most important aspect an organization must pay attention to, in order to ensure that high levels of quality are introduced into products and services. The goal of total quality management is to ensure continuous improvement, employee empowerment, customer orientation and a strong commitment from the management to safeguard the interests of the customers, employees, stakeholders and even society at large.(Brah and Lim, 2006). An essential party of the TQM approach is the focus on quality with effective management of processes and improvement of the quality of goods and services. Ensuring supplier quality and the quality of top leadership as well as employee empowerment and training can produce significant benefits to an organization in terms of enhanced productivity. For instance, implementing a quality strategy by ensuring a TQM approach, can result in lower costs in completing processes and manufacturing products, improvement in organizational reputation and market share and enhanced employee motivation and productivity, which will invariably also produce improved levels of profitability for the organization by increasing customer usage of its products and services (Brah and Lim, 2006). Applying a value based definition of quality from the customer’s perspective, “quality is…..the closest fit to user needs that resources permit.” (Brophy, 1993). In the case of the furniture retailer IKEA for example, the products offered by the Company are seen as products offering considerable value in terms of quality because they are not only of a good standard but are also reasonably priced, so that the balance between the price and the product is viewed favorably by the customer. The Company practices a value based approach in its management and operational strategy, by focusing on social, economic, environmental and communication based values, all of which contribute to the customer’s perception of value.(Edvardsson et al, 2006). The user based approach to quality also views the customer as the ultimate best judge of the quality of the product or service. There are however, certain quality specifications that have been aid out by ISO, which serve as the benchmark standards that an organization can compare its products to, in ensuring that it is meeting the necessary quality requirements. ISO 9000:2000 2000 defines quality as the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements, or a need or expectation (Gordeev 2000). These new standards also incorporate the management perspective, by setting out requirements and recommendations on designing and assessing management systems within the organization. Management analysis is expected to exist during every sib process of production with measurements of effectiveness and efficiency, so that the outcome of this process is a satisfied customer. The ISO therefore focuses on generation of quality and ensuring a control of processes through the use of specific procedures and to set out certain baseline standards that all companies are expected to meet. The objective of the ISO standards is to improve levels of customer confidence in products during the purchasing and utilization stages by ensuring that they meet certain basic requirements of quality. The ISO approach however, differs from the TQM approach because it does not focus on a process of continuous improvement and it is not an integrated process; rather there is a focus on certain production departments. The primary focus of ISO quality standards is on the technical processes and the preservation of the status quo, while employee involvement is not taken into consideration. The TQM approach however includes a more holistic perspective and takes into consideration employee motivation and involvement as well as the refining of the products and services through a process of continuous improvement. Gallear and Ghobadian (2004) have stated that there is a broad agreement among experts that in order to successfully implement Total Quality Management within an organization, it is necessary to pay close attention to organizational culture and possibly modify it as necessary. An assessment of culture and character of the organization before implementing measures to improve quality within it, is very helpful in identifying potential barriers that may exist, so that allowances can be made for this before the implementation process (Vermeulen, 1997). For instance, when changes are introduced within an organization, such as through mergers and alliances which is an increasingly common trend, the characteristic reaction of most employees would be resistance, because they are fearful about losing their jobs. Addressing this fear and introducing training programs for employees so that they are able to cope with new pressures can contribute towards mitigating such resistance. Enhancing quality in an organization such as Google that employs a large number of skilled knowledge workers and functions on a system of loose controls with high levels of networking, may require a different approach from that used at an organization such as Walmart for example, where the levels of networking are not so high since there is a partially hierarchal system of control still in place. While improving wages for lower level employees and offering them benefits for example, might function as a significant factor encouraging employees to enhance their productivity at Walmart, it would not work as well in an organization like Google where most employees are already highly paid. Quality enhancement and improvement in productivity is more likely to be achieved at Google through satisfying the intrinsic needs of the workers. For instance, Ichniowski and Shaw (1999) have conducted a study to examine the economic impact of HRM practices and worker productivity and conclude that the innovative HRM practices in Japan enhance productivity. There is a prevailing culture wherein the contribution of employees to the organization is recognized and appreciated by a policy of long term retention of employees, which provides them the incentive to stay on with one organization and put in their best efforts, thereby also enhancing the quality of the products and services provided. The Japanese focus on quality of their products is a collective process, requiring attention to detail and networking through common bonds. This is difficult to replicate within an American context, where there are higher levels of individualism and job hopping is common. Knowledge that exists in one social context may be difficult to replicate in other locations, because knowledge is often specific to the location (Lam 1997) and helps faster diffusion of skills. In a study that examined the implementation of quality management practices in seven different organizations, Bardoel and Sohel (1997) found that a preliminary analysis of the organization using cultural auditing tools was helpful in ensuring that measures for improvement in quality were received favorably and successfully implemented. For example, King (2006) highlights the advantages that India enjoys in terms of knowledge, particularly in the area of IT software generation and management. Vendors in India such as Wipro, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services possess a high level of sophistication and 40% of the companies who have been able to achieve the top rated Level S certification are located in India. These companies are able to recognize that merely relying on the low labor cost factor is unlikely to sustain their services, as a result they are concentrating on honing their processes to ever increasing levels of sophistication, through enhancing quality and productivity and strengthening knowledge management. One aspect that is extremely important in today’s global economy is the use of the tools of technology; as a result effective management of data is an essential part of the quality management process. Since there is a surplus of information available, knowledge workers may end up wasting a considerable amount of time and effort in sorting through the data and extracting relevant information. As a result, an effective policy to ensure the quality of data would be of considerable benefit to an organization in ensuring that quality data is provided and effectively used. A survey was conducted by Harte-Hanks Trillium Software among 216 information professionals and this study found that 51% of the organizations participating in the study handled local data initiatives on an ad hoc basis.(Swartz, 2006). The survey also found that in only 14.5% of the organizations, a coordinated management approach and strategy was in place to tackle data quality. In many of the organizations, the professionals were not even fully aware of who in the organization was responsible for ensuring the quality of the data; hence essentially ad hoc methods were in use at the organizations surveyed. But this may be woefully inadequate to ensure the quality of data and may hamper organizational effectiveness. The findings in the survey undertaken by Harte-Hanks Trillium Software found that “information management professionals are asserting that best practice demands that a much more strategic approach is taken to data quality” (Swarz, 2006). Most of the professionals surveyed stated that there was room for improvement in terms of ensuring data quality; seventy five percent of the respondents appeared to feel that data quality needs to be tackled in a strategic manner in accordance with a multi divisional plan that represents best practice. Seventy nine percent of the respondents also stated that senior management professionals needed to become more involved in ensuring data quality. The finding about the uncertainty of information professionals on who is responsible for ensuring the quality of data also suggests that in most firms, there may not be a single person or department that is held accountable in ensuring data quality. The negative aspect of such a lack of accountability is that the accuracy and credibility of the information that is used in organizational processes may become questionable. This would be especially relevant in the area of corporate governance, where a failure to ensure data quality will hinder the quality of information provided and impact negatively upon the trust of the public in the informational outputs issuing from the organization. Conclusions: In view of the above, it appears that if an organization is to retain a competitive edge in a globally competitive economy, a focus on quality and innovation is vital. Technology has begun to play an increasingly important role and organizational strategy must also be directed towards introducing quality into the data management and utilization process in order to ensure its optimum usage and efficacy. Another significant factor that is characteristic of the present day global organization is an atmosphere of cultural diversity within them, as a result a failure to take organizational culture into account before introducing quality management measures is unlikely to be successful. At the outset, it must be acknowledged that the centre of any quality management approach must be centered upon the customer. It is the customer that ultimately drives quality, because in a globally competitive economy, the customer is the one who determines whether or not a product or service is superior in terms of its quality and thereby merits patronage. While standards have been set out by the USO and other comparable organizations, mandating certain basic standards in goods and services, these standards are not framed from a holistic perspective. They do not take into account the important role played by employees in contributing to quality, whereas the Total Quality Management and other comparable quality management approaches recognize the vital importance of ensuring employee motivation in enhancing productivity and ensuring effective quality control. As a result, any organizational strategy that is geared towards bringing about an improvement in the quality of its products and services must introduce measures to successfully motivate employees. This also involves a careful appraisal of the culture of the organization and an assessment of how it is likely to respond to changes before any new strategy is introduced. Secondly, merely introducing changes is unlikely to achieve the desired ends. The focus of a quality management strategy must be to ensure quality on a continuous basis, this requires that a process of continuous improvement is instituted. Generating and maintaining quality within an organization is not a one time process which can be introduced and then forgotten about. Any useful measure that may contribute towards improvement of organizational operation when introduced, is unlikely to sustain itself unless it is continuously monitored and assessed. This is where total quality management is appropriate and relevant in the current global context because it focuses on continuous improvement, thereby ensuring that an organization is able to respond effectively to changes in the environment and continue to sustain improvements and maintain quality standards. Effective communication and management of the tools of technology must also form an important part of organizational strategy on quality. Total Quality management focuses on breaking down the barriers between various departments within an organization and ensuring effective communication, so that knowledge can be effectively transferred within the organization and used to benefit it. Bibliography * Bardoel, E.A. and Sohal, A.S. (1999), "The role of the cultural audit in implementing quality improvement programs", International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 16(3): 263-76. * Brah, Shaukat A and Lim, Hua Ying, 2006. “The effects of technology and TQM on the performance of logistics Companies”, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 36(3): 192 * Brophy, Peter, 1993. “Quality Management: a University Approach”, Aslib Information, 21(6): 246-248 * Deming, W.E, 2000. “Out of the crisis”, MIT Press * Edvardsson, Bo, Enquist, Bo and Hay, Michael, 2006. “Values based service brands: narratives from IKEA”, Managing Service Quality, 16(3): 230-246 * Gallear, D. and Ghobadian, A. (2004), "An empirical investigation of the channels that facilitate a total quality culture", Total Quality Management, 15(8): 1043-67. * Garvin, D.A., 1988. “Managing Quality: The Strategic and competitive edge”, New York: Free Press. * Gordeev, V.A., 2000. “Quality assurance system at the joint stock company alnas. Prospects for system development”, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 36(3): 143-145 * Ichniowski, Casey and Shaw, Kathryn, 1999. “The Effects of Human resource management Systems on economic performance: An internal comparison of U.S. and Japanese plants” Management Science, 45(5): 704-721 * King, William R, 2006. “Offshoring Decision time is at hand”, Information Systems Management, 23(3): 102-4 * Lam, A, 1997. “Embedded Firms, embedded knowledge: problems of collaboration and knowledge transfer in global cooperative ventures.” Organization Studies, 18: 973-996 * Swartz, Nikki, 2006. “Ad hoc data quality processes don’t cut it”, Information Management Journal, 40(6): 18 * Vermeulen, W. (1997), "Cultural change: crucial for the implementation of TQM", Training for Quality, 5(1): 40-5. Read More